Tag: pork
New Orleans Carbonara
New Orleans Carbonara
Here’s a great way to use tasso ham; especially if you happened to have made too much of it. We’re going to bring some Louisiana flavor into the carbonara world. Italian carbonara is just sautéed pancetta tossed with pasta, eggs, and parmesan. For this recipe, I replaced pancetta with tasso ham. You can also add chicken, shrimp, or crawfish to the pasta to have another protein. As far as pasta, you can use really any shape that you want. I had a box of penne regatta in the cupboard, so that’s what I used. The best part of this dish is that once you’ve boiled your pasta al dente, the carbonara is ready in 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb tasso ham diced
- 1 small onion chopped
- 6 garlic cloves sliced
- 1 lb pasta cooked according to package directions
- 1/2 cup pasta water
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
- salt to taste
Garnish
- parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat up olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the tasso ham for 5 minutes to tender out the fat.
- Add in the onions and garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes.
- Stir in the pasta with the tasso ham. Pour in a 1/2 cup of pasta water. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the eggs and parmesan cheese, making sure that the pasta is evenly coated. Season with salt to taste. Garnish with parsley.
Tasso Ham
Tasso ham is a Louisiana specialty. Instead of using a pork leg, pork shoulder is cured, dry rubbed with what is pretty much andouille sausage seasoning, and smoked. The result is a spicy, fatty, ham shoulder that is used in numerous cajun recipes such as jambalaya, gumbo, etouffee, beans and rice, and many more.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 5 lbs boneless pork shoulder cut into 1” thick steaks
- 8 oz sea salt
- 4 oz sugar
- 2 tbsp pink curing salt
- 1/4 cup white pepper
- 1/4 cup cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp marjoram
- 2 tbsp allspice
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp thyme
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the salt, sugar, and curing salt.
- Dredge each of the pork steaks in the curing mixture.
- Place the pork steaks on a baking pan. Wrap in foil and let cure in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
- After 4 hours, rinse off the cure on each of the pork steaks. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Mix together the white pepper, cayenne, thyme, garlic powder, allspice, and marjoram.
- Season both sides of the pork steaks.
- Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees. Place the pork steaks into the smoker. Smoke for 2 hours until the internal temp reaches 150 degrees.
- Let the tasso cool completely before use.
Achiote Pork Sandwich (Instant Pot)
Achiote Pork Sandwich (Instant Pot)
To continue on with this Yucatán kick, I made shredded pork in traditional pibil achiote marinade, but in an Instant Pot instead of banana leaves. While you won’t get the flavor that the banana leaves give, the Instant Pot is going to infuse the pibil marinade into the pork, making it flavorful and tender in a fraction of the time. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can prepare the pork in a crockpot or in the oven; low and slow.The sandwich part of this recipe consists of toasted telera or kaiser rolls; top side spread with mayo, bottom side with refried black beans. A heaping pile of the pork is layed upon the beans, then topped with sliced tomatoes, white onions, and cilantro. This pork also makes great tacos!
Equipment
- blender
- instant pot
Ingredients
Achiote Pork
- 4 lbs pork shoulder cubed
- 1 1/2 cups orange juice
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 2 oz achiote paste
- 10 black peppercorns
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 medium white onion
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
- 2 bay leaves
For the Sandwich
- Telera or Kaiser rolls toasted
- refried black beans
- tomatoes thinly sliced
- mayonnaise
- white onion thinly sliced
- cilantro
Instructions
- Place all of the marinade ingredients in a blender.
- Purée until smooth.
- Place the pork with all of the marinade in an Instant Pot. Turn the settings to pressure cook on high for 60 minutes. Place the cover on and push start.
- Release the pressure. Turn the function to Sauté on high.
- Cook the pork down for another 10-15 minutes until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. The pork should be shredded.
Sandwich Assembly
- Spread mayonnaise on the top half of the toasted roll and refried black beans on the bottom half.
- Place a healthy amount of the achiote pork on top of the beans. Top the pork off with sliced tomatoes, white onions, and cilantro.
Sri Lankan Pork Curry
Sri Lankan Pork Curry
With Sri Lanka being 70% Buddhist, they are one of the few areas in South Asia that consumes my favorite meat, pork. This curry is traditionally cooked in a clay pot; but using a large sauté pan will work just fine. Ready in just over an hour, the curry is bursting with flavor. You can adjust the heat level by adding as many green chilies as you’d like. Serve the curry over steamed rice.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 20 curry leaves
- 1 large red onion finely chopped
- 1 tsp hot chili powder
- 3 tbsp madras curry powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 green chilies thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 3 lbs pork shoulder cubed
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp garam masala
Instructions
- Heat coconut oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the mustard seeds and cinnamon stick for a minute.
- Add in the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add in the red onions. Sauté for 10 minutes.
- Stir in all of the ground spices and ginger garlic paste. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Stir in the tomato paste, green chilies, tamarind, and coconut milk.
- Add in the pork. Pour in the chicken stock. Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 1 hour.
- Season with salt to taste. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of garam masala.
Madras Curry Powder
While the British claim to have invented madras curry powder in th 1960’s, it can be traced back to South India in the state of Tamil Nadu in the 1700’s. The spice was commercially produced and sold to the British army and government.To make the curry powder, I recommend individually toasting all of the whole spices, since they all toast at different rates. Once all of the spices are cooled, grind all of them in a spice grinder. You can use the curry powder in a variety of South Asian curries; pairing well with just about every protein.
Equipment
- Spice grinder
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp cumin seeds
- 3 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
- 3” cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 tbsp fenugreek seeds
- 2 star anise
- 10 curry leaves
- 8 green cardamom pods
- 1 tbsp ground turmeric
- 4 dried Kashmiri chilies
Instructions
- Individually dry toast all of the whole spices. Grind everything together in a spice grinder.
