Showing posts with label pork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pork. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Low and Slow - Cherry Pork Ribs

Low and Slow - Cherry Pork Ribs
Low and Slow - Cherry Pork Ribs


One of the best things about when I was a Stay at Home Wife (albeit temporarily!!), is that I had time for slow cooking. One of the worst things about staying home whilst things are slow cooking, is that you are tortured by the smells all day! By the time Lance got home and these ribs were sticky and done, I was FAMISHED.

I found a bottle of cherry juice at the Nanna Shop and decided I needed to make cherry pork ribs. Pork and cherries are a great combination! The basic idea is from Alejandra’s Pomegranate Ribs – still my number 1 rib recipe. Make a rub, braise the ribs in fruit juice, reduce until sticky, enjoy. The rub spices and fruit juice have just changed! There’s very little hands-on time and the end result is definitely worth the wait (and torture!). So chuck some of these on if you are going to be home doing the housework and enjoy a fabulous dinner to reward your efforts!

If it's just Lance and I, I almost always just cook pork rib tips instead  of full racks because my butcher sells them so much cheaper. It just doesn't look quite as impressive. If you are making them for more than the family, maybe go for full racks.

Low and Slow - Cherry Pork Ribs
Low and Slow - Cherry Pork Ribs
Low and Slow - Cherry Pork Ribs
Low and Slow - Cherry Pork Ribs
Low and Slow - Cherry Pork Ribs

Cherry Pork Ribs

serves 4
2 tsp Chinese 5 Spice
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 ½ tsp ginger
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sumac
3 tsp salt
8 pork rib tips (or around 4 racks)
3 cups cherry juice (750mL)
½ cup whisky
1 tbsp oyster sauce

Combine all the rub ingredients, then rub generously over the ribs, place in a large oven-proof container with a lid (such as a tagine or crockpot), cover and set aside for an hour to marinade. They can overlap a little.

Preheat the oven to 125C

Remove the ribs from the tagine or oven dish and add the cherry juice, whisky and oyster sauce. Bring to a boil. Stir until the oyster sauce has dissolved, then add the ribs. Spoon the sauce over the ribs to coat before placing the lid on and sliding into the oven for 3 hours or until the ribs are tender.


When they’re done, turn the oven off, remove the ribs from the tagine and pop on a plate in the oven to keep warm. Bring the sauce to a simmer with the lid off and reduce until sticky, around 15 minutes. Place the ribs back into the sauce, serve with greens and plenty of extra sauce.

Low and Slow - Cherry Pork Ribs
Low and Slow - Cherry Pork Ribs
Low and Slow - Cherry Pork Ribs

Monday, September 8, 2014

Using Leftovers - Roast Pork, Potato and Herb Broth with Crackle and Crispy Potato Skins

Using Leftovers - Roast Pork, Potato and Herb Broth with Crackle and Crispy Potato Skins
We got into the (awesome) habit of having roasts almost every weekend for a while there. Given the abundance of bones, I started to make a point of using the bones to make my own stocks with, rather than just throw them out. I have a bunch of both lamb and pork stock in the freezer now for adding extra awesomeness to soups and risottos. For this pork roast, we didn’t end up eating the little shank piece that came with it, nor did I salt that part correctly for crackling. So, leaving a little bit of meat on the main bone after the roast, and cutting the skin off the shank piece, I popped these bones in a stock pot and added the only flavouring items I had at that stage – onion, garlic, salt, pepper and the stalks from the various herbs I was going to put in the actual dish.
In keeping with the ‘using leftovers’ theme, when I peeled the potatoes, I made sure I did it in long strips, then salted them and the liberated pork skin and chucked them in the oven until they went super crispy, the pork skin turned into crackling and both made the most delicious garnish.
Then it was just a matter of boiling the stock for 40 minutes, and steaming the potatoes over the stock for the last 10 of those minutes, or until tender. Strain the stock, shred the meat from the bones and pour the stock over fresh herbs and greens, like you would in a Pho. Top with your crispy extras and chilli. Delicious!
Using Leftovers - Roast Pork, Potato and Herb Broth with Crackle and Crispy Potato Skins
Using Leftovers - Roast Pork, Potato and Herb Broth with Crackle and Crispy Potato Skins
Using Leftovers - Roast Pork, Potato and Herb Broth with Crackle and Crispy Potato Skins
Using Leftovers - Roast Pork, Potato and Herb Broth with Crackle and Crispy Potato Skins
Using Leftovers - Roast Pork, Potato and Herb Broth with Crackle and Crispy Potato Skins
Using Leftovers - Roast Pork, Potato and Herb Broth with Crackle and Crispy Potato Skins

