Pork

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zucchini and Sausage Casserole

Serves 4                                                                            Edna Koons

 

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, crumbled

1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs

3 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

1/2 pint sour cream

6 small zucchini, cut into lengthwise slices

6 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated

 

      Cook sausage; drain.  Stir in crumbs, Parmesan and sour cream.  Set aside.

      Sprinkle zucchini lightly with salt and pepper (omit if seasoned crumbs are used).  Grease shallow casserole and arrange 1/2 zucchini, spoon sausage mixture over top and cover with remaining zucchini.

      Bake in preheated 350-degree oven, covered, for 35 minutes (45 minutes if chilled).  Uncover and spread mozzarella and 1tablespoon Parmesan over top.  Bake 10 minutes or until cheese has melted.

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Grilled Sausages with Onions and Peppers

Serves 4

assorted sausages about 1 to 2 per person

1 each: red, yellow and green bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 large sweet onion, sliced

Pumpernickel bread

butter

dark beer 

   Preheat the barbecue on High.

   Bring 1 gallon of water to boil in a large stock pot. Add sausages and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and dry with paper towels.

   Sauté peppers and onion in a 12-inch, non-stick fry pan. Grill sausages on barbecue until brown, turning frequently.

Serves sausages whole or sliced on the diagonal with sautéed vegetables, Pumpernickel bread, butter and dark beer.

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Pork Satay

 

Serves 4:  This dish is hot!  Reduce chili paste for milder version.

Marinade:

2 small garlic cloves

½ tablespoons hot chili paste

4 ½ tablespoons light soy sauce

3 tablespoons peanut oil

4 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 ½ teaspoons light brown sugar 

1 ½ pound pork tenderloin

Garnish: green onion

Peanut Sauce

2 small garlic cloves

¼ medium onion

2 tablespoons peanut oil

½ cup + 1 tablespoon peanuts

3 tablespoons light soy sauce

1/3 cup low-fat yogurt

3 tablespoons lemon juice

½ to 1 tablespoon hot chili paste

1 ½ tablespoons light brown sugar

     

      Marinade:  Blend all marinade ingredients.  Trim pork; cut into 1 ½-inch pieces.  Marinade 45-60 minutes.

      Barbecue pork on skewers (or sauté in oil) until cooked, about 6 to 8 minutes.  Do not overcook. 

      Peanut Sauce:  Blend all ingredients and heat in small saucepan.

      Combine pork and some or all or sauce.  Serve additional sauce to the side.      

Suggestions:  Serve over rice pilaf and garnish with sliced green onions.

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Pork or Beef Taco Filling

                                                                  Café Pasqual’s Barbacoca

1 pound tied beef chuck or boned pork shoulder or butt, rinsed

1 onion, peeled and diced

1 firm-ripe tomato, cored and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 fresh jalapeno, minced

½ bay leaf

½ cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 ½ teaspoons white wine vinegar

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon oregano

¼ teaspoon salt

ground pepper

 

      In 9 by 13-inch dish, mix all the ingredients.  Turn meat to coat.  Cover and chill one day, turning occasionally.  Seal dish with foil.

      Bake in preheated 300-degree oven until meat is tender enough to pull apart easily, 4 hours.  Transfer meat to platter. Pour juices through strainer into a small pot (discard bay leaf).  Skim and discard fat.  Boil to reduce to ¼ cup.

      When meat to cool enough to handle, pull apart into shreds; discard fat and connective tissue.  Add meat and reserved vegetable mix to pan with juices.  Stir occasionally over medium heat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Freezes well.

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Grilled or Roasted Jamaican Tenderloin of Pork

Serves 6 to 8                                                                              

 3 pork tenderloins, about 1 pound each

 Marinade:

1 tablespoon allspice

1 tablespoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons black pepper

1/4 cup coarsely chopped onions

1/4 cup coarsely chopped green onions

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

2 Serrano chilies, seeded and chopped

¼ cup lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

 

optional: mango salsa

Optional: coconut rice

 

      Trim away any fat and sinew from meat and slice off the thin silver skin.  Cut off pointed end.

      Toast allspice, nutmeg, pepper and cinnamon in skillet over low heat until fragrant; set aside.

      Pulse onions, scallions, ginger briefly in food processor to chop coarsely. Then add ground spices, thyme and chilies.  Pulse until mixture is finely chopped.

      Pulse in olive oil, lime juice, soy sauce and sugar. Place tenderloins in 1-gallon plastic zip-lock bag.  Pour in marinade and mix by hand. Marinate overnight.  Drain liquid from marinade, saving the paste.  Dry meat, salt and spread with paste.

      Grease barbecue grill with olive oil and preheat on high. Place meat on hot, greased grill.  Reduce heat to medium high.  Cook 5 minutes per side.  Reduce heat to low and cook an additional 5 to10 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 140-degrees.  Tent in foil for 10 minutes.  Slice on diagonal.  Serve with mango salsa and coconut rice.

      To roast, preheat oven to 400-degrees. Transfer pork to roasting rack.  Roast about 20 minutes or until 140-degrees. Continue above.

