Pork recipes

Ideas for your May 2008 share:

Farm 255 BACON

by Tamar

In Athens, Georgia, I used to make bacon from the bellies of Berkshire pigs raised by Wes and Charlotte Swancy from Riverview Farms. I'd smoke it on the front patio of our restaurant, Farm 255, on Friday nights, and line cooks would take turns tending to the smoker as an excuse to get a breath of fresh air in the middle of busy dinner service. You can follow the brine instructions and then smoke the belly using a stovetop smoker. I used to do the whole slab, cut into pieces. Most CSA packages of belly are probably 3-5 pounts, so adjust quantities accordingly.

Bacon

For 15 # belly

3 cups sugar

2 cups salt

24 oz. molasses

1 cup honey

6 tbsp. rough ground black peppercorns

6 qts water

Bring sugar and salt to simmer with enough of the water to allow them to dissolve. Remove from heat; stir in honey, molasses, and remaining water. Cool. Rub untrimmed belly with ground black pepper. Submerge in COOLED brine. Brine for 3 days.

Smoke 4-6 hours over hickory/apple/cherry.

Pork in Apple Cider

from The Gourmet Cookbook (p. 476) which calls for picnic shoulder. It's a slow braise, which means very little prep time and a long cook time.

1 - 3-4 pound bone in fresh pork shoulder half (preferable arm picnic).

2 cloves garlic, cut into slivers

2 tbs olive oil

1-1/2 pounds onions (5-6 medium), halfed lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices

3/4 cup unfiltered cider.

- Rack in middle of oven preheat to 325.

- Score fat and any skin in a crosshatch pattern. Make slits and insert garlic slivers. Pat pork dry and season with salt/pepper.

- Heat oil in 4-5 quart ovenproof pan (dutch oven, le cruset). Brown all sides, about 8 minutes total. Transfer pork to a plate.

- Add onions to pot and cook until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add about 3/4 tsp salt and cook, until golden and carmelized, 8-10 minutes more. (The carmelization is key, as adds sweetness).

- Stir in cider and return pork to pot. Cover tightly, transfer to oven, braise pork until very tender, 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

- With tongs and carving fork, transfer pork to serving dish. Boil cooking liquid until reduced to about 2 cups, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve with pork.

- Can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Reheat in 325 oven for about 1 hour before reducing cooking liquid.

NOTE: You can cook it at an even lower temperature, 275 and go much longer in the oven. The key is when the meat starts to fall apart. Slow low cooking really breaks down the fat. This is real comfort food, great with mashed potatoes or ciabatta bread to slop up the sauce.

Roasted Pork Belly, from Wendy K

Rub the belly with salt and pepper, and brown it to a very dark brown on all sides. Deep browning is the key. You can cut the belly into

two pieces, if it's more manageable that way.

While the meat is browning, thinly slice a couple of onions. Trim the root end and slice vertically through the root end so the pieces have

a hope of holding their shapes.

Once the meat is a deep brown all over, remove pieces to a plate and pour off the liquid in the pan. Pour some apple juice or apple cider

(hard cider works fine, too)into the pan, about two cups worth.

Throw the sliced onions into the pan and put the belly pieces on top. Cook it uncovered in a slow oven (about 275)for probably at least

three hours. I like to cook it down until most of the fat has rendered into the pan.

Serve the belly, onions, and juice over polenta, mashed potatoes, or buttered noodles.

A Riesling is very nice with this -- the acidity cuts the fat and plays off the apple cider glaze.

Another roasted belly technique, from Jennifer L

Roast it flat-out in a superhot oven to crisp up the (scored, herb-salted) skin. Turn it down in a bit and give it a long slow roast, to maximize texture and serve it with the EIGHT BAGS of eatwell greens and leeks and spring onions that are begging to sidle up to some tasty pork. the basic concept: http://www.blackface.co.uk/recipes_print.asp?recipeID=33

Roast Leg of Pork (Fresh Ham) with Cumin and Fresh Herb Crust

Prep: 20 minutes | Cooking time about 2.5 hours

1 TB chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried

1 TB chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 TB dried

1/2 TB chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 TB chopped fresh sage or 3/4 tsp dried

1/2 TB cumin seeds

1 tsp ground coriander

1 TB chopped garlic

2 TB kosher salt

1 TB coarsely ground fresh black pepper

1 TB olive oil

1 4- to 5-pound fresh ham (leg of pork)

1.5 TB of olive oil

1. Bring roast to room temperature (pull out of fridge at least 1 hour before cooking). Put all the ingredients for the rub in a food processor ad pulse for 30 seconds. Set aside

2. Preheat oven to 450 and put a rack in lower third.

3. Pat pork dry. Using your hand, smear about a third of the spice rub into all the internal crevices around the bone and around the fat. Recipe says to tie it for a uniform shape, but mine was so I didn't.

4. With the tip of a knife, puncture the skin with lots of tiny holes (this will help it become crispy, making a giant "crackling" crust you can either peel off and eat, or not, but don't remove it even if you don't intend to eat it, as it bastes the pork while cooking). Then make some long, shallow slashes in the rest of the meat (2 inches apart, 1/4 inch deep) and rub the remaining herb mixture all over the roast and into the slashes.

5. Put roast, skin side up, in a large roasting pan (no rack). Roast the pork for 20 minutes, then turn heat down to 325. Turn roasting pan occasionally to brown roast evenly. Cook for 60 more minutes, turn pan. After 30 minutes, start checking internal temperature every 15 minutes or until reaches 140-145.

