Archive for the 'Meat' Category

Tacos al pastor

Published
by
marc
on May 4, 2008
in BBQ, Dinner, Mexican, Party and Pork
. 14 Comments

I think the 3 things I miss most about California are owning a car, having a grill, and the Mexican food. The later two are especially salient around Cinqo De Mayo which for me used to signal the start of the grilling season.

Like the Mexican food in NYC, Cinco De Mayo is a bit misguided here in the US. Most people think it’s the Mexican equivalent of July 4th, but it’s actually not even a federal holiday south of the border (Mexican Independence day on September 16th however is). I suspect its prominence in the US has a lot to do with the marketing engines of big tex-mex chains looking for a way to sell more burritos (ironically, this is a food item that doesn’t have the wide popularity in Mexico that it does here). Still, it is a good excuse to cook Mexican food especially something a bit more elaborate that takes about a day to make.

One of my favourite taco’s, Tacos Al Pastor (”shepherd style”) likely originated from Lebanese immigrants who made their way to Mexico and brought with them Shawarma. Like any food that emigrates from one place to another, changes are made to include locally available ingredients and to suit local palettes. In this case, the meats were flavored with various chiles and then topped with a pineapple while roasting.

The pineapple, aside from adding some sweetness and acidity, also has an enzyme called bromelain that breaks down proteins making the meat very tender. Since we don’t all have shawarma spits at home, I’ve adapted this recipe to work in an oven or on a cooler grill. The pineapple goes into the marinade which gets layered into the roast and is then left to marinade for a short amount of time.

The meat is stunningly tender with a distinct earthy-smokey flavor coming from the dried chiles and a nice balance of sweetness, tartness and salt. I like my taco’s simple (like they serve them at taquerias in Mexico) and load up a double layer of corn tortillas with meat then add a bit of minced sweet onion, cilantro and salsa verde on top.

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Banana peel steamed pork and rice

Published
by
admin
on April 25, 2008
in Dinner, Experimental and Pork
. 21 Comments

Last week, I was sitting in a product meeting at work. Our CTO was eating a banana and as he set the peel down on the table it struck me that it would make the perfect vessel to hold food. Since then I’ve been mulling over all the different ways one could cook food in a piece of the fruit that’s come to symbolize rubbish.

I began to fantasize about fork tender hunks for moist pork surrounded by rice infused with the flavors of banana and the savory pork. Over the following week I decided that a Cuban mojo would make a fine marinade (although I’d considered using a tamarind based marinade).

My biggest concern was that the astringent taste of the peel would ruin the contents. Upon doing some research I found that banana peels are used in some regions of India to make chutney. I also learned that there are some nasty pesticides used on bananas so I decided it would be best to use organic bananas. Beyond that I found nary a reference to cooking with banana peels.

My first inclination was to roast them at a low temperature, but after thinking about it for a bit, I realized that the dry heat would make it take a lot longer to make the meat tender. I was also thinking that it could potentially render the rice inedible. In the end, I decided to steam the bundles.

As with most things one fantasizes about for days on end, this didn’t quite live up to the high expectations I had, but that’s not to say it wasn’t good. As expected, it had a fairly strong banana flavor, so if you don’t like bananas, this might not be for you. The meat came out incredibly moist and tender and the rice was cooked perfectly, soaking up the flavors of the peel along with the juices from the pork.

The next time I do this, I’m going to try serving it with a salsa… maybe a mango coconut celery salsa.

      

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Wiener Schnitzel (Veal Schnitzel)

Published
by
marc
on April 18, 2008
in Dinner and Veal
. 8 Comments

Some of you may know this as a crisp light dish that’s moist and flavorful. Others may have less pleasant memories of greasy, soggy cardboard that’s only made edible by drowning it with condiments. If the later sounds familiar, then I urge you to read on and give this simple dish a try in your own kitchen.

I say simple because it took me about 30 minutes to make, and you probably already have all the ingredients you need to make it in your pantry (aside from the veal). Best of all, you get to beat the living daylights out of a piece of meat with a blunt instrument (what better way to end a stressful work day?)

I wanted to infuse an extra boost of flavor into it so I worked in some grated onion into the meat before breading. The result is a thin, tender piece of veal bursting with flavor surrounded by a perfect shell of savory breadcrumbs. A squish of lemon and some briny capers on top make this a light dish that would go equally well with a salad or some boiled potatoes.

4 veal cutlets trimmed of any excess fat
1/4 small onion grated on a Microplane
fresh ground black pepper
kosher salt
flour for dusting
1 egg beaten
plain breadcrumbs for breading (make sure they’re either unsalted or lightly salted)
oil for frying

Put a cutlet down on a solid surface then cover with a double layer of plastic wrap. Using a wide mallet (I just use one out of my tool box) or a heavy bottomed pan, pound the meat evenly until about 1/8″ thick all around. Rub some of the grated onion into both sides. Repeat with with the other pieces.

