Tag: pork
Hong Shao Rou
Hong Shao Rou
This is my favorite way to prepare pork belly. Hong Shao Rou is a Shanghai Chinese classic dish. The belly is seared in melted sugar, then braised with light and dark soy sauces, shaoxing cooking wine, and aromatics, resulting in a reddish glossy melt in your mouth porky goodness. Serve the pork belly with steamed rice and a vegetable.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb pork belly 1/2” thick; cut into 2” pieces
- 2 green onions cut in half
- 4 slices ginger
- water
Braising Liquid
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/3 cup shaoxing cooking wine
- 2 cups blanching liquid saved from the pork
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 6 slices ginger
- 3 green onions cut into 2” pieces
- 2 star anise pods
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Add in the pork belly, green onions, and ginger. Boil for 5 minutes. Skim off any of the scum that floats to the top.
- Drain the water, reserving 2 cups of the liquid. Rinse the pork belly under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Heat up cooking oil and sugar in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
- Watch the sugar. It will slowly turn an amber color. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Add the pork belly in a single layer to the pan.
- Cook the pork belly for 1 minute a side, making sure the sugar doesn’t burn.
- Add in the ginger and green onions. Cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the soy sauces and cooking wine. Cook for a minute, scraping up the bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add in the recesrved 2 cups of the blanching liquid. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 90 minutes.
Smoked Cured Spare Ribs
Smoked Cured Spare Ribs
What’s different about these ribs is the addition of pink curing salts to the brine. What this is going to do is turn your ribs into ham. Yes. Ham ribs. They turn out so unbelievably moist, I kinda only want to make ribs this way from now on. They will take a total of 5 hours of smoking.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 4 lb spare ribs
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tsp ground sage
- bbq sauce
Brine
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup sea salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp pink curing salts
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the brining ingredients.
- Brine the ribs for 1 day.
- Season the ribs with paprika, black pepper, and ground sage. Let rest on a rack for an hour before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the ribs in the smoker.
- At the 3 hour mark, brush a layer of your favorite sauce on the ribs.
- Brush one more layer of sauce on the ribs at the 4 hour mark. Smoke for 1 more hour for a total of 5 hours of smoking.
- Let the ribs rest for 20 minutes before cutting.
Butifarras
Butifarras
Butifarras are a popular Peruvian sandwich consisting of country ham and salsa criolla on ciabatta bread. The sandwich was created by Italian immigrants who smoked their own artisan hams, hence the birth of jamon del pais.This is one of the finest sandwiches I’ve ever eaten. It is worth all the steps in preparation to consume this Peruvian monstrosity.
Ingredients
- ciabatta bread
- jamon del pais sliced
- iceberg lettuce
- salsa criolla
Spread
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tbsp aji amarillo paste
Instructions
- Mix the mayo, mustard, and aji amarillo paste together. Set aside.
- Slice the ciabatta bread in half.
- Spread the sauce on both sides of the bread. Place lettuce on the bottom piece of the ciabatta.
- Place a pile of the jamon del pais on the lettuce.
- Place a heaping amount of the salsa criolla on the pork.
Jamon del Pais (Peruvian Country Ham)
Jamon del Pais is a Peruvian style ham used to make butifarra sandwiches. While technically not ham since it isn’t cured(it’s really more roast pork), it’s nothing short of delicious. Traditionally pork leg is used to make the ham, but you can use pork sirloin or loin. The pork is simmered in stock for 90 minutes, then rubbed with a garlic and aji panca marinade and baked in the oven.
Ingredients
- 3 lb pork leg, pork sirloin, or pork loin
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion quartered
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 gallon chicken stock or enough to completely submerge the pork
- 2 cups pork braising liquid saved from the boil
Ham Seasoning
- 1/4 cup aji panca paste
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 packet sazon with achiote
Instructions
- Season the pork with salt and pepper. Heat up olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Place the pork into the pot.
- Sear the pork on all sides for 10 minutes.
- Pour enough chicken stock into the pot to cover the pork completely. Add in the onions and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 90 minutes.
- Take the pork out of the pot and let it cool.
- Mix together all of the ham seasoning ingredients.
- Cover the entire ham with the seasoning.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the pork on a baking pan lined in foil. Pour 2 cups of the braising liquid in the pan.
- Bake the ham for 40 minutes, flipping half way through. Let rest for 20 minutes before slicing.
Salsa Criolla
Salsa criolla is an onion relish eaten with just about everything in Peruvian cuisine. The onions are soaked in salted ice water for 10 minutes. This process allows the onions to release their sugars, making them sweet. Then they’re mixed with jalapeños, cilantro, parsley, lime juice, and vinegar. The onions marinate for 30 minutes, resulting in what I like to call sugary onion candy. The onions are less oniony in flavor and have more of a sweet and sugary taste with a kick of spice from the jalapeños. I recommend making a double batch because you will eat half of it before serving it with whatever you’re making.
Equipment
- mandolin slicer
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion thinly sliced on a mandolin
- 1 jalapeños sliced paper thin on a mandolin
- 1 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tsp vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Place the sliced onions in ice cold salted water for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
- Mix all of the ingredients together. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for 30 minutes before serving.
