Tag: pork
Feijoada
Feijoada
Feijoada might be the ultimate meat stew bestowed upon mankind. It is so popular that many Brazilians consider feijoada the national dish. This dish consists of black beans stewed with a variety of pork and beef cuts. There is always bacon or pork belly. Their rendered fat is used to brown the rest of the meats. Cubed pork shoulder is sautéed in the fat then added to a slow cooker. Then some cut of beef that is good for stewing is sautéed in the fat and added to the slow cooker. Beef shanks, beef ribs, even cubed chuck can be used. There is always some cut of smoked meat added such as a ham shank or smoked linguica sausage. Real authentic versions of feijoada will include chopped pigs ears and feet. They add a gelatinous component to the stew. Onions, garlic, chicken stock, and spices are added to the slow cooker. The entire process takes a good 10 hours to make.Feijoada is always served with steamed rice. Some people like their feijoada soupy, so more stock is added. The rice helps soak that up. The feijoada is garnished with green onions and cilantro. Orange wedges are always present on the side. Squeeze the juice over the feijoada. The acidity helps cut through the richness of the meats.
Servings: 8
Equipment
- slow cooker
Ingredients
- 12 oz bacon or pork belly cubed
- 1 1/2 lbs pork shoulder cubed
- 2 beef shanks or English cut short ribs
- 1 large smoked ham shank or 4 smoked linguica sausage
- 1 large white onion diced
- 1 head garlic peeled; cloves left whole
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds ground
- 8 bay leaves
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 lb dried black beans soaked overnight; or 2 cans of black beans
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano, thyme, and basil chopped
Garnish and Accompaniments
- oranges cut into wedges
- cilantro chopped
- green onions chopped
Instructions
- Heat up a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté and render out the fat from the pork belly or bacon. Place in a slow cooker.
- Sauté the pork shoulder in the rendered pork fat. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the slow cooker.
- Sear the beef shanks or short ribs on all sides. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the slow cooker.
- Deglaze the sauté pan with the chicken stock. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Pour in the stock, along with the ham shank or smoked linguica, onions, garlic cloves, bay leaves, coriander, and vinegar. If using dried black beans, add them in now. If using canned, don’t add in yet. Place on the cover and set the slow cooker to low for 10 hours.
- At the 9th hour of cooking, take out any of the meat with bones and strip off the meat. Add back into the slow cooker. If using canned black beans, add them in. Place the cover back on and continue cooking for 1 more hour.
- Mix in the fresh herbs.
Mofongo
Mofongo
Mofongo is a popular Puerto Rican dish consisting of fried mashed plantains with bacon, garlic, and chicharons. There are numerous versions of this dish in Puerto Rico as well as the rest of the Caribbean. This version has the mofongo with a creole shrimp sauce. So shrimp and 2 types of pork. I’m sold. Just a heads up: this recipe isn’t for beginners. There are a lot of steps to making mofongo. It’s actually a huge pain in the ass. It creates a lot of dishes. But it is absolutely worth the time once once you try it. Patience.The shrimp sauce is fairly simple. Sauté the shrimp. Sauté the vegetables. Cook down the tomatoes. Add in chicken stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Take off the heat, then add the shrimp back in. Cook the bacon. Drain the grease, then add in olive oil and garlic. Cook for another minute, then set aside.When choosing plantains, you want to use unripened ones. They are more starchy and are closer to a potato in flavor and texture. Ripened plantains will be too sweet and taste closer to bananas. They will need to be fried in vegetable oil for 4 minutes a side until crispy. Drain the grease on paper towel and season with creole seasoning.To assemble, mash a little bit of the bacon, garlic, oil, and chicharon together in a mortar. Then add a couple of the plants. Start smashing them with the bacon mix. Slowly start incorporating layers of the plantains, garlic bacon, and chicharon; smashing them into oblivion. Press the mofongo to the mortar to mold it to shape. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can add the ingredients to a food processor and pulse it a few times. Then you can press it into a small bowl to get the dome shape. You can make 1 large one like I did or 2 smaller ones if eating as a side dish. Place a large ladle of the shrimp sauce without any shrimp in the center of a plate. Flip the mofongo over on top of the sauce. Remove the mortar. Place a couple of the shrimp on top of the mofongo. Ladle the rest of the shrimp sauce around the mofongo. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Servings: 2
Equipment
- mortar and pestle or food processor
Ingredients
Shrimp Sauce
- 1/2 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1/2 tsp creole seasoning
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 large white onion diced
- 1/2 cup green and red bell pepper diced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 2 small tomatoes diced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
Mofongo
- 4 slices bacon diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves chopped
- 3 plantains unripened
- vegetable oil for frying
- 1 tsp creole seasoning
- 1/4 cup chicharon
Garnish
- parsley chopped
Instructions
Shrimp Sauce
- Heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the shrimp. Season with creole seasoning. Sauté for 2 minutes a side. Remove from the pan.
- Add in the other tbsp of olive oil. Sauté the onions, bell peppers, and garlic for 5 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes, cumin, and smoked paprika. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Take off the heat. Stir in the shrimp. Set aside.
Mofongo
- Sauté the bacon in a small skillet until crispy. Drain the grease.
- Pour in 2 tbsp of olive oil and the garlic. Cook for 1 more minute and set aside.
- Heat up 1/2” of vegetable oil in a pot over medium high heat. Fry the plantains in batches; 4 minutes a side.
- Drain the grease on paper towel. Season with creole seasoning.
- Take a 1/4 of the bacon and garlic and 1/4 of the chicharon and place in the bottom of a mortar.
- Give them a few smashes.
- Toss in a few of the fried plantains. Mash them with the bacon mix. Start adding in layers of the fried plantains, garlic bacon, and chicharon until they are all mashed together.
- Press the mofongo tight into the mortar to mold it’s shape. Alternatively, if you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can pulse all of the ingredients in a food processor, then mold into a dome shape in a small bowl.
- Place a large scoop of the shrimp sauce in the center of a plate.
Pinchos de Cerdo
Pinchos de Cerdo
Pinchos de cerdo are a popular street food found all over Puerto Rico. Skewers of marinated pork are grilled over an open flame then brushed with garlic olive oil and bbq sauce. What is great about these meat showers is that they take less than 10 minutes to grill. If you happen to not have a grill, the pinchos can be broiled for the same amount of time.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- metal skewers
Ingredients
- 1 packet sazon with annatto
- 1 tsp adobo seasoning
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp vinegar
- 2 lbs pork shoulder or sirloin cut into 1 1/2” cubes
- 1/4 cup olive oil infused with 3 minced garlic cloves
- bbq sauce
Instructions
- Mix all of the marinade ingredients together.
- Marinate the pork for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.
- Place 5-6 pieces of pork on each metal skewer.
- Fire up the grill! Place each skewer on the grill.
- Grill for 2 minutes each side. After the first flip, brush with the garlic olive oil.
- Brush each side with bbq sauce. Grill for 2 minutes each side.
