Tag: pork
Smoked Country Style Ribs
Smoked Country Style Ribs
So, let’s get this out of the way before we even talk about the recipe. Country style ribs aren’t ribs. Even more so, there’s no such thing as a boneless rib. Rib means bone. Then what is a country style rib? There are 2 types: loin ribs and shoulder ribs. Country style loin ribs come from the rib end of a bone in pork loin. When I was the Mad Butcher, I would cut 2” thick chops. Then, on the bandsaw, I’d cut through the bone across the center of the loin, leaving two rectangular chunks of pork with bone on it. Shoulder country style ribs come from the pork shoulder. You pretty much cut big rectangular pieces out of the shoulder. Why these 2 cuts are called ribs, I can’t answer that. Regardless, country style ribs are delicious smoked.I brined the ribs for a day. Then the ribs sat on a rack in the refrigerator for another day to form a pellicle. I threw them in my smoker at 250 degrees. They smoked for just over 2 hours. Remember, since these aren’t really ribs, but reshaped rib end pork chops, they don’t need to smoke the same way as you would with spare and baby back ribs. As with anything you smoke, let the ribs rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 5 lbs bone in country style ribs
- 1/2 gallon water
- 1/2 cup sea salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 medium white onion chopped
- 3 green onions chopped
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
Wood Chips
- 1/2 hickory
- 1/2 applewood
Instructions
- Mix together the brining ingredients. Place the country style ribs in a gallon sized storage bag. Pour in the brine. Brine for 24 hours.
- Place the ribs on a rack and let dry out in the refrigerator for a day.
- Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees. Place the ribs in the smoker. Smoke for about 2 hours until the ribs internal temperature reads 150 degrees.
- Let the ribs rest for 15 minutes before serving.
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.
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.
