Pork in Salsa Verde (Yes, Another Chip Magnet Salsa Recipe)

This is made using Chip Magnets Salsa Verde - and it is a little spicy (ok, kind of a lot), so you might not want to make this if your not into delicious. 

 Their write up goes....

Tomatillos are the not-so-secret ingredient to a delicious salsa verde. We keep it going green with a helping of freshly-chopped cilantro. Then we heat things up just enough with the help of some serrano chilis. 

Ingredients

3 lbs pork butt or shoulder, diced into 1 inch chunks (or slightly larger)
1 jar Chip Magnet Salsa Verde
7 oz can of diced green chili’s
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon of pepper
2 chopped cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
1 cup chicken stock
Salt to taste

Recipe

Brown Pork in Pan.  Use cooking spray if your looking to save some calories, oil or lard if not
Remove pork, saute garlic and onions in the same pan
Deglaze the pan with the stock

Pour Pork, garlic, onions, Salsa Verde, diced green chiles, cumin, chicken stock into...

Ok, here you can run two ways with this recipe - pressure cooker or crock pot

If pressure cooker, toss it all in, bring to pressure, cook 20 minutes.  That's it, serve with rice, pinto beans, potatoes, tortillas, whatever.  

Or...

Toss it all into the crock pot, stir up the ingredients, cook on low for 8 hours.  And that's it - serve with rice, pinto beans, potatoes, tortillas, whatever.  

If you like, avocado, diced onion and tomatoes, etc. for the side or on top

St. Louis Pork Steaks - If You Like BBQ, You Will Love These

Pretty odd recipe, for those of us not from St. Louis.  Even though Pork Steaks are very common in Wisconsin (I understand they are not everywhere), I have never had St. Louis Pork Steaks until I saw an episode of America's Test Kitchen. (great video at link).  Their recipe is here.

Recipe is fairly simple, but it takes a while to get done - in fact there are three distinct cooking phases.  I will often do the first two ahead of time, then the third phase just before I want to serve them - so it is great if you are having people over but don't want to invest a lot of time the day of the event, or you want to take them tailgating, because the third cooking phase takes like 10 minutes.

Also, most of these involve cooking outside - well, that is the best way.  However, you can certainly do this inside.

Basic concept is...

Step 1 - grill/brown pork steaks on high heat (over charcoal, wood or on the stove) - just to get them browned.
Step 2 - braise in barbeque sauce for one and a half hours
Step 3 - grill/fry again for 3-5 minutes to caramelize the sauce

Serve - they taste great.  Another recipe is found here, at Patio Daddio BBQ., along with some great photos.

The bbq sauce is the only thing  you need to really concern yourself with.  It starts thin, then cooks down as you braise the pork.  By the time the pork gets tender, the sauce will be thick.

1 jar (12 oz)  bbq sauce (I use Sweet Baby Rays)
1 light beer (12 oz) (Lienies Light for me)
2 tbs Sriracha (if you like it hot)
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs cider vinegar

That is a good amount of sauce for 2 lbs of pork steaks.  Up or down the ingredients as needed.  Basic deal is equal amounts beer and bbq sauce.

Cooking with Dad - Slow Cooker Pork bbq sandwiches

Spent the weekend with family, and a Saturday with my Dad.  For me, cooking with love started with my Parents, and likely my love for cooking because my Father loved to cook.  I still remember elaborate meals cooked over a coleman gas stove while camping.

While everyone else is over at my Sisters for a baby shower, my Dad and I got to hang out and make dinner.  Up on the list - slow cooker pork sandwiches, bbq style.

Now, no, this is not real bbq.  Is not made with smoke, it is not made with fire.  It is made in a crock pot, and tastes great.

We started with Pork Loin - not your typical bbq meat because it is so lean.  However, at about $1.89 a pound, it is a very inexpensive way of making a meal for a lot of people.

First, we cut up the pork loin and brown it in the cast iron pan.  Big chunks - heavily salted and peppered.  We did about 3 lbs, and yes, kit took several batches.  Don't crowd the pan - you want to brown the pork, not steam it.

As I brown the pork, my Dad diced the carrots and celery (aromatics).  A couple of each.

