Tag: pork
Tasso Omelette
Tasso Omelette
Here’s another great use for tasso ham that I came up with on this Fat Tuesday, 2021. This omelette has the holy trinity of Cajun cuisine, onion, celery, and bell pepper, and some spicy homemade tasso ham as the base. Sauté them with green onions on a griddle, then pour in 3 beaten eggs. Let it set for a minute. Sprinkle cheese down the middle. Fold over the sides to the center and flip onto your plate. I also cooked up some sweet potato hash browns to accompany the omelette.
Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 lb tasso ham finely diced
- 3 tbsp onion finely chopped
- 3 tbsp celery finely chopped
- 3 tbsp bell pepper finely chopped
- 2 green onions finely chopped
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil on a griddle over medium high heat. Sauté the tasso ham for 2-3 minutes until fat has rendered out.
- Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and green onion to the griddle. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Turn the heat to medium. Pour in the beaten eggs. Let set for a minute.
- Push the sides of the eggs to the center to form a circular shape. Put the cheese down the middle.
- Flip the right third of the omelette to the center, then the left third on top of that.
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.
Salt and Pepper Pork Chop
Salt and Pepper Pork Chop
This might not be what you think of when you hear the work pork chops. Instead of cooking a pork chop whole, pieces are cut from a boneless loin, marinated, then tossed in cornstarch, and lightly fried. The pork pieces are tossed with fried garlic, jalapeños, and seasoned with white pepper and salt. So simple yet beyond flavorful. I like to serve the salt and pepper pork chops with Chinese coleslaw to help create balance with fried food.
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless pork chops cut into irregular pieces
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil plus more for frying
- 1 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 1/4 cup cornstarch plus 1 tbsp
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 jalapeños thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves sliced
Pepper Salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Marinate the pork with 2 tbsp of vegetable oil, 1 tbsp of cornstarch, cooking wine, and salt for 15 minutes.
- Add 2 tbsp of the cooking oil into a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the jalapeños and garlic. Fry for 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.
- Toss the marinated pork with 1/4 cup of cornstarch.
- Add a 1/4” of cooking oil to the sauté pan. Add half of the pork to the pan, making sure to not overcrowd the pan.
- Fry for 3-4 minutes a side until crispy.
- Drain the grease from the pork on paper towels.
- Mix together the salt and white pepper.
- Toss the pork with the garlic, jalapeños, and pepper salt.
Kua Mee (Stir Fried Noodles)
Kua Mee (Stir Fried Noodles)
Kua Mee is simply Laotian-style stir fried noodles. The rice stick noodles are stir fried in a caramelized sugar sauce, tossed with stir fried pork, sliced omelette, bean sprouts, and green onion. Kua Mee is typically served at parties and large gatherings since it is very inexpensive to make while still getting your bang for your buck.
Ingredients
Omelette
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
Pork Stir Fry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 shallot sliced
- 1 lb pork shoulder thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Noodles
- 16 oz rice stick noodles
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 shallots sliced
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 3 green onions chopped
Instructions
- Soak the rice noodles in water for 30 minutes. Set aside.
- Whisk the omelette ingredients together.
- Heat up vegetable oil in a small sauté pan over medium high heat. Pour in the eggs. Let firm up for 90 seconds.
- Flip and cook for another minute.
- Let the omelette cool. Roll up and thinly slice. Set aside.
- Heat up 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the garlic and shallots for 2 minutes.
- Add in the pork, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and salt.
- Sauté the pork for 5-6 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the pan.
- In the same pan over medium heat, combine the sugar and vegetable oil.
- Let the sugar brown and caramelize for 5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic and shallots. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the water, fish sauce, and salt. Simmer until the sugar dissolves.
- Add in the rice noodles. Cook for 5 minutes in the sauce.
- Mix back in the omelette, pork, bean sprouts, and green onions. Cook for 1 more minute.