Salt and pepper the cutlets (go easy on the salt, the meat is thin and the breadcrumb may already have salt) then dust them in flour. Get 2 shallow bowls ready, one with the beaten egg and one with some breadcrumbs. Dip the meat into the egg first making sure you cover every bit of the cutlet, then put it in the breadcrumbs. Get some breadcrumbs both above and below the cutlet then use your hand to press the breadcrumbs into the meat. you should have a nice even coating of breadcrumbs with no “bald spots”. Repeat with the rest of the cutlets.

In a heavy bottomed frying pan, heat about 1/8″ of oil until hot (you can test by dropping a breadcrumb into the oil, it should sizzle and float to the top quickly). Fry 1 or 2 cutlets at a time (depending on the size of your cutlets and pan). Wait till you see the edges turn golden then gently flip it over using tongs and fry till the other side is golden. Get a plate or wire rack with 3 layers of paper towels ready and transfer the cooked cutlets to the paper towel lined plate as they finish.

Serve immediately with some capers and a wedge of lemon.

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Roast pork with walnut pesto on pasta

Published
by
admin
on April 15, 2008
in Pasta and Pork
. 10 Comments

One of my favorite things about leftovers are the things you can turn them into. While most home cooks wouldn’t slow roast a hunk of pork to make a pasta dish, if you happen to have some sitting around, there are lots of awesome possibilities that open up.

This is something I was contemplating while the pork was still roasting in the oven on Sunday. It’s a bit unusual for me in that I actually have a great dislike for walnuts (unless they are candied and in a salad), but for some reason, as the aroma of ginger, garlic and 5-spice wafted through the apartment, all I could think about was how well it would go with walnuts.

The following is a ludicrously simple recipe (assuming you have roast pork sitting around) that tastes a lot more complex than it actually is. I didn’t want chunks of walnuts, interrupting the texture of the al dente, pasta, so I pounded the walnuts into a paste with a mortar and pestle with some olive oil and Pecorino Romano cheese. The cheese adds a slightly sharp saltiness that compliments both the rich pork and walnuts nicely. I wanted to make this with orecchiette (little ear pasta), but unfortunately my groceries didn’t show up when I thought they were going to, so I had to make due with boring old linguine this time.

1/3 C walnut halves
1/4 C grated pecorino romano cheese
2 Tbs olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

1 C roast pork cut into 1/2″ cubes
8 oz cooked pasta

Using a mortar and pestle (or food processor), crush the walnuts until a fine paste. Add the cheese, olive oil and black pepper and combine.

When the pasta, is done, drain and add the cubed roast pork into the hot pot along with the pasta and pesto. Toss to thoroughly coat the pasta with the pesto then serve immediately.

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Chinese roast pork (siew yuk)

Published
by
marc
on April 14, 2008
in Asian and Pork
. 11 Comments

Whenever I go to Chinatown to pick something up, I almost always have to stop at a place to pick up some crisp skinned roast pork. This is often confused with the more well known bbq pork (char siew), which has the telltale red exterior from the sweet bbq glaze.

Both are good, but when faced with a choice, my vote goes to the simple roast pork if for no other reason than the crispy cracklin’ skin. Because it’s roasted at a low temperature for hours, the meat is basted with the rendered fat and the tougher connective tissue breaks down into soft gelatin making the meat even more moist.

I picked up a picnic roast which was surrounded by a layer of skin and fat which made it perfectly suited for this, but other cuts such as skin-on pork belly should work as well. Please don’t try this with a lean cut such as a loin as you’ll end up with pork jerky. The cooking time may seem long, but there aren’t many ingredients and once you’ve put it in the oven after breakfast, you can forget about it till dinner time.

1 skin-on pork shoulder or picnic roast

3 cloves grated garlic
equal amount grated ginger
1/4 tsp finely ground white pepper
2 tsp chinese 5 spice powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp oil

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.

Wash and dry your roast thoroughly. Score the skin about 1″ apart.

Mash all the other ingredients together to make a paste. Smear the paste all over the roast working it into the skin and meat. Put the roast in a pan that will let the fat drain through (a wire rack over a baking sheet will do in a pinch), and stick it in the over for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, the skin should just be turning brown (if it’s getting too dark, turn down the heat sooner). Reduce the heat to 250 degrees F and let it roast for about 8 hours (for a 2-3 lbs roast). You’ll know it’s ready when most of the fat has rendered out and the meat has started pulling away from the bone.

When it’s ready, take it out of the oven, transfer it to a different pan (you could do it in the same pan, but the fat that’s collected in this pan will smoke and set your smoke alarms off). Put it back into a 450 degree F oven to crisp the skin for 15-20 minutes. The skin should be puffed up, crisp and golden brown.

Take it out of the oven and let it rest of a bit. You’ll probably want to take the skin off and break it up by hand, slicing the slabs of tender pork seperately. I make a dipping sauce out of scallions, ginger, garlic, sesame oil and salt to dip the meat in and have it over rice. One other thing… the skin doesn’t stay crisp in the fridge, so enjoy it all the night you make it.

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