Next, cook the aromatics in the same pan.  Just to pick up some of the fond on the bottom and get them some of that pork flavor.  Then deglaze with stock.




Toss it all in the crock pot with seasonings, turn it on low, walk away.  Seasonings are some fresh thyme, 1 tsp celery seed, 2 tbs tomato paste, 1 tbs smoked paprika, 1 bay leaf, 1 large onion quartered and sliced thin.

Cook all day - serve for dinner.  We poured off the liquid, cooked it down on the stove, added some barbecue sauce (not much) and served it up.  Weck (crusty hard rolls) make a great base.

Porc Normande - Pork Loin Roast Braised with Apples and Onions

Meme was the one who cooked "french" food at our home.  Of course my parents cooked many great french meals also, but here it was Meme.  I cooked all other types of food, but never french.  Except for this dish, Porc Normande (or, Pork Normandy, that is to say Pork cooked in the manner of the Norman area of France).  I am not sure why, yet there it is.

This is perhaps the simplest fine dining dish you can make (other than Prime Rib, which is truly stupid easy to make well, so long as you have a bunch of cash for the meat).  Porc Normande however is very inexpensive - Pork loin is often on sale for less than $2 a pound, and the rest of the ingredients are not expensive either.  Yet people will think you are a genius.

If you need to prepare a meal for a large crowd, super easy.  If you want to make it for two - also easy - use  pork chops and downsize the rest of the ingredients.  You can also prepare ahead of time, put it in the oven, entertain guests, pull from oven, finish, serve, and be acclaimed a great cook.  Or, prepare the day ahead and just warm in a 350 oven for a half hour or so and serve.

Ingredients

Pork Loin
2 onions, sliced
2 tart apples - think granny smith, macintosh, regent, northern spy.  Do not use Honey Crisp or the like.  They need to be pealed, cored and sliced
2 tbs Calvados (apple brandy) - you don't have to use this - sometimes I will add a 1/2 c of fresh apple cider
12 oz chicken broth (or, if your not using the Calvados, use 1/2 chicken broth and 1/2 fresh apple cider (do not buy pasteurized - that is just apple juice - live a little and take a chance!  Besides, it is getting cooked for hours)
1/2 cup cream (you can substitute fat free half and half or reduced fat sour cream - but do not bring the sauce to a boil after adding - only cream or half and half can hold together and not separate in the sauce)
Salt, Pepper, oil, butter, flour

Recipe

Heat oven to 350 degrees and get out the Le Crueset pot - sized according to how much Pork Loin you are cooking
Place pot on stove and heat it up on medium heat
Add 1 tbs oil, brown Pork Loin on each side, remove from pan
Add onions and apples, cook until golden brown.
Add Calvados, flame.  Try not to burn yourself.  Don't blame me if you do - I will only mock you.
After the brandy has burned off, add stock and/or cider, pork loin.  Cover and place in oven.
Cook for 1 - 2 hours - until meat is tender
Remove meat, cover with foil to keep warm
Place pot on stove over medium heat and cook down the sauce.  If you like you can make a roux to cheat and thicken the sauce.
If you like you can use your boat motor to puree the apples and onions, or not.
Add cream, bring to boil, adjust seasoning ( basically add salt and pepper to taste)
Slice roast (thick slices - 3/8 of an inch or more), serve with sauce poured over the top (or just add the sliced roast back to the Le Crueset pan and serve.

This is a great dish to serve with braised red cabbage, caramelized apples, mashed potatoes, egg noodles - feel free to go with what ever option you like.

Cuban Style Pork Shoulder - in the Crock Pot

First, go to the LATIMES for their recipe.

Great recipe - I only make a couple of changes (even simpler than theirs)

I use one whole bay leaf (not crushed or ground)
I zest an orange and then juice it, same with the lime - I don't bother measuring.
I use Penzey's Adobe seasoning instead of the ground chili pepper - and I still add all the other listed spices - pump up the volume, but not the heat.

Adjust the spices depending on how much pork shoulder you use - if it is a 2.5 lb piece, then half the spices.

Pork shoulder is a pain to defat - lots of fat, lots of stuff to trim.  But do not substitute - just be diligent in trimming if you are looking to limit your weight, and then be sure to eat lots of other things with just a reasonable portion of the pork.  Great dish with black beans and rice.