|
Chef2Chef Recipe Club - Volume 2 Issue 110 - May 31, 2002 Automatic system commands and instructions: End of Message Chef2Chef Recipe Club Member Forum: http://forums.chef2chef.net -------------------------------------------------- Good Day Recipe Club, As a kid growing up in New England I remember not caring for pork chops too much. Tasteless, gray and dry as dirt! Maybe I exaggerate, but I know my Mom will never read this as she has no Internet connection! It wasn't her fault though. Pork was cheap and trichinosis was a big concern for folks coming out of the depression era. Still to this day many chefs and cooks refuse to serve fresh pork less done than well. I disagree, the incidence of trichinosis today is as rare as poisoning from raw shellfish or from eating a soft-boiled egg. I cook my pork medium to medium well. Just a hint of pink and some moisture and flavor left in it. The USDA will still tell you to cook to an internal temperature of 170 degrees, I remove my pork from the oven or grill at 150 degrees as it will still cook for a short while once it has been removed from the heat. Then you must let it rest for a short while for the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. That's just how I do it, you must make your own call. This applies to fresh pork, like chops, tenderloins or kabobs. Obviously ribs, braised dishes, hams, sausage and crock-pot preparations will want a more thorough cooking just by the nature of the cooking procedures for these dishes. -------------------------------------------------- Pam, my wife gets tired of plain grilled or pan-fried pork chops. She grew up in Arizona for the first part of her life and has a taste for southwestern and Mexican food, something that is not readily available in our town to her liking. So I came up with a dish that she just loves, simply by turning a pork chop into a corn tortilla! Huh? Pork Tostadas Take a pork chop that is cut less than an inch thick and place it between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound it out with the flat side of a meat hammer. Continue with each portion you'd like to serve. Dredge the flattened chops in corn flour and pan sear or place on your grill for a few minutes until it is cooked through on both sides. Remember your chop is very thin and will only take a short time to cook. Place on a plate until all the pieces are done. The flavor from the grill gives these a wonderful flavor! Top the "Pork Tortilla" with refried beans and a little chili and some cheddar cheese and place in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees just until the cheese melts and the chili and beans are heated through. Remove to warm plates and have available, diced tomatoes, lettuce, diced onions, salsa and maybe some more shredded cheddar. Allow your quests to top the tostada with these toppings. You might serve the following recipe with it also. It's a Tomatillo sauce-using avocado. The acid in the canned green Tomatillo sauce keeps the sauce from turning brown and is wonderful with dip or on top of grilled chicken. -------------------------------------------------- This sauce is also great on Quesadillas. Tomatillo Sauce Serves 6 Preparation Total: 06 Ingredients 1/2 avocado 3 tablespoons sour cream 1 4 oz. can tomatillos, crushed Remove the pit from the avocado and scoop the fruit out with a soupspoon. Place the avocado, the sour cream, and the tomatillos in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Store in a sealed plastic container in the refrigerator. Best used the same day as prepared, but will last for up to 4 days without changing color. -------------------------------------------------- Cooking Pork Ribs I prefer to use a St. Louis Style Rib. It is meatier and more forgiving than a baby back or smaller pork ribs. I like to slow cook them for 3 hours with a dry rub instead of coating them in sauce and braising them. You can add the sauce later when they hit the grill or serve the sauce on the side. There are many seasonings you can use to "Rub" into your meat before you cook it. The shelves on the store are loaded with them, but it's much cheaper to make your own. Use the following basic BBQ Rub blend on pork or beef ribs. Rub the seasoning into the meat with your clean hands prior to cooking. -------------------------------------------------- BBQ Rub Seasoning 2 Tbsp. salt 4 Tbsp. sugar 1 Tbsp. cumin, ground 2 Tbsp. black pepper 2-3 Tbsp. chili powder 3 Tbsp. paprika Store in a tightly sealed container out of the heat and sunlight. -------------------------------------------------- To Cook the Ribs Somewhere around noon, preheat your oven to 180 degrees and take your ribs out of the refrigerator and rinse them under cold running water for a minute and pat dry. Apply your BBQ Rub Seasoning liberally to the outside surface of the meat and rub it into the ribs on all sides over a sheet pan. Tap loose any seasoning that will fall off. Repeat with another rack of ribs. Place the pan into the slow oven for three hours. Go swimming! Come