6. Remove, tent with tinfoil (I cover with a pot), and let rest 30 minutes before carving. To serve, remove the skin from the roast, and slice; serve pieces of the skin to the non-fat-afraid with the meat.

PORK BELLY CONFIT

MAKES ABOUT 12 SERVINGS

THE DRY CURE:

2 tablespoons (20 g) freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tablespoon (6 g) ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon (2 g) ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon (1 g) ground allspice

3 bay leaves, crumbled

10 sprigs fresh thyme

2 ounces (50 g) kosher salt (4 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon (6 g) pink salt

PORK BELLY:

6 pounds (2.75 kg pork belly, skin removed and cut into 1-inch-by-3-inch (2.5-cm-by-7.5 cm) chunks

Dry white wine as needed

Rendered pork or duck fat as needed

Peanut oil or rendered pork or duck fat for deep-frying

Combine all the cure ingredients in a bowl and stir to distribute the seasonings evenly.

Toss the pork with the cure to coat evenly. Pack into a non-reactive container and cover with white wine. Cover and refrigerate 24-36 hours.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Remove the pork from the cure and pat the pieces dry with paper towels. Place the pork in an ovenproof pot or Dutch oven and cover with rendered fat. Bring to a simmer on the stovetop, then place in the oven, uncovered, and cook until the pork is fork-tender, 2-3 hours.

Remove the pork from the oven and cool to room temperature in the fat. (If you simply can't wait to eat this succulent bundle when it has finished its confit -- it's highly recommended to chill all confit, which intensifies the juicy tenderness of the meat -- you can pour off and reserve the fat, then return the pan to the stovetop over high heat until the meat is nicely browned.)

Refrigerate the pork in the pan it was cooked in or transfer to another container and add the fat; the pork should be completely submerged in fat. Refrigerate until completely chilled, or for up to 2 months.

To serve, remove the pork from the refrigerator, preferably a few hours ahead. Remove the pork from the fat, and wipe off the excess.

In a deep heavy pot, heat the oil for deep frying to 350-375 degrees. Deep-fry the pork belly until crispy and heated through, about 2 minutes if it was at room temperature. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Meatloaf (this is fantastic, from Jennifer L)

Measurements are approximate.

1 pound ground pork

1.5 pounds ground beef

1 onion, diced small and cooked slowly in a little butter until soft

1.5 small apples (i used pink ladies), peeled and grated coarsely

1 tbsp mixed fresh herbs: rosemary, thyme, sage

1 egg

3/4 cup breadcrumbs (i used acme walnut levain)

sea salt and pepper

***

combine all ingredients; press into a loaf pan, then unmold onto a sheet or roasting pan. sprinkle with sea salt and bake at 375f for an hour, or until firm (internal temperature 140 or so). let rest for 10 minutes, then slice and serve. this would also work really well as meatballs, i think.

Pan-Seared, Oven-Roasted, Thick-cut Pork Chops

If the chops aren't being cooked immediately after brining, simply wipe off the excess brine, place the them on a wire rack set on top of a rimmed sheet pan, and keep them in

the refrigerator, uncovered, to air dry for up to 3 hours.

Serves 4

3/4 cup dark brown sugar (lightly packed)

1/2 cup kosher salt (or 1/4 cup table salt)

10 medium cloves garlic , crushed

4 bay leaves , crumbled

8 whole cloves

3 tablespoons whole black peppercorns , crushed

4 bone-in rib loin pork chops (12-ounces each), 1 1/2-inches-thick

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. In gallon-sized zipper-lock plastic bag, dissolve sugar and salt in 2 cups hot water. Add

garlic, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, and 4 cups cold water; cool mixture to room

temperature. Add pork chops, then seal bag, pressing out as much air as possible;

refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 hour, turning bag once. Remove chops from brine

and dry thoroughly with paper towels.

2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place shallow roasting pan or jelly-roll pan

on oven rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. When oven reaches 450 degrees, heat oil in

12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 2

minutes. Place chops in skillet; cook until well-browned and nice crust has formed on

surface, about 2 minutes. Turn chops over with tongs; cook until well-browned and a nice

crust has formed on second side, about 2 minutes longer. Using tongs, transfer chops to

preheated pan in oven. Roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of

each chop registers 125ˆ127 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes, turning chops over once halfway

through cooking time. Transfer each chop to platter; cover loosely with foil (be sure not to

wrap foil tightly around meat), and let rest about 5 minutes. (Check internal temperature;

it should register about 145 degrees).

Cretons (with pork kidneys and liver)

I have a great recipe for a French Canadian dish called cretons which is a potted pork kind of dish. You grind up some pork, including kidneys,

and cook it with some spices and onions for a while. Then let it cool and use it like a crude sort of pate. I'll post my recipe for it when I

have a sec. In the meantime, the internets offer this from the Chow site: <http://www.chowhound.com/topics/342280.>http://www.chowhound.com/topics/342280. The recipe from my Quebec

cookbook is simpler and doesn't have bacon or veal.

1 pound pork picnic shoulder

1 1/4 pound ground veal

1/4 cup bacon fat

3 1/2 pounds ground pork

2 small pork kidneys, minced (if you cannot get these, use 1/4 pound

veal liver or 1/3 pound chicken hearts)

2 cups boiling water

1 cup chopped onion

4 large cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 T. kosher salt (table salt in a pinch)

1/2 tsp. pepper (my mother liked white pepper, but black works)