Tag: pork
Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
If I was put on death row and asked what the last thing on Earth that I'd like to eat, my final meal, char siu would be on the top of the list. I have loved this bbq pork ever since I was a little kid. My family would order everything with bbq pork in it from the Chinese restaurant that we got take out from. I love this pork so much, I snuck some of the pork in the picture into the movie theatre in a ziplock bag.Char siu is typically made out of pork shoulder. It can be made out of pork sirloin, pork loin, or tenderloin; but they tend to be less juicy than pork shoulder. Fat is a good thing here. You will want a 3lbs. piece of boneless pork shoulder. I purchased a whole bone in shoulder and processed out the coppa roast and the flat iron, If the coppa roast was a beef cut, you'd know it as a chuck eye roast. You don't have to go to this extreme. You can use any part of the shoulder. I just happen to know how to cut these muscles out of the shoulder and use them. Cut the pork shoulder into 2" in diameter chunks with the grain. The char siu gets its color from the red bean curd. If you've ever seen this pork really red, the color will be coming from red food coloring. But I want to avoid food coloring as much as possible. The red color in the bean curd comes from a natural fungus. This pork needs to marinate for at least 3 days.When ready to cook the pork, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Yes, 400 degrees. Normally when you think of cooking pork shoulder, you cook it low and slow. Not here. It will be tender. Trust me. I was skeptical the first time I tried making this. Roast this for 15 minutes. Pull it out of the oven and brush on the glaze. Roast for 7 minutes. You want to do this for 3 times total. The honey will caramelize the outside while the bean curd juice will give it a nice red color. Once done roasting, let sit for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless pork shoulder
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 3 red bean curd cubes + 2 tbsp liquid
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese 5 spice powder
- 3 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 3/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
Pork Glaze
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp red bean curd liquid
- 1 tbsp cooked marinade
Instructions
- Take a 3lb. piece of pork shoulder and cut it into a few long chunks with the grain. Each piece should be around 2″ in diameter. In this picture, I cut out the coppa roast and the flat iron. The coppa roast is the center muscle of the shoulder. If this was beef, you’d know it as a chuck eye roast.
- Mix together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, red bean curd cubes and liquid, 5 spice powder, honey, cooking, wine, white pepper, sesame, oil, and garlic cloves. Mash the bean curds into a paste. Mix everything thoroughly.
- Add the pork shoulder pieces and the marinade to a gallon sized ziplock bag. Marinate for 72 hours. Turn the bag over every 12 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lay the pork shoulder pieces on a rack onto of a foil covered baking sheet. Add a couple cups of water to the baking sheet to prevent smoking. Roast the pork for 15 minutes.
- While the pork is roasting, mix together honey, red bean curd liquid, and some of the marinade. Make sure to cook the marinade in the microwave for a few seconds before mixing in. Now you have your pork glaze.
- After the first 15 minutes of roasting, take the pork out of the oven and brush on the pork glaze. Don’t worry about getting the bottom. Put the pork back in the oven and roast for 7 minutes. Repeat this step 2 more times, for a total of 3 glazes.
- After the final glazing and roasting, let the pork rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Pork Tongue Tacos with Tlaquepaque Sauce
Pork Tongue Tacos with Tlaquepaque Sauce
While this looks like a recipe for the open minded adventurous eater, it’s really meant for everyone to try. While tongue isn’t eaten very much in American cuisine, it is eaten by pretty much every other culture across the world. Tongue in Spanish is called lengua. While labeled an organ meat, it really is a big muscle. When prepared properly, it is one of the most tender and flavorful cuts on an animal. You will question yourself why you haven’t eaten this for your entire life. Because, tongue tastes…normal. Nothing gamey or organy tasting. There’s no tendons or veins running through it. It is very finely marbled with fat. Cooked like this, it looks like a pan of shredded pork. The same goes for beef tongue. One of the best parts of pork tongue is that it comes in fresh at my Asian market for $2.19lb. So get over yourself and give tongue a try sometime. If you don’t want to make this at home for fear of not liking it, try a lengua taco at a real Mexican restaurant first. You will learn the way…
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Pork Tongue
- 3 pork tongues
- 1/2 medium white onion
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- salt to taste
- 2 cups cooking water
Tlaquepaque Sauce
- 1 lb tomatillos
- 12 arbol peppers
- 2 guajillo peppers
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
- cilantro finely chopped
- white onion finely chopped
- green onion finely chopped
Instructions
Tlaquepaque Sauce
- Over medium high heat, bring the tomatillos, arbor and guajillo peppers, and garlic to a boil in a pot of water for 15 minutes.
- Add the tomatillos, peppers, and garlic to a blender or food processor. Add 1/2 cup of the cooking water and instant coffee. Puree until smooth.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Pork Tongue
- Wash your pork tongues.
- Turn your Instant Pot to pressure cook on high for 45 minutes. Add your pork tongues, white onion, garlic cloves, bay leaves, thyme, and salt. Cover with 2 cups of the leftover cooking liquid that the Tlaquepaque sauce ingredients boiled in. Put on the cover and press start.
- Remove the tongues from the Instant Pot and let cool.
- Make a slit with a sharp knife down the center of the tongues across the skin.
- You should be able to peel the majority of the skin right off. Any skin still attached should be cut off.
- Slice the tongue into chunks. Add the tongue to a skillet over medium high heat. Sauté for 15 minutes, slowly incorporating some of the braising liquid from the instant pot.
- The tongue should be fairly shredded and tender. You almost wouldn’t know it was tongue unless someone told you.
Taco Assembly
- Heat up some corn tortillas on an oiled griddle for a minute on each side.
- Add a small amount of the pork tongue to the center of the tortilla and roll it. Roll up a bunch of them.
- Place some of the rolled up pork tongue tacos on a plate. Ladle some of the Tlaquepaque sauce over the tacos. Garnish with cilantro/green onion/white onion mix.
Mexican Chorizo
Mexican Chorizo
Chorizo is one of my favorite sausages. I’ve made thousands upon thousands of pounds of it as a butcher. Chorizo’s main flavor comes form ancho chili powder, which is very mild. If you are looking to have a spicier chorizo, add cayenne pepper to the mix. Chorizo is great in tacos, eggs, soups, with potatoes, and much more. If you happen to have a Kitchen Aid mixer with the sausage attachment, you can make this into links. Chorizo is even better smoked, like myself.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs ground pork, medium grind
- 20 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 medium white onion grated
- 6 tbsp ancho chili powder
- 3 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp Mexican dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp coriander
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp cloves
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together.
- If not using within 3-4 days, wrap in freezer paper and toss in the freezer.
