Tag: pork
Salvadoran Style Red Bean Soup
Salvadoran Style Red Bean Soup
This red bean soup is packed full of flavor and is extremely easy to prepare. Cook up bacon. Sauté onion, green pepper, and garlic in bacon grease. Purée beans and beef stock. Add to the veggies. Simmer. Stir in bacon and sour cream. Simmer for a few more minutes. Garnish the red bean soup with lots of crumbled queso fresco and more diced bacon. If you want some heat, I recommend adding a few paper thin slices of serrano peppers.
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon diced
- 1/2 medium white onion diced
- 1 green pepper diced
- 6 garlic cloves chopped
- 32 oz red beans cooked
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 cup sour cream
- salt to taste
Garnish
- queso fresco crumbled
- cooked bacon diced
- jalapeños or serrano peppers sliced paper thin
Instructions
- Cook the bacon over medium high heat for 8 minutes until the fat has rendered out. Remove the bacon from the pot, saving the grease.
- Saite the onions, green peppers, and garlic in the bacon fat for 5-6 minutes.
- While the vegetables are cooking, add the beans, beef stock, and black pepper to a blender. Purée until smooth.
- Pour the bean purée into the pot. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the bacon back in. Stir in the sour cream. Continue simmering for 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
Smoked Duck Heart and Pork Belly Skewers
Smoked Duck Heart and Pork Belly Skewers
This was a great idea my high ass though of when I wanted to start clearing out the freezer. I had some duck hearts and a little pork belly left. Why not skewer them together and smoke it. Place 4 pieces of duck heart and pork belly on a bamboo skewer, alternating between the two. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. They only took 90 minutes in a preheated 250 degree smoker. I’m telling you: if you think duck hearts sound gross, you couldn’t be more wrong. They are so tender and not organy tasting. I really think that they are one of the better organ meats that everyone should try.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- bamboo skewers
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb duck hearts
- 1/4 lb pork belly sliced thinly; cut into 2” pieces
- cracked black pepper
- sea salt
Wood Chips
- mesquite wood chips
- peach wood chips
Instructions
- Skewer up the duck hearts and pork belly slices, placing 4 of each on each skewer. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
- Place in a 250 degree preheated smoker. Smoke for 90 minutes.
Honey Glazed Bone-In Pork Belly Steaks
Honey Glazed Smoked Bone-In Pork Belly Steaks
I decided to smoke bone-in pork belly steaks and glaze them with spicy honey for my 38th birthday this year. Bone-in pork belly, you say? You’ve probably never have seen it before. They sell a ton of it at my local Asian market. For only $4lb. Some of the riblet portion of the spare ribs are attached at the belly; and this is left on, hence bone-in pork belly. I applied a simple brown sugar/salt based dry rub all over the bellies. I let them marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours, then dry out at room temperature for an hour before smoking. Much like bacon, any wood will work great for smoking the pork bellies. What you choose will give the belly that flavor. I did a mix of hickory and peach woods. Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees. Once heated, add the bellies. Maintain a smoking temp between 225-250 degrees. Smoke the bellies for 2 hours. At that point, brush on a layer of the honey and smoke for 30 more minutes. When finished smoking, let rest before serving. The skin will be inedible, but peels off with ease.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 3-4 bone-in pork belly steaks 1 1/2” thick
Dry Rub
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
Honey Glaze
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper optional
Wood Chips
- peach wood chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Mix the dry rub ingredients together. Set aside.
- Wash and pat dry the pork belly steaks.
- Dry rub the pork belly on all sides. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours, flipping every hour. Let the pork belly dry out for an hour at room temp before smoking.
- Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees. Throw the bellies in and smoke for 2 hours.
- Brush a layer of honey on the pork bellies. Smoke for another 30 minutes.
- Pull from the smoker and let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
