Tag Archives: pork butt

PORK VINDALOO

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If you are not wild about spicy food, I must warn you that this recipe might not please you. However, you will have no issues enjoying the simple side dish I served with it, a fresh corn salad that beautifully tamed the fires of the Vindaloo. This version is considerably simplified from the traditional, but does not cut corners in the flavor department.

PORK VINDALOO
(adapted from several sources)

2 pounds boneless pork butt, cut in 1.5 inch pieces
2 onions, diced (or substitute 2 large stalks of celery + 2 carrots, minced)
4 garlic cloves, minced (omit or use garlic powder if you have digestive issues)
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large pan. Add pork pieces, onions (or celery and carrots), garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring every couple of minutes, until the meat gets golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the spices and garlic powder (if using), cook for a minute until fragrant, add the flour, cook while stirring for another minute, then add the chicken stock, canned tomatoes, mustard seeds, and sugar. Bring to a simmer. To finish the dish, you have several options:

Crockpot: add vinegar, transfer to a crockpot and cook on low for 5 to 7 hours.

Regular oven: add vinegar, place in a 325F oven for 3 hours, covered.

Pressure cooker: add vinegar, bring to full-pressure and cook for 35 minutes. Release pressure manually and simmer down to reduce the sauce, if necessary.

Right before serving, add minced fresh cilantro leaves.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Pork Vindaloo has its origins in Portuguese cooking, a fiery concoction known in Portugal as “vinha d’alhos.” Garlic and onion are important components, but due to food sensitivities I make our vindaloo with no onions and just used some garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon to be precise). The heat of the dish mellowed down next day, but we did not find it excessive even right after cooking. The use of smoked paprika is not authentic, but I like the different flavor it adds to the sauce.

Of all methods of cooking, I favor the pressure cooker because I like the resulting texture and how quickly it all comes together, but the two other methods I listed will work perfectly well.

The side dish: pretty much a non-recipe… Shave kernels from 3 corn cobs, add grape tomatoes cut in half, black kalamata olives, pitted, and English cucumbers, sliced. Mix 1 tablespoon of white vinegar with a little salt and pepper, drizzle 1/4 cup olive oil, whisking constantly to emulsify. Add the dressing to the veggies, place in the fridge for a couple of hours, then enjoy with your fiery Vindaloo, or with any other main dish of your choice. It is refreshing and satisfying.

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PULLED PORK, SLOW-COOKER VERSION

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You know you’ve been blogging for too long when you’ve got not one, not two, but three recipes for pulled pork… This one inaugurates our latest acquisition, a crock pot… I know, as if I needed another cooking gadget. But, I used to have one and when we moved four years ago I gave it away. Ever since that day, for reasons that I cannot quite comprehend, the most enticing recipes using slow-cookers kept reaching me. I finally could not take it anymore, this baby was on sale at our grocery store and that was the end of my resolve.  This version of pulled pork was recommended by our post doc, who makes it regularly. She is one impressive, hard-working scientist, awesome runner (two marathons and countless half-marathons under her belt), and great cook. Yeah, she’s got it all…  I confess that her praise of the crock pot was the final push for me to get it. This is one of her and her husband’s favorite recipes, and I can see why: the meat turned out melt in your mouth delicious, moist, with the right amount of spice and soooo easy to put together! As a bonus, clean up is a breeze: the surface basically cleans itself with no need for elbow grease. I am sold. Stay tuned for more adventures in the slow-cooking world…

Crockpot Pulled Pork2

 

PULLED PORK IN A CROCK POT
(from B.N.)

3 tablespoons paprika
1 to 2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ cup honey (I used 1/4 cup)
¼ cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
3 ½ pounds pork shoulder, cut in half

In a medium size mixing bowl, mix together the first six ingredients (all of the spices) with a fork. Pour in the honey, vinegar, and olive oil and stir to form a paste. Place the onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top it with the 2 pieces of pork and then pour the honey paste over all sides of the pork pieces. It’s okay if some of it (or a lot of it) just drips down to the bottom.

Turn the slow cooker on to low and cook for 7 to 8 hours or until the meat is tender enough to be easily shredded with a fork. Serve warm with fixings like homemade cole slaw and cornbread, if so desired.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

pulledporkcomposite

There is really something to be said for adding ingredients to a crock pot and coming back hours later to a delicious and effortless dinner. Some cuts of meat will work better than others, though. I think the key to mastering the slow cooker is not pushing its limits. If you add boneless chicken breasts to it and cook them on high for five hours, you’ll have dry, tasteless meat on your plate.  Pork butt (or shoulder) is a nice match for the slow cooker because it has so much fat all through the meat, it will never get dry.   I’ve been trying to perfect my favorite recipe for chicken thighs using the crock pot, but haven’t found the holy grail yet. I am getting close, though.  You just wait!

served

As to this pulled pork, it was perfect!  I like to enjoy mine in a pretty low-carb way, with guacamole and queso fresco crumbled on top, maybe a leaf of lettuce to wrap it up. Messy but tasty.  Phil prefers to have his with some rice or corn tortillas. Do as you please.  Of course the recipe makes a lot of pulled pork, so it is a great option for dinner parties, but I like to get a couple of dinners out of it, then freeze what’s left.

One more thing: there will be a lot of liquid inside the crock pot at the end of cooking.  I strain it, de-grease it, and  pour most of it over the shredded meat. You can save some of the sauce and freeze for later.

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CROWD PLEASING PULLED PORK

Posted in Pork, Weekend Dinners by

Suppose you´re facing the task of feeding a lot of people, but you´re short on time and low on cash. With this recipe you´ll have no worries, and everyone´ll love the moist, melt-in-your-mouth meat, with bits of tangy, crispy skin to please the palate!

PULLED PORK
(adapted from Gretchen´s and Mean Chef’s recipes)

1 whole pork butt, bone-in

for the dry rub
1/8 cup black pepper
1/4 cup paprika (I used smoked paprika)
1/4 cup turbinado sugar (or brown sugar)
2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mix all the ingredients (except the meat)  in a bowl to prepare the dry rub (it´s a good idea to wear gloves).

Rub the pork all over with half of the dry rub, then place it in a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight. In the morning remove the pork from the bag and cover it with the rest of the spice mixture. If possible, let it sit at room temperature for a couple of hours, if not just place it in a 275F oven, uncovered on a rack in a roasting pan.

Roast until tender, almost falling apart. Depending on the size, it will take 7 – 9 hours. Longer will not hurt it; the desired internal temperature is 200F.

Pull the pork into pieces with forks, allowing some bits to fall on the floor to the delight of your dogs.

Serve the meat over sandwich buns with the sauce of your choice, or follow my “Brazilian variation”:  transfer the pulled meat to a clean baking dish.  Add 1 cup of water to the roasting pan and place it over the stove-top burner on medium heat to dissolve the bits of pork goodness that stuck to it during the long, slow roasting.  Strain it over a pyrex cup and allow the fat to rise to the top, then discard it.  Use the liquid to moisten the pulled meat, squeeze fresh lemon juice all over, cover with aluminum foil and place in a 350F oven for 20 minutes before serving over rice and beans.  (You can leave it in the oven for longer, it only gets better).

ENJOY!

This recipe fits quite well in the ¨Perfect Sunday Dinner¨ category…

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