Tag: pork
Smoked Pork Leg Torta
Smoked Pork Leg Torta
Tortas are one of my favorite sandwiches. The one I’m very partial to is the cubana torta at Los Ocampos in Saint Paul. It has breaded steak, chorizo with egg, ham, salchicha(thinly sliced hotdogs), and shredded chicken. Plus lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado, onion, jalapeños, refried beans, and mayo. The sandwich is easily 2lbs. I can put it down like nothing.I wanted to make a somewhat simpler version at home. The tortas I made used slices of smoked pork leg that I had done up earlier in the day. I smeared some refried beans with chorizo on the bottom half of a bolio roll; mayo on the top. The sliced pork goes the beans, then topped with lettuce, tomato, pickled jalapeños and carrots. You can additionally add cheese and avocado; but I think I have enough on mine.
Ingredients
- teleras or bolio rolls
- smoked pork leg thinly sliced
- refried beans with chorizo
- lettuce shredded
- tomatoes sliced
- mayonnaise
- pickled jalapeños and carrots
Instructions
- Slice the bread rolls in half. Tear out the insides of the bread.
- Spread the beans on the bottom half and the mayonnaise on the top half.
- Place the pork on top of the beans; followed by the tomato, lettuce, and pickled jalapeños and carrots.
Refried Beans with Chorizo
The musical fruit returns; now with chorizo added to these porky refried beans. These beans are a great accompaniment to any meal and makes a great dip. Use these beans as the base on your bread when making tortas.
Equipment
- bean masher
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp lard
- 1/2 medium white onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves sliced
- 1/4 lb bulk chorizo
- 3 cups cooked pinto beans + bean broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt the lard in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
- Add in the chorizo. Break up finely and cook for 5 minutes until browned.
- Add in the beans with it’s broth. Mashed the beans to your desired consistency. Cook for 10 minutes on medium low until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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.
Lao Sausages
Lao Sausages
I’ve only ever had frozen store bought Lao sausages. They’re pretty good. Making them homemade from scratch is light years better and really easy to do if you have a sausage stuffer. Traditionally, the sausage has lemongrass, lime leaves, shallots, chili flakes, oyster sauce, and finely chopped pieces of pig snout. I was planning to add them in, but my Asian market was out of stock if pork nose, so I omitted it. Once the bulk sausage is piped through the casings and twisted, you can grill, broil, or pan fry the links. I broiled the sausages for 8 minutes a side. They turned out just about perfect. The sausages are typically served with sticky rice and papaya salad, but I served them with some stir fried green beans.
Equipment
- food processor
- sausage stuffer
Ingredients
- 5 lbs ground pork 65% lean
- 1 cup lemongrass chopped finely in a food processor
- 1 cup lime leaves chopped finely in a food processor
- 1 cup shallots finely chopped
- 1/2 cup oyster sauce
- 1/3 cup chili flakes
- 1/4 cup salt
- sausage casings
Instructions
- Mix together all of the ingredients. Place in the refrigerator for an hour before stuffing.
- Squirt the sausage into the casings. Twist to 6”; about 1/4-1/3lb each link.
- Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place the sausages on a rack on a baking sheet lined in foil.
- Broil the sausages for 8 minutes a side. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Ground Pork Curry
Ground Pork Curry
Many Asian cultures have their version of a ground meat curry. This recipe is a Japanese version using Golden curry cubes; the same used in Japanese curry. But this type of ground meat curry is closer to an Italian ragout in appearance; just with Japanese flavors. You can use any type of ground protein; beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, or even impossible meat substitute. I’m always partial to ground pork. You can serve the curry over steamed rice or noodles. Both are equally good. To make this curry even better, top with a poached egg.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb ground pork or any ground protein of your liking
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tbsp ginger minced
- 1 medium carrot finely chopped
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 4 oz Golden curry cubes
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- cayenne pepper to taste
- poached eggs 1 per serving
Garnish
- parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Brown the ground pork for 6-7 minutes.
- Add in the carrots, onions, ginger, and garlic. Cook for 4 more minutes.
- Pour in the chicken stock, water, curry cubes, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.
