Tag: crockpot

Birthday Pie & Pork

Josh’s birthday was Monday.  He took it off.  I am off today, the 4th, and he is working.  So, while he works, I am making his mother’s peach pie – only with nectarines – and a first time try at pulled pork in the crock pot.  Let’s begin!

Pulled Pork a la Moi

I’ve looked at numerous web sites for crock pot recipes for pulled pork.  Most call for premade items, such a smoke flavoring and barbecue sauce, and lots of it.  I decided, instead, to put together a fairly dry recipe, and create a rub.

3 lbs boneless butt roast
2 small brown onions

Wash and pat dry roast. Slice into it in thin layers. Set aside. Slice onions fine, and place on bottom of crock pot.

2 tsp. powdered mustard
2 T. brown sugar
1 tsp. chipotle powder
Salt to taste
1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper

Mix together mustard, sugar, chipotle, salt and pepper. Pat into sliced areas of roast and then pat remainder onto outside of roast. (If you want to make more, or use a larger roast, make more of this.)

1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1 t. powdered chili flakes
1 T. brown sugar
2 t. dried mustard
1 t. garlic powder

In bowl, mix together all of the above ingredients, and then pour into crock pot.

Set crockpot on high for 8 hours, or lower heat to low after 3-4 hours. Continue to cook another 6-10 hours. Baste as necessary with liquids in the pot. Rotate roast, too, to settle on onions and in sauce.

When done, remove pork and onions from crockpot. Chop or shred meat and onions. Serve plain, on rolls, with slaw and with vinegar sauce below.

Vinegar Sauce

2 c. cider vinegar
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. ketchup
1 T. Huy Fong Rooster Sauce (Sriracha)
Chiles, pepper, salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan, bring to simmer. Simmer 3-5 minutes. Remove from flame; set aside in dish with lid and refrigerator. Shake off and on. Serve cool over pulled pork.

* * * * *

Now that we have the main meal out of the way, time to move onto the pie. This is the pie that Josh’s mother and grandmother have both made, and he considers it to be the epitome of peach / nectarine pies. My own pies tend to be more spicy, and any crumb crust I do has nuts in it as well. But, it is his birthday, so he has final say!

Birthday Nectarine Pie

Preheat oven to 400 F. Make sure temperature is accurate.

Crust

2 c. flour
pinch salt
2/3 c. sweet butter, chopped fine and chilled

Blend all above together with pastry cutter or in food processor to make coarse crumbs. Set aside 1/2 of mixture for crumb topping – about 1 1/3 c. – in another bowl. Into remaining mix, stir in 4-7 T. ice water, using smaller amount first and then more as needed. Roll out to fit 9-inch pie plate, form edge, trim, and put trimmings in with crumbs set aside. Chill pie crust wile preparing filling and crumb crust.

Fruit

4 c. sliced peaches or nectarines. (Remove skin if using peaches.)
1/2 c. white sugar
2 T. tapioca

Mix all together in stainless bowl. Let juice up as you make the crumb crust.

Crumb Crust

To crumbs and trimmings add:

2 T. chopped cold butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg

Work all ingredients together to make crumbs. Do not overwork or you begin to make dough!

Assembling Pie

Pour fruit into prepared crust. Sprinkle crumbs on top of fruit, distributing evenly.

Bake pie in oven for 40 minutes at 400 F. Check pie every 20 minutes; rotate if necessary, and cover edges of crust with foil to keep from burning. When bubbling and crumbs are brown, remove from oven. Cool at least 2 hours before serving.

I bake my pies on a foil-covered cookie sheet. If anything spills, or bubbles over, it is easy enough to clean up.

Crockpot

Whenever I think of crockpots for cooking, I always imagine there will be a big, soupy mess of overcooked food and soggy vegetables.  Not appealing.

My first crockpot was all one piece, which meant cleaning it was a chore – avoiding total submersion in water to clean off all the scum and debris that dripped out from under the glass lid.  It was also a hideous color and had a cheap feel to it.  The cord was a “safety cord,” so short you had to unplug it to check the mess blurping away inside.

Since then, while the concept has remained the same, construction has improved considerably.  The cooking pot can come out of the heating element.  Well, duh!  It oughta, like this one above, which is very similar to mine.

I always wondered who designed the original crockpot – someone who was cheap?   Someone who had servants who did their bidding?  Someone whose mom or wife did all the cleanup, as a good woman should?  These things were ridiculously poor in design, but clever in concept.  The fact that the pot could not be removed was my big issue.

Since the days of yore, crockpot cookery, also known as slow cooking, has come a long way.  Recipes are not just icky stews, but include all sorts kinds, from soups, to main courses, and desserts.

The other day I found a recipe for Cuban pulled pork, traditionally slow-cooked on the stovetop with citrus.  Someone mentioned they had cooked it all day long on low, in their crockpot, so I decided to do it.  The result was fantastic because all I did was cook the pork, not make an soupy mess to serve for dinner.

Crockpot Pulled Pork (or, What I Did)

Step 1

  • 3-4 lbs. pork tenderloin
  • 1 orange, quartered
  • 1 qt. chicken broth, low sodium
  • 2 large onions, quartered
  • lots of garlic cloves, peeled and left whole (I used about 6)
  • cumin
  • 2 T. peppercorns

Note: Before doing anything, you may want to brown the tenderloin in a pan.  I didn’t, because the crockpot method I looked at did not say to do so; I think it might add to the final flavor.

Pierce tenderloin and place whole garlic cloves inside. Place all ingredients into crockpot. Pour in chicken broth.

Place crockpot on low, cook 6-10 hours.

Step 2

  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • cumin
  • pepper
  • salt
  • chili pepper or other hot pepper powder, flakes

Take pork out of crockpot; pull off any peppercorns. Place into bowl, and using 2 forks, shred meat.

In frying pan, add 1-2 T. olive oil; sautee onion until soft and translucent, or caramelized if you prefer. Set aside in a bowl.

Add more oil to pan.  Add shredded pork; stir fry the meat until it is a bit dry and maybe beginning to brown a bit on the tips of the meat.  Season with suggested spices, or whatever you prefer.  Return sauteed onion to pan, heat a bit more.

Serve with black beans, rice or fried plantains.  We also had some shredded jack-white cheddar, salsa, sour cream, fresh cilantro, and a green salad.  Additionally, we used fresh limes to squeeze over the meat.  It is also good for burritos, tacos, or gussying up with barbecue sauce – but I expect how I would cook it would be a bit differently if barbecued pork was my final goal.