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Lao Yum Salad
Lao Yum Salad
Lao yum salad has a wide variety of veggies, plus sautéed garlicky pork. But the real highlight of this salad is the egg yolk dressing. Being perfectly balanced between sweet, sour, salty, and savory, this salad is quite hearty and will make even the mightiest of meat eaters content.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 bunch green leaf lettuce
- 1 bunch watercress
- 1/2 bunch cilantro chopped
- 4 green onions cut into 2” pieces
- 1 small cucumber thinly sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 1/2 red bell pepper sliced
- 1 lb pork shoulder thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Dressing
- 4 hard boiled eggs yolks and whites separated
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Place all of the dressing ingredients, minus the egg whites, in a food processor.
- Purée until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat up vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the pork shoulder and garlic for 5 minutes. Season with fish sauce. Set aside.
- Toss all of the vegetables together.
- Add in the pork, hard boiled egg whites, and dressing. Toss.
Tacos de Alambres
Tacos de Alambres
Here is a version of alambres in taco form. Instead of grilling skewers of beef, bacon, onions, and peppers, they are cut into small pieces and sautéed in a cast iron skillet for tacos. Serve in corn tortillas with your favorite salsa and fresh lime wedges.
Equipment
- cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon diced
- 12 oz top sirloin cut into 1/2” cubes
- 1/2 lime juiced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper diced
- 1/4 medium white onion diced
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- corn tortillas
Instructions
- Squeeze the lime juice over the beef. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Sauté the bacon in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat for 4 minutes.
- Add in the beef and sear for 3 minutes.
- Add in the bell peppers and onions. Sauté for 3 minutes.
- Top with cheese. Take off the heat and place a cover over the skillet.
Smoked Pork Leg
Smoked Pork Leg
Most people I feel aren’t very familiar with raw pork leg. Once cured and smoked, you may know it as ham. But the raw pork leg is a great cut that is really inexpensive and doesn’t deserve the neglect it gets. A whole pork leg is around 10-12lbs. You can usually find half legs at any grocery store if you don’t want 10lbs of pork. For smoking purposes, you will want to trim off the outer skin.The marinade is an oniony/garlicky blend with orange juice and vinegar acting as a tenderizer. Marinate the leg for 24 hours. If you are going to smoke the leg, it will need to rest in the refrigerator on a rack for 24 hours. If you are going to roast the pork leg, it will be ready to go. Smoke for about 5 hours in your smoker at 250 degrees. If roasting, bake for 2 1/2-3 hours at 350 degrees. Let your pork leg rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.
Equipment
- food processor
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 5 lb pork leg
- 10 garlic cloves
- 1/2 medium white onion
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp Mexican oregano
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 6 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
Wood Chips
- 1/2 applewood
- 1/2 pecan
Instructions
- Dry toast the onions and garlic in a sauté pan over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Place the onions and garlic in a food processor along with the other marinade ingredients.
- Pulse until all of the ingredients are blended. The marinade doesn’t need to be puréed smooth. Semi-chunky is ok.
- Remove the outer skin of the pork leg.
- Place the pork leg in a gallon sized storage bag with the marinade. Marinate for 24 hours.
- Place the marinated pork leg on a rack. Allow to dry out in your refrigerator for 24 hours. Let rest at room temperature for 2 hours before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the pork leg in the smoker.
- Smoke for 5 hours.
- Let the pork leg rest for 15 minutes before serving.
