Cochinita Pibil--Mexican Pulled Pork

A while ago I watched a video on this dish, and while I've never tried it before, and never cooked pulled pork, I really wanted to try this. Partially for those two reasons--I really enjoy trying something new and different, and this has two new things for me to try. Plus it is basically served as tacos at the end--which I know I like, so not a big risk. I hadn't gotten to it for a while, because of the fear of the meat--what cut should I use? Will it be fatty? Am I going to gain a gazillion pounds from this dish? Anyways, I found a package of pork picnic roasts on sale at the store on Friday and that is the cut for this dish--and 4$ for 3.5 lbs, it was a deal I couldn't resist! So here is my attempt--we'll have to see if it makes me gain a gazillion pounds!

This is a recipe from Rick Bayless's Mexican Everyday with some variations, though I also drew on his longer recipe on-line.

Ingredients:
1/2 package achiote seasoning
juice of one lime, half of one orange, half of one lemon
lime zest
salt
3 lbs pork picnic roast
1 1/2 yellow onion, chopped roughly
4-5 garlic cloves
cumin, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper

This is actually pretty simple--if each step takes a while to work before moving to the next, it is much less work overall then I would have thought. First mix up the marinate--which is mostly just the achiote paste. I bought the paste a while ago, when I first started thinking about this dish, and it is an interesting flavor profile--it already has some spices in--I added more to get the flavor I wanted. It went into my mini blender with a couple of cloves of garlic, the lime zest, the lime, lemon, and orange juice, salt and pepper, some cinnamon, cloves, and cumin. This is blended smooth and poured over the roast.

It will stain your hands, so I put the roast (trimmed of obvious fat concentrations) in a gallon zip lock bag and then just poured the marinade in the bag over the roast, being careful not to get it on me. Then I can zip the top and really rub the marinate in. That goes in the fridge overnight or for up to 24 hours to really get the flavors in. My roast was actually two roasts in one package, so even more flavor can get into the meat.

When you are ready to cook the roast, toss half an onion roughly chopped in the bottom of your crock pot, then dump the roast on top and the marinade.The rest of the onion is sprinkled on top of the roast, and then I added half a cup of water to the bag to get the rest of the marinade out and poured that over the onions. I added a few pealed cloves of garlic to the sauce as well.

That cooks on high for about 6 hours, though I turned it over at about 4 hours and it was well on its way. I turned it down to low at that point for another three hours. Once it is done, I took the roasts out and put them on a plate with all the onions. Then I strained some fat off the top of the liquid, and reduced the rest to make a slightly thicker sauce. The meat is basically crumbling at this point, so I used my fingers to shred it and then poured the sauce over the pork.

The Verdict: This is a new flavor for me--sour and citrusy, a little sweet from the orange, but not spicy at all. It does go well with spicy, but isn't of itself very spicy. A little goes a long way in a taco shell, especially if you serve it with roasted veggies, as I did. Which will hopefully keep me from ballooning as I eat it all week!

Stir Fried Pork and Broccoli

When I first got all my cookbooks, I dog eared the pages of all the recipes I thought I'd like to try (I am not ashamed of my dog ear habit, and most of these books were pre-dog eared by library patrons!). I marked this recipe in the Everyday Food Light cookbook, but didn't make it because I wasn't sure what pork to use. Plus, I've made a lot of recipes from this book, and thought I should diversify.

Today, however, I realized I had bought more broccoli before I'd even used what I already had--so I decided it was time to give this dish a try. The dish calls for pork tenderloin quartered lengthwise and sliced, but that is an expensive cut of meat where I live and is usually sold in bigger amounts than the 1 pound called for. So I decided to use some pork loin chops. They were already sliced thin, so I figured it would work.

 Ingredients: 

Zest and juice of one orange, about 1/4 cup
1/4 c light soy sauce
1/4 c rice wine vinegar (unseasoned)
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp ginger
red pepper and ground pepper to taste
Around a pound of pork loin chops, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves
6 scallions
1 1/2 to 2 lbs broccoli
1/2 pound mushrooms
Water

Since I cook on my days off, I tweaked the original recipe and turned the sauce into a marinade for the pork, letting it soak for several hours. I'm not sure that it made a big difference in this case, but I do like marinating things. So to make the sauce/marinade, I mix the zest and juice of one orange, the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, oyster sauce, ginger, red pepper, and a good helping of ground pepper. I also grated the garlic and added it as well. I took the thin sliced chops and cut them into smaller strips, and placed them and the sauce in a plastic zip bag. It was more marinade than I'd usually use, but I'll cook it off as sauce later on for a whole lot of broccoli.


I stuck the bag in the fridge for a couple hours and made some goodies in the mean time. Around 5:30, I got out the broccoli, mushrooms, and scallions and chopped them. The broccoli was all chopped including the stems--which were peeled and then thinly sliced. The stem is actually one of my favorite parts in a stir fry, it really absorbs the sauce and is tender and flavorful. I usually don't spring for the extra money for the broccoli crowns because the stems are so good.

The scallions are divided, with the white parts going in the stir fry and the green parts reserved to top the finished dish. I added the mushrooms, even though the recipe didn't call for it, because I love mushrooms, and had a container of them that needed to be used up.

 Once all the veggies were chopped, I sprayed the pan with cooking spray and heated it up on medium and quickly browned the pork on both sides. The pork was really thin, so it cooked all the way through almost immediately. I'm not sure why they cut it so thin--next time I'll buy thicker chops. I wonder if these might be used like the turkey cutlets for wrapped/rolled dishes. The directions called for browning on both sides, and resting while the veggies cook, and then a final cook together.

So after all the pork had been browned/cooked, I put the onion and mushrooms in the pot and let them cook off a little until the onions were soft.  Then all the broccoli is added. I poured 1/4 a cup of the marinade/sauce and a couple tablespoons of water to the pan, and covered and cooked until the broccoli was crisp/tender, stirring occasionally. A lot of the liquid cooked off during this time, steaming the broccoli.

The pre-browned pork is added to the pan, once the broccoli is cooked. I also added the cornstarch to the remaining sauce/marinade, squishing it around the bag to get it mixed in, and then pouring it and all meat juices on the pan. I let that cook until the sauce started to thicken and all the pork had cooked through. The final step is to top with the freshly chopped green scallion tops.

The Verdict: Flavorful and fresh, this is a quick and easy dish (even though I made it more complicated than it needed to be). I like a fair amount of strong flavors in my dishes, so I love the complex layers of flavor--the red pepper, ginger, orange, fish sauce, sesame oil, garlic--and the fresh scallions really give it a fresh edge. It is perfect for me because the leftovers make wonderful lunches for the next day. This made enough for 3 generous portions, but if served with rice or noodles it would easily serve 4 or 5. But I don't feel like rice is necessary to enjoy this.

My First Pork Roast

I do like pork loin, but still.

So I understand there is a rule that you aren't supposed to make something the first time for a party, but we've already established how bad I am at following directions. So for my sister's birthday dinner, I decided to make a pork roast. This was not just my first time making a roast of any kind, but one of my first times eating a pork roast. My mom doesn't love pork, so it rarely featured on our dinner table growing up.

This recipe was followed pretty closely from the Everyday Cooking Light cookbook. I've had good luck with the recipes in this book, and since I have never made something like this before I wanted to follow the directions to get it right.

Ingredients: 
2 tsp olive oil
3 lbs boneless pork loin tied at 1 inch intervals
1 tsp ground coriander 
salt and pepper
1 lbs small onions (cipollini, white onion, and a shallot is what I used)
2/3 cup white wine
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp fennel seeds
orange zest
1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
1 tsp red wine vinegar

 Unfortunately, I was trying to get this ready on a tight schedule so it would be finished for the party, so I neglected to take as many pictures as I usually do. But it is a pretty simple recipe--not too many ingredients or steps!

The roast is seasoned with ground coriander, salt and pepper, and tied with string. Youtube helped me with the tying--the trick is to do one long string and loop and twist. The roast is browned on all sides in my dutch oven which was heated to medium high--I even propped it up to get the ends. The seared roast went onto a plate while I tossed the shallots, cipolini onion, and white onion in the pan cooked them until they were brown.

After the onions had taken on the lovely brown color, picking up the bits from the bottom of the pan, I added the roast back, and sprinkled the chopped apricots, fennel and orange zest around and poured on the broth and wine. The lid went on the roast and into the oven it went. I had borrowed a meat thermometer, but it didn't seem to want to go over 100 degrees. Fortunately the roast was not underdone--maybe a little over since I kept cooking it, but my brother in law said it was right.

Now I read the directions from the book--there is a last stage I missed--the vinegar needed to be added and the sauce thickened. It was pretty hectic getting this on the table--since I was cooking it at my house and serving it at my sister's next door.


The Verdict: I am really coming around to fruit in my meat dishes, the pork was sweet and tender, and the apricots were not overpowering at all. The onions were SO good--I used the leftovers in my eggs the next morning. I usually like more assertive flavors, so I might amp up some of the rub, or do a dry rub earlier in the day, or remembering to add the vinegar would help. The good news is I bought my own meat thermometer. I served this with a butternut squash risotto, and sauteed broccoli.