Tag: USA
Pork Jerky
Pork Jerky
I must admit, I’ve never had pork jerky before. It’s something that you’ll rarely find anywhere, and that’s a damn shame. I used the same marinade that I used for my beef jerky recipe. It turned out equally as good, maybe even better then the beef. I used pork sirloin for the cut. It is inexpensive, tender, and minimally fatty. You could also use straight up boneless pork loin; just make sure to trim the fat from the outside.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 3 lbs pork sirloin sliced between 1/8”-1/4” thick
- 3/4 cup soy sauce
- 3/4 cup pineapple juice
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp pink curing salts
Wood Chips
- applewood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the marinade ingredients.
- Place the pork sirloin in the freezer for 2 hours to firm up. Slice between 1/8”-1/4” thick.
- Marinate the pork in a gallon sized storage bag for 24 hours.
- Place the sliced ov pork sirloin on the smoker racks, making sure to minimally overlap.
- Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees. Place the wood chips in and let smoke for 10 minutes. Place the jerky in the smoker and turn the temp down to 200 degrees.
- Smoke the pork for 3 hours.
- The jerky is ready when it is dry and bends, but doesn’t crack.
Minnesota-Style Chow Mein
Minnesota-Style Chow Mein
If you live in the Midwest, specifically Minnesota, you’ve probably eaten what we recognize as chow mein. MN chow mein can be traced back as early as the 1920s; adapted to fit the American palate. Actual Chinese chow mein is a lot closer to what we know as lo mein; stir fried noodles with meat and vegetables. Our version of chow mein consists of a brown slurry of ground pork and celery served over rice, topped with crispy fried chow mein noodles. Additions to the chow mein can include chicken, mushrooms, shrimp, and a variety of vegetables. You can find this particular style of chow mein on just about every Chinese American menu. You won’t find our indigenous version of chow mein in China.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 bunch celery chopped 1/2” thick
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 8 oz mushrooms thinly sliced
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup cold water
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp beef bouillon
- 1 tsp molasses
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- white rice cooked
- chow mein noodles
Instructions
- Brown the ground pork in a large sauté pan over medium high heat.
- Add the celery, onions, and mushrooms. Continue cooking for 5 minutes.
- Pour in 1 cup of water. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Mix together the cold water, cornstarch, soy sauces, molasses, and beef bouillon.
- Pour the slurry in the chow mein.
- Simmer for 2 minutes until thickened.
Shoyu Yellowfin Poke Bowl
Shoyu Yellowfin Poke Bowl
Traditional Hawaiian Poke consists of sashimi grade yellowfin or ahi tuna marinated in Shoyu soy sauce, sesame oil; tossed with Hawaiian pink sea salt, raw green and yellow onions, and macadamia nuts. It is served on its own as an appetizer or as a main course over sushi rice. While preparing this dish is actually quite simple, it is extremely important to use the highest quality fish as possible. So if you want sashimi grade, you’re going to have to spend a little money. But this is something that I’d eat for a special occasion. While fresh sashimi grade might taste “better” aesthetically, I prefer to use frozen sushi grade. For it to be frozen sushi grade, the tuna is flash frozen and held below -30 degrees for 15 hours. This would kill parasites in a fish if there happen to be any. Eating fresh doesn’t do this.So if you’re interested in trying to prepare raw fish at home, give this poke recipe a try.
Ingredients
- 16 oz sashimi grade yellowfin tuna
- 2 tbsp shoyu soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 3/4 tsp hawaiian pink sea salt
- 1/4 cup yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup green onion chopped
- 1/8 tsp gochugaru chili flakes
- 1 tbsp macadamia nuts finely chopped
Instructions
- Before even touching the fish, wash and sanitize your cutting board and knife.
- Cut the tuna into 1/4” cubes.
- Mix all of the ingredients together. Let chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