Roast Pork, Potato and Herb Broth with Crackle and Crispy Potato Skins

1 bunch mint, leaves removed
1 bunch basil, leaves removed – stalks reserved
1 bunch coriander, leaves removed – stalks reserved
one roast pork bone (with a little meat left on)
4 small potatoes, peeled and diced into 1cm cubes
3 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper corns
one onion, peeled, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and squashed
¼ broccoli, cut into florets and finely sliced
1 cup snow peas, finely sliced
1 red onion, sliced for garnish
In a large soup pot, add the bone, the herb stalks, salt, peppercorns, onion and garlic. Add enough water to cover – around 2L. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 40 minutes. After 30 minutes, put the diced potato into a steamer insert over the soup pot and leave to steam for 10 minutes, or until tender.
Removed the bones from the stock and carefully cut the remaining meat off the bone. Discard bone. Strain the stock into a clean pot. Discard the other flavouring ingredients. Bring the stock back to the boil.
Divide the potato, pork, broccoli, snow peas and herbs into 2 bowls. Pour over the stock and leave to sit for 5 minutes before sprinkling the potato skins, crackling and chilli on top.
Enjoy!
Using Leftovers - Roast Pork, Potato and Herb Broth with Crackle and Crispy Potato Skins
Using Leftovers - Roast Pork, Potato and Herb Broth with Crackle and Crispy Potato Skins
Using Leftovers - Roast Pork, Potato and Herb Broth with Crackle and Crispy Potato Skins
Using Leftovers - Roast Pork, Potato and Herb Broth with Crackle and Crispy Potato Skins

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Christmas in July - Roast Pork and Apple Sauce

Christmas in July - Roast Pork and Apple Sauce
Christmas in July - Roast Pork and Apple Sauce


This is my go-to way to cook a roast pork. The spices and herbs might get mixed up a little bit (you'll maybe recognise the sage and cider from my cider braised pork), but the method is always the same. It guarantees a moist meat, crispy crackling and it makes it's own sauce all in the one roasting pan! How perfect is that?

A pork like this will easily feed around 10 people with sides.

Christmas in July - Roast Pork and Apple Sauce
Christmas in July - Roast Pork and Apple Sauce
Christmas in July - Roast Pork and Apple Sauce
Christmas in July - Roast Pork and Apple Sauce


Roast Pork and Apple Sauce

approx 4kg pork leg
1 tbsp + 1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp dried sage
1 tsp smokey paprika
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 brown onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and squashed
330mL apple cider
Preheat the oven to 150C. Cut through the skin and into the fat of the pork and rub with the vinegar and 1 tsp salt deep into the cuts. Combine the remaining salt, sage and paprika. Rub all over the rest of the pork.
Mix the diced apples and onions together in the base of a large roasting pan. Add the garlic cloves. Gently place the pork roast, skin side up, on top of the apple mix. Pour the cider into the base of the pan.

Roast for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 120C, cover with foil and return to the oven for another 2 hours.

Remove from the oven and take off the foil. Turn the oven up to 200C. If the meat has collapsed in such a way as to submerge the skin, turn upright and place back in the oven, uncovered, so the skin will crispy up and turn into crackling. About 30 minutes.

Remove from oven, put the pork on a plate to rest. Meanwhile, use a fork to mash the apple and onion together into an apple sauce. Put this into a serving platter. Carve the pork, and serve!
Christmas in July - Roast Pork and Apple Sauce
Christmas in July - Roast Pork and Apple Sauce
Christmas in July - Roast Pork and Apple Sauce
Christmas in July - Roast Pork and Apple Sauce
Christmas in July - Roast Pork and Apple Sauce

Monday, June 23, 2014

Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork

Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork

There’s a quote from a butcher in the Recipes and Ramblings 2 Cookbook that states “slow cooking is a path to someone's heart”. I couldn’t agree more. And neither could Lance. If he had his way, there would always be pulled pork in the house for when he wants it. Which is always. He’s even taken to looking at the ads when he reads the newspaper and comes home with legs of pork when they’re on special for me to cook.

