pork – Better with Lemon

I started writing this blog more than four years ago (where did the time go?). At first, it was meant to be a way for me to share recipes with friends, something I was doing all the time anyway. With the blog I would be able to put them down in one place and just tell them “the recipe is on the blog” (which I now do, all the time). The idea was that I would only post recipes that were exceptional, five-star, why-did-nobody-tell-me-about-this-before kind of recipes. I would only post the recipes I found myself going back to again and again because they were relatively easy but the results were remarkable.

Pretty soon, however, the blog took an additional role. It became a kind of writing exercise for me and I began to write about more than the food. Sometimes it was about things that happened at that point in time in my life, but more often they were childhood memories. With every added candle on my birthday cake, these childhood memories popped up more often in my head but also started to feel slippery, ready to fade away. So the blog helped solidify them and became a kind of memoire. This also meant that there was more urgency to find and test a new recipe every week or two.

I told Steve when I started the blog that I would continue to write in it only until it started becoming a burden. When I would begin to feel that coming up with recipes and stories was a chore, I would end it.

I’m not quite there yet but I feel that the time may be coming soon when the urge to write diminishes and the pressure to write overwhelms. So, my postings will become less frequent for now. I will go back to posting only when I have a recipe that is a must-share, or if there’s a story I really want to put down. At some point I may stop altogether but probably not anytime soon.

So here’s today’s must-have recipe. Melissa Clark posted this in the New York Times, along with a video, and from the moment we made it, it was clear it would be on constant rotation in our home. We have made it multiple times and have served it to friends on more than one occasion. It’s actually very easy to make and the result is mouth watering, tender pork that you can serve in buns or over rice or any way you want. If you go ahead and try it, I promise you will not regret it.

Pulled Port with Korean BBQ Sauce – Adapted from the NY Times

Makes 8-10 servings

Note: You can\ skip making the Korean bbq sauce but instead use any of your favorite bbq sauce, or make this super-easy 2-minute bbq sauce. Also, if you don’t have a slow cooker, you can make it in a pressure cooker. Go to the original recipe page where Melissa describes the process.

Ingredients:

FOR THE PORK:

5 garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane or minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
1 tablespoon Korean chile flakes (gochugaru) (you can use other chile flakes, like Maras, Aleppo or crushed red pepper, but be careful to adjust the amount since they vary in heat)
1 tablespoon kosher salt, more to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4.5-5 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into two or three pieces

FOR THE SAUCE:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane
1-2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
⅓ cup gochujang (Korean chile paste)
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

To prepare pork, combine garlic, brown sugar, chile flakes, salt and pepper in a small bowl using a fork. Rub the mixture all over pork. Preferably, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to up to 24 hours. Otherwise, proceed with recipe.

On a hot skillet (or a removable slow cooker pot that go on the stove) over medium high heat, sear pork in batches until browned all over, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to the slow cooker pot and add 3/4 cup water, cover, and cook in slow cooker on high for 5 to 7 hours until tender.

While pork cooks, prepare sauce: In a small pot, warm vegetable oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger, and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Set sauce aside. (It can be made up to 1 week ahead and stored in the refrigerator.)

Let pork cool until you can handle it, then shred it into bite-size pieces, removing any pieces of fat. Pork can be made to this point up to 3 days ahead.

While pork cools, strain liquid from bottom of pot. Pour off fat (or chill liquid, then scoop off solidified fat with a spoon). Toss a couple of tablespoons with shredded pork to moisten it (save the rest of the liquid to make Japanese style noodles in broth).

Serve pork over rice or on slider rolls, topped with bbq sauce and with pickles and kimchi, if desired.

The Simpsons have been on TV for so long that entire books can be filled with quotes from that show. There are some that Steve and I use at least once every few months. There was the episode where their dog (Santa’s little helper) had to wear a dog collar and in one scene he runs out of a room, prompting grandpa to yell in his trembling voice: the lampshade’s running away! That one always makes us giggle.

One of my favorites is from an episode where the Simpsons go to a Costco-like store for the first time. The store is called the Monstromart and it’s a gigantic concrete block with the store’s motto at the entrance:”Where Shopping Is A Baffling Ordeal”. Marge is walking along one of the aisles when she spots a huge box of nutmeg. “Ooh, that’s a great price for twelve pounds of nutmeg,” she says appreciatively.

I thought of that quote the other day. We were going to have two friends over for dinner last weekend, so I thought I’d make this weekend porchetta recipe. It calls for pork tenderloin, the thin strip of tender meat that is along the pig’s spine, wrapped in bacon. It usually weighs around a pound. Since we would be four people, I went to FreshDirect and ordered two tenderloins.

Two days later, the delivery guy came with a box that seemed unusually heavy. It was when I opened it that I realized why. I had mistakenly ordered two pork loins, not tenderloins. Each loin weighed 7 pounds. So I now had enough meat to feed 28 people! I couldn’t even fit them in the fridge. In the end I broke the two loins down to boneless pork chops and roast pieces for 3-4 people and froze them individually. Our freezer is now chock full of pork.

So, if you do make this recipe, and you definitely should, make sure you get pork tenderloin, not loin. But do give this recipe a try. It’s easy to make, comes together in one roasting pan, and the result is incredibly flavorful and tender.

Weeknight Porchetta with Vegetables – Adapted from Bon Appétit

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves finely chopped or grated on microplane
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, coarsely chopped
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
One 1-1½-lb. pork tenderloin
4 slices bacon
1 lb root vegetables (carrots, turnips, rutabagas), peeled and cut into 1″-1.5″ cubes
1 small head of fennel, core removed, cut into quarters

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Toss chopped garlic, chopped rosemary, fennel seeds, salt, and 1 Tbsp. oil in a small bowl; season with pepper.

Rub garlic mixture all over tenderloin (if you have time to do this in the morning, great; refrigerate pork until dinner) and place in a large baking dish. Wrap bacon slices around tenderloin, tucking ends underneath so bacon stays put. Drizzle everything with 1 Tbsp. oil.

In a large bowl, combine root vegetables, fennel, and 1 Tbsp. oil. Add salt and pepper and mix well using hands. Scatter vegetables on both sides of tenderloin in baking dish.

Roast, uncovered, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of tenderloin registers 145° for medium, 35–40 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with roasted vegetables.