Tag: pork

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.

Pork & Chiles

We have an ongoing love affair with pork, and with chiles.  Hot chiles, sweet chiles.  With little left in the freezer, although it is a bit warm outside, today just seemed to be a perfect day to make an oven-braised pork stew.  This really is a mish-mash, and despite its color, it has dried red chiles in it, and hot fresh green serranos and jalapenos.  Braised in an oven-proof kettle at 275-300 F, this is a dish which needs a bit of attention, can be as dry or wet as you want, and makes a delicious meal for summer or winter, depending on your mood.

Pork & Chile Stew

Pork & Chiles Stew
2 lbs. pork loin, cubed
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
3 serranos and 3 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
5-8 dried red chiles, sweet variety, such as ancho
8-10 cloves of garlic, chopped and smashed
1 T. ground cumin
2 T. coriander seeds, ground
2 T. fresh oregano
1 c. chopped parsley (I would use tomatillos, but don’t have any right now, and don’t feel like going to the market)
2-4 c. dark beer
2-4 c. chicken broth

Preheat oven to 275 – 300 F. Use a lower temperature for a longer, slower cook. Allow yourself about 6-8 hours of cooking and prep time before serving.

In an oven-proof kettle with an oven-proof lid, heat some cooking oil, brown cubed meat. Add onions, stir until soft. Add all herbs and seasonings as you chop – just add them and continue to stir and add until all is cut up and sauteed together in the kettle.

Seed the jalapenos and serranos under running water, being sure to wear nitrile gloves. Chop fine, then thoroughly clean up cutting block, discard pepper seeds and bits. Then take off the gloves, discard them, and wash your hands. Add to the stew.

Pour in beer and some chicken broth, to cover the meat. Bring to simmer.

Place in 300 F oven on middle rack, cover with lid. Plan to let it bake / braise at least 4-5 hours, or longer if you use 275 F. Add extra liquid if stew appears dry – you need to check it!

After about 2-3 hours of cooking, take the dried sweet red chiles out of their package. (I like Mojave brand, or just the ones in bins at local markets.) Break them up, remove stems, and sautee in some oil over low heat. Make sure they become rather soft. Then pour a couple of cups of boiling water over them in the pan (watch out for splatters!) and let soak for about 20-30 minutes. When this is done, transfer chiles and some soaking liquid to a blender, and puree the mess until all the peppers are broken up. Add this liquid to the stew, stir it in.

Continue to cook the stew for a few more hours, checking liquid levels. About an hour before you think you want to eat the stew, you can add some drained, rinsed canned hominy, or, like I did, some baby potatoes.

Serve with tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream. Garnish with cilantro or something pretty, like more parsley or whatever you want.

P.S. The picture is not any indicator about the tastiness of this dish! I took it last night under fluorescent lighting and forgot to adjust it – and at 1600 iso. Not the best shot. However, the pan really is green – its a “lemon grass” Le Creuset Dutch oven – love it!