The most common way I do it is Puerco Pibil, but for something a bit different and a bit subtler in flavour, I thought I would braise it in cider. Pork and apples is a classic combination, but for this batch I used one of Rekorderlig’s flavoured ciders – Apricot and Peach. Partly because I thought it’d go really well with the pork. Partly because I had a bottle left in the fridge. Sage and mustard seeds round out the flavours.

Because it’s a subtler flavour, it lends itself to being eaten in so many different ways. Either simply, or dressed right up with extra flavours.

The first night we ate this with steam buns which I made using the Momofuku recipe (but feel free to buy frozen ones from your local Asian grocer). Then we ate it with waffles and eggs for breakfast. Then in Kaiser buns with hickory BBQ sauce and coleslaw. Then we ate the remainder in tacos with mandarin segments fresh from our tree.



Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork

Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork

Cider Braised Pork

1 tbsp sage
3 tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp mustard seeds
500mL cider (such as Rekorderlig Apricot and Peach)
2 dried bay leaves
1 pork leg roast

Carefully cut the skin and fat layer off the bottom of the pork leg with a very sharp knife. Discard. (Or if making your own steam buns, put the skin in a frypan on medium high heat to render the fat out).

Mix the sage, salt, pepper and mustard seeds together, and rub generously all over the pork leg. You may not need it all. Leave for an hour or so. Place in the base of your slow cooker, pour 400mL of the cider over the leg and add the bay leaves. Cover and cook on high for around 4-5 hours, or until the pork is falling off the bone. Remove the bay leaves

Peel the skin off the top of the roast, and remove the bones. Using two forks, shred the pork. I usually do this in the base of the slow cooker in the cooking juices still but if you want you can pull it out, shred it and put it back in the juices. Mix through the liquid and cook for a further 20 minutes or so to soak up these juices and make the pork super moist.

When ready to serve, pour the remaining 100mL of cider into a small saucepan and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes until reduced and syrupy.

Serve pork with the reduced cider drizzled over the top, either in steamed buns, or normal bread buns with you choice of accompaniments, such as coleslaw or pickled beetroot and onions

Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Clinging on to the Heat - Chili and Barley Stuffed Pork Rolls with Mango Sauce



A few years back now I received the Readers’ Digest Kitchen Garden Cookbook as a Christmas present. It’s quite a fun little cookbook, divided into sections by food plants that grow easily in backyard gardens in Australia. It gives you a rundown of when to plant, what climate it works best on and then a handful of recipes that use that plant. One of my favourite recipes from that book is chilli stuffed pork fillets with raita. This is an adaptation of that recipe, using a mango sauce to provide a sweet contrast to the heat of the chillis, rather than the cooling raita. I also added barley to the stuffing to make it a more filling meal, rather than make a separate side dish.
 
I used two jalapenos and didn’t remove the seeds, as mine weren’t particularly hot peppers. My bush (tree? Shrub?) provides really inconsistent heat in each peppers, so I have to taste them individually before adding to a recipe! Feel free to take the seeds out depending on your own heat tolerance.

I used my own mangoes, but feel free to use frozen mango cheeks, given we're not in the right season anymore.
 


Chili and Barley Stuffed Pork
200g pork fillet
¼ cup cooked pearl barley
2 jalapenos, finely diced
1 cup finely chopped coriander, basil and mint.
Salt and pepper to season.
1 tbsp olive oil.

Mango Sauce
2 mangoes, diced.
2 tbsp dark rum
1 tbsp butter
½ tsp salt
 
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the mangoes, rum and salt. Mix well, turn the heat up to bring to the boil, then lower and leave to simmer while you make the rest of the meal. Stirring here and there to make sure it’s not sticking to the bottom.
Slice your pork fillet into two, lengthwise, to make two thinner fillets. Cut each of those into 3 pieces, giving 4 rectangles. Season on both sides.
 
In a small bowl, mix the barley, jalapenos, and herbs. Place a tablespoon or so on each piece of pork and roll up tightly. Pin together with a toothpick.
Heat the olive oil in a frypan to medium-high heat. Carefully place  the pork rolls into the frypan and cook for a few minutes on each side, until nicely browned. You’ll need to rotate around 4 times to brown the entire roll.
 
Serve with the mango sauce and a side salad