Tag: pork
Bison Fry Bread Tacos
HISTORY AND CONTROVERSY OVER FRY BREAD
The fry bread links generation to generation, connecting the painful narrative of Native American history. Fry bread can be traced back to the 1860s, created by the Navajo. The U.S. government forced Natives in Arizona to relocate to New Mexico in a 300 mile journey known as “the long walk”. With the land in New Mexico not being sustainable to grow their staples like beans and corn, the government gave the Natives processed flour, processed sugar, and lard; the main ingredients for fry bread.
There are 2 opposing perspectives on fry bread. While many look at fry bread as a symbol of pain, perseverance, and survival that has unified tribes, those that oppose see fry bread as contributing to high levels of obesity and diabetes on Native reservations. It is also looked at as a symbol of colonial oppression. As tasty as fry bread can be, there is no nutritional value whatsoever.
Bison Fry Bread Tacos
If you’ve never had a fry bread taco, you are missing out. A simple dough made of flour, baking powder, salt, milk, and water is rolled out into large disc-like shapes and is deep fried. Then you top the fried flatbread with taco toppings: meat, lettuce, cheese, peppers, tomatoes, sour cream, green onions, cilantro, and salsa.
Equipment
- rolling pin
Ingredients
Fry Bread
- 2 cups flour plus more for bench flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup water
- vegetable oil for frying
Bison
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup onion finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lb ground bison
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp black pepper
Taco Toppings
- lettuce shredded
- jalapeños sliced
- tomatoes diced
- green onion chopped
- cilantro chopped
- cotija cheese
- sour cream
- salsa
Instructions
Fry Bread
- Mix separately together the wet and dry ingredients.
- Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
- Lighlty flour a clean workspace. Portion out the dough into 4 equal pieces.
- Roll out each pieces into 8” circular shapes; about 1/4” thick.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat; about 1/2” deep. Carefully lay one of the fry bread into the oil.
- Fry for 2-3 minutes a side.
Ground Bison
- Heat up oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 2 minutes.
- Add in the ground bison. Brown for 8 minutes.
- Season with salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and oregano.
Carnitas
Carnitas
I was asked a few weeks ago if I had a carnitas recipe. I go to my site and realize that I don’t; which is absolutely crazy because I make carnitas all the time. So now, at this very moment, is my carnitas recipe. It really isn’t mine. It is the traditional Mexican recipe, which is just pork, lard, water, and salt(garlic is optional). All you have to do is add all of the ingredients to a pot and braise for 45 minutes. Then you reduce all of the liquid out until the pork starts to fry in its own fat. Once the pork is slightly browned, it’s ready to eat. Carnitas are great in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, tamales, tortas, omelettes, nachos, and just about anything else that you can think of.
Equipment
- cast iron pot
Ingredients
- 4 lbs pork shoulder cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup lard
- 8 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp salt
- water
Instructions
- Add the pork, lard, garlic, and salt to a cast iron pot. Pour in enough water to cover the pork. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Uncover. Turn the heat up to high and reduce until all of the water has evaporated. There will only be pork and fat left.
- Turn the heat to medium and fry the pork in its own fat until browned; about 10-15 minutes.
Smoked Char Siu Pork Tenderloin
Smoked Char Siu Pork Tenderloin
I recently bought some nice pork tenderloins from my friends at Wildfork Foods and wanted to turn one of them into char siu. Then I thought, why not smoke it?! It usually my answer to all of life’s problems. Smoke it. Smoking pork tenderloin is a lot different then smoking other cuts of pork. Because the are very lean and not large, there is the risk of them being over cooked. The key is to preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Get your wood chips smoking for 10 minutes. Throw in your pork tenderloin and drop the heat to 185 degrees. This will allow a longer smoking time to absorb smoke without drying out. After the first hour, turn the heat back up to 250 degrees. Apply a layer of glaze every 15 minutes for the next 30 minutes. A 24oz pork tenderloin will take 90 minutes in total. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 1 large pork tenderloin
- 1 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 red bean curd cubes plus 1 tbsp of juice
- 1 1/2 tbsp honey
- 3/4 tsp 5 spice powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3/4 tsp sesame oil
Glaze
- 1 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp marinade liquid
Wood Chips
- 1/2 hickory
- 1/2 cherry wood
Instructions
- Mix the marinade ingredients together.
- Marinate the pork tenderloin in a storage bag for 3 days.
- Let the pork tenderloin rest on a rack overnight before smoking. Save the marinade.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Add in your wood chips. Let smoke for 10 minutes. Throw in your pork tenderloin. Decrease the temp to 185 degrees. Smoke for 1 hour.
- While the tenderloin is smoking, heat up the honey and reserved marinade in a small saucepan until the honey has dissolved.
- Brush the tenderloin with the glaze. Increase the temp to 250. Smoke for 15 minutes. Apply another layer of glaze and smoke for 15 more minutes.
- Let the tenderloin rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