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Grilled Pork Chops

Serves 4                                                                   Cook’s Magazine

 

Brine:

For 2 cup water dissolve 1 tablespoon table salt and 1 tablespoon sugar 

4 bone-in loin pork chops or center-cut loin chops, each 1 ½-inchs thick 

Spice Rub:

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons brown sugar

 

Dissolve salt and sugar in cold water.  Immerse chops in brine. (Use a large plastic container or 1-gallon zip lock bag.)  Set aside for 1 hour.  Drain the pork and pat dry with paper towels.  Mix all spice rub ingredients together. Pat spices onto both sides of chops. 

Oil barbecue grill. Preheat on High, covered, for 15 minutes.  Use wire brush to scrape grate clean.  Turn off all but one burner. Place chops over hotter part of grill, cover, and cook until browned on each side, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Move chops to cooler side of grill. Cover and continue cooking, turning once, until instant-read thermometer inserted through side of chop and away from bone registers 140-degrees, about 2 to 4 minutes per side. (Hint: The first time you make this recipe, use the shorter times suggested.  Pork gets tough when overcooked.  Thermometer will tell you exactly when the chops are done.)  Transfer chops to platter, cover with foil and let rest 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

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Barbecued Baby Back Ribs

Serves 4 to 5                                                         Cook’s Illustrated

Brine:

½ cup table salt or 1 cup kosher salt

½ cup sugar

4 racks (1 pound each) baby back or loin back ribs 

Spice Rub:

1 tablespoon + ½ teaspoon sweet paprika

1 ½ teaspoons chili powder

1 ¾ teaspoons ground cumin 

1 ½ teaspoons dark brown sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon dried oregano

¾ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

 

wood pellets

oven thermometer

 

      Dissolve salt and sugar in 4 quarts cold water in large plastic container. Submerge ribs in brine for 1 hour. Remove from brine and thoroughly pat dry with paper towels.

      Combine spice rub ingredients in small bowl. Rub each side of racks with mixture.  Wrap ribs in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 to 8 hours.

      (Using an oven thermometer, discover the setting for the “on” burner to maintain a grill temperature of 275-degrees.)

      Turn both barbecue burners to high and cover lid.  Preheat for 10 minutes. Turn off the burner on one side.  Place the ribs on the “off” side.  For the “on” side, set a tin pan of hot water and throw in a few wood pellets.  Put oven thermometer on or above the “off” side.  Close the lid.  Turn the “on” burner to high until oven reaches 275-degrees.  Turn down oven to maintain that temperature (set dial between Low and 1). Cook for 3 ½ hours.  Every 45 minutes flip, turn top-to-bottom, and rearrange racks closest to “on” burner; throw in a few wood pellets and adjust grill temperature. Remove ribs when they reach an internal temperature between 195 and 200-degrees.

      Transfer ribs to cutting board, cut between bones to separate ribs and serve.

 

Menu Suggestions: Beans in barbecue sauce, bread or potato salad, summer squash with cheddar, blueberry cobbler.

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Lima Beans with Ham

2 main servings                                                               Bon Appetit

¼ pound bacon, diced

¾ medium onion, chopped

½ cup tomatillo, chopped

2 cups frozen baby lima beans

¾ - 1 pound ham, cut into ½-inch dice

ground black pepper

pinch all spice

pinch cloves

2 springs fresh summer savory

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup low-salt chicken broth

4 shakes Tabasco

fresh parsley, chopped

salt to taste

 

In large non-stick frying pan, sauté bacon until crisp and lightly brown. Reserve bacon bits leaving oil in pan.  In a medium saucepan, sauté onion for 5 minutes on medium-high heat.  Add Tomatillo and sauté an additional 3 minutes. Add all other ingredients, including bacon bits, except Tabasco, parsley and salt.  Simmer, slightly covered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until lima beans are tender.  Add Tabasco, parsley and salt to taste.  Serve in shallow bowl. 

For thicker sauce, puree up to 1/2 of the cooked lima bean-ham mixture and stir back into the saucepan.

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Crock Pot Chinese Pork Shoulder

Serves 8 to 10

NOTE:  Make this recipe one day ahead. 

6 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed and tied

2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder

3 to 4 cups chicken broth (reduced salt)

1 cup dark soy sauce, reduced salt

½ cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

4 scallions, cut 2-inch pieces

1 garlic head, halved

1 (2-inch) knob unpeeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced

 

Rub pork all over with the five-spice powder. Add to slow cooker the chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and red pepper. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the scallions, garlic, ginger and meat, turning it a few times to coat. If necessary, add more chicken broth to cover the meat. Cover the cooker, set it on HIGH, and cook for 5 hours. Set the cooker on LOW and cook until meat is very tender, about 3 hours.

      Remove meat from the broth; remove the string and fat. Separate the large sections of meat and rinse in hot water to remove more of the fat. Wrap meat in foil and refrigerate. Strain cooking liquid into a large bowl and refrigerate overnight. Skim off the fat. Season the broth to taste. Reheat meat with broth.

      To serve for a buffet, coarsely shred the meat and add to large bowl with some of the broth.  Serve with oriental rice or wide noodles.

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Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Baby Carrots

Serves 6                                                           Bon Appetit, April 09

Carrots:

2 pounds baby carrots, peeled, trimmed leaving ¼-inch of green tops attached

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter, diced

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 small jalapeno, seeded, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon honey

½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Pork:

2 1 to 1 ¼ pounds pork tenderloins

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil