Tag: pork
Cuban Pernil (Instant Pot)
Cuban Pernil (Instant Pot)
Pernil is the Spanish word for shoulder, the cut I am using to make this pulled pork. Pernil is a staple at the dinner table in all Latin cultures, each with their own variations. The pork is rubbed and marinated with a very minimal amount of ingredients; then slowly roasted until it is tender and shreddable with a fork. This particular recipe involves the Instant Pot. What would normally take 4-6 hours in the oven or slow cooker takes only 90 minutes. That’s right. 90 minutes. Any cut of an animal that requires slow cooking like chuck roast, bottom round, lamb shoulder, shanks, brisket, etc, takes only 15 minutes per pound. The results are always amazing! It feels like the meat slowly cooked for hours. I highly recommend investing in an Instant Pot; especially if you want to cut cooking times down to a fraction of how long it normally would take.
Equipment
- instant pot
Ingredients
- 5 lbs pork shoulder cubed
- 4 limes juiced
- 1 head garlic minced
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 3 tsp salt
- 3 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tbsp oregano
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Cut the pork shoulder into big cubes. Marinate in the lime juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, and oregano for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Add the marinated pork to the instant pot with a cup of water. Set the function to pressure cooker on high for 90 minutes.
- After the 90 minutes is up, your pork is ready to eat. An additional step that I like to do but isn’t necessary is to put the pork with some of the juices under the broiler for 10 minutes to crisp it up.
- Serve with Cuban rice.
African Style Meatballs in Sauce
African Style Meatballs in Sauce
This is an African/Caribbean fusion take on Italian style meatballs in tomato sauce. You can do a 50/50 mix of ground beef and pork, or use only beef or pork. That is up to you. Both turn out delicious. Although I made my meatballs larger and sautéed them, I’d recommend baking larger meatballs in the oven and sautéing smaller ones on the stove top. Sautéing larger ones are a little more difficult in handling and can potentially fall apart.The sauce uses more traditional African and Caribbean ingredients such as thyme, white pepper, Maggi, smoked paprika, and curry powder. It is also not garlic heavy unlike the Italian counterpart.Typically in Italy, meatballs are just served in sauce and not over pasta. But I still think it’s great over pasta. Eat them how you want. I plan on turning the leftovers into meatball sandwiches on a baguette with sautéed peppers and onions.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 4 slices of bread
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup grated onion
- 1 tsbp minced garlic
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 large egg
Sauce
- 3 roma tomatoes diced
- 2 small cans of tomato paste
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp thyme
- 2 tsp white pepper
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 4 tbsp parsley chopped
- 2 tsp maggi
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- salt to taste
Instructions
Meatballs
- Soak the bread in the milk.
- Combine all of the meatballs ingredients together.
- Form into balls. The ones I made are fairly large. I yielded 18. You can make these half the size and get 40 out of the meatball mix.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauce pan or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Cook the meatballs in batches, browning on all sides for 8-10 minutes
- Set the meatballs aside. These don’t have to be completely cooked through since they will finish in the sauce. They should be browned well though.
- In the same pan or Dutch oven, sauté the onion, garlic, thyme, and chopped tomatoes for 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, followed by the beef stock, parsley, curry powder, white pepper, smoked paprika, Maggie, and salt. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the meatballs to the sauce. Cover and let simmer for another 15 minutes.
- These balls are saucy.
- Serve with your favorite pasta.
Pork Belly Sisig
Pork Belly Sisig
Traditionally, sisig is made from boiling pig snout, ears, jowels, liver, and belly; then frying, chopping, refrying again with onions; then tossing with mayonnaise and calamansi juice; served on a hot cast iron skillet. Some recipes add a raw egg to the center of the sisig once it’s on the cast iron skillet. This recipe just contains pork belly and chicken livers. There are many variations of this dish; replacing pork belly with chicken, tuna, squid, even tofu. While this recipe has a lot of steps, it pays off in the end. Serve with steamed rice and a couple of fried eggs if you’d like.
Equipment
- large pot for boiling
- saute pan
- flat cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork belly 1/4” thick
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 cups water
- vegetable oil for frying
- 1/4 cup chicken livers
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp calamansi juice
Instructions
Pork Belly Boil
- In a large pot, add pork belly, water, bay leaves, salt, black peppercorns, and 1 tbsp of soy sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 40 minutes.
- Strain the pork belly, saving the pork stock for soup.
Frying the Pork Belly and Liver
- Add cooking oil to a pot over medium heat. Pat the pork belly dry with paper towels before frying. Fry the pork belly for 6-8 minutes, until it is crispy. Cook in batches.
- Discard the oil, saving 1 tbsp. Fry the chicken livers for 4-5 minutes, until they are cooked through.
- Chop up the pork belly and liver.
Pork Belly Sisig
- Heat up 2 tbsp of cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the onions, cooking for 4-5 minutes.
- Add in the chopped pork belly, liver, and minced garlic. Season with salt, pepper, and soy sauce. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add in a heaping tbsp of mayonnaise.
- Mix together and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Melt 1/2 tbsp of butter in a flat cast iron skillet over high heat. Add in the sisig. Stir in 2 tbsp of calamansi juice.
- Serve the sisig right of the hot skillets with steamed rice.
