Tag: main course
Smoked Pork Chili
Smoked Pork Chili
There’s always been the debate on whether chili should have beans or no beans. I think that both are good and have their place. The real question is why are people putting flavorless ground beef in chili and not using cubed pork shoulder or chuck roast? It’s like night and day for the same price or cheaper, folks. Wake the fuck up. Like everything I do in life, I took my chili one step further. My pork was dry rubbed and smoked with mesquite wood. I also smoked the tomatoes, jalapeños, garlic, and onion. I also smoked. Then everything went into the crock pot and simmered for 5 hours. The last hour, I tossed in some beans. This chili can compete with any other chili out there; and will crush all in its path. It is worth every minute of the 36 hours it takes to prepare.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- crock pot
Ingredients
Smoked Pork Steaks
- 4 lbs pork steaks 1 1/2” thick
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tsp white pepper
The Rest of the Chili
- 6 roma tomatoes
- 1 large white onion sliced in half horizontally
- 2 heads garlic
- 4 large jalapeños
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 ribs celery chopped
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 4 cups pork stock
- 2 tsp hot chili powder
- 3 cans beans pinto, black, and dark kidney
- salt to taste
Garnish
- green onions chopped
Wood Chips
- mesquite wood chips
Instructions
- Rib the pork steaks on all sides with the dry spices. Let rest on a rack in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Lest rest at room temperature for 2 hours before smoking.
- Place the tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, and garlic on a smoking rack.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Smoke the pork steaks for 6 hours. Smoke the vegetables for the last 2 hours.
- Place the cubed pork steak, chopped smoked vegetables, whole peeled garlic cloves, celery, tomato paste, and chili powder in a crock pot. Mix all of the ingredients, making sure that they’re coated in the tomato paste.
- Pour in the pork stock. Place on the cover. Cook on high for 5 hours.
- Stir in the beans. Simmer for 1 more hour.
- Season with salt to taste.
Kwe Tiau Radna (Thai Stir Fried Gravy Noodles)
Kwe Tiau Radna (Thai Stir Fried Gravy Noodles)
Radna is a Thai-style gravy noodle dish that’s not as well known as pad thai or pad see ewe, but is equally just as good. Rice noodles are stir fried then topped with a meat gravy with gai lan. You can use beef, pork, or chicken as your protein. Make sure to use the right stock according the meat you use. My favorite part of this fish is the chili vinegar sauce that adds a sweet/sour/spiciness to the dish.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried flat rice noodles
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs thinly sliced
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 lb gai lan
- 1 tbsp fermented soybean paste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp water
- black and white pepper to taste
Chili Vinegar Sauce
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 bird’s eye chili thinly sliced
Instructions
- Mix together the rice vinegar, sugar, and birds eye chilies. Set aside.
- Soak the rice noodles in hot water for 30 minutes.
- Heat up 2 tbsp of cooking oil in a large sauté pan or wok over high heat. Sauté the rice noodles for 3-4 minutes in 2 batches. Set them aside.
- Add in the rest of the cooking oil. Sauté the garlic for a minute.
- Toss in the chicken. Season with the sugar. Sauté for 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Add in the gai lan. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
- Add in the soybean paste, soy sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer.
- Make a slurry with the cornstarch and water. Stir that into the sauce and allow to thicken.
Pan Fried King Fish Steaks
Pan Fried King Fish Steaks
Being adjacent to the Red Sea, Somali’s eat a lot of fish. King fish, which is a type of mackerel, is a commonly consumed fish that is very easy to prepare. I purchase my king fish steaks at my local Asian market in the frozen section, costing only $5/lb. The king fish steaks are simply seasoned with smoked paprika, black pepper, salt, and freshly squeezed lemon juice. They will only require 5 minutes of cooking time per side. Serve the fish with a salad and turmeric rice.
Ingredients
- 2 king fish steaks 1” thick
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- salt to taste
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Squeeze the lemon juice over the king fish steaks. Season with smoked paprika, black pepper, and salt.
- Heat up the cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the king fish steaks.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes a side.