back and remove them from the oven and set aside until ready to grill them or refrigerate them for use tomorrow. When you are ready to grill them, do it over a medium low heat until heated through. This is where you make the choice of whether or not you want them serve wet or dry. If you want them serve wet (with sauce on them) baste liberally with your favorite sauce during the grilling time. For dry, just reheat and serve the sauce on the side. -------------------------------------------------- Here is a simple and different BBQ sauce for pork roasts or ribs or chicken. If basting over high heat, use towards the end of the cooking process as the honey will tend to caramelize and could give a burned flavor to your food Honey Mustard Sauce 1 stick of butter 1 cup of honey 1 cup Dijon Mustard 3 tbsp. lemon juice 1 tsp. salt Melt the butter and add in the remaining ingredients and mix well. Bring to just a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 3 minutes. Store in a glass jar under refrigeration if preparing ahead of time. -------------------------------------------------- CLUB MEMBERS, WIN FREE HOT STUFF! Our newest sponsor is FireBreath.com Register to win this gift crate of hot and spicy goodies by clicking the link below. Offer ends at the end of the month. You need to keep open flames away from this crate. Comes with Galena Blasting Powder BBQ Rub, Spontaneous Combustion Peanuts, Hot Sauce Harry's Dynamite Hot Sauce, and Galena Basting Sauce. http://html.chef2chef.net/goto.php?id=93 -------------------------------------------------- Just a quick note off the subject of pork. The other day I suggested that you should try a free range or all-natural chicken instead of the mass-produced birds found flocking about the supermarket coolers. A gal named Jane wrote me and told me about these wonderful, healthy, steroid and antibiotic free chickens being raised in Nebraska. They are available online and I've spoken with the producer. They use an air drying system to chill the birds instead of soaking them in water. Soaking them in water is the common practice for large producers, it flushes flavor and adds water weight which you pay for. Anyway the company can be found here and you should at least go read about how they do it! I'm very familiar with this air-chilling process and give it a big thumbs up! This is not an advertisement! I believe this to be the best way to produce the tastiest birds. http://www.smartchicken.com -------------------------------------------------- Pork Rib Satay? Just try it! Marinade Ingredients 6 ounces orange juice 3 ounces lemon juice, fresh 2 tsp. fresh garlic, minced pinch of sugar 2 tsp. soy sauce pinch of pepper Sauce Ingredients 3 Tbsp. butter 10 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter 2 Tbsp. soy sauce 2 tsp. lemon juice, fresh 1-1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes 1/2 cup coconut milk, or heavy cream 2 whole racks of St. Louis style pork ribs Method Cut each rack in half and place them in a large gallon size ziplock bag. Add the marinade ingredients to the bag and seal. Shake the bag briskly to coat the meat and dissolve the sugar. Place the ribs in the cooler overnight or for at least 5 hours. Heat your gas grill to low and place the ribs on the grill bone side down and close the cover on the grill. Cook covered for the first hour checking and turning as necessary. For the remainder of the time cook with the cover up. This can take between 45 minutes to one more hour. While the ribs are making your neighbors crazy from the smell, make the Peanut Sauce by combining the butter, peanut butter, soy sauce, lemon juice and pepper flakes in a saucepan. Heat for 8 minutes over low heat and then add the coconut milk. Bring to a simmer for 4 minutes and serve with the ribs on the side in dishes for dipping. -------------------------------------------------- Kentucky Virtual Handcrafted gifts, gift baskets, & delicious gourmet foods like Derby Pie, chocolates, cream candy, ham, preserves, flavored honey & more! Hand woven placemats, napkins & rugs! Books, Pottery, Home Accents, too. http://html.chef2chef.net/goto.php?id=83 -------------------------------------------------- Ling Ling's Spicy Marinade for Many Pork Dishes Ling Ling is a friend of mine and she gave me this recipe about 20 years ago. It's great for kabob meat, country style ribs, rack of rib, chops, tenderloin.anything pork. Guess what? Good on chicken too! 1 sm. Yellow onion, chopped fine 3 stalks of celery, chopped fine 2 cloves, fresh garlic, minced Half stick of butter 1/4 cup brown sugar 3 Tbsp. rice vinegar 1 cup beef stock or broth 1 cup catsup 1 splash of Worcestershire sauce 2 tsp. Dijon Mustard 2 pinches of red pepper flakes Salt and pepper to taste. Procedure Cook onion, celery and garlic until tender. Add the sugar and vinegar to the hot pan for a moment then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. A good squeeze of fresh lime juice at the end makes it memorable. Cool and store in a glass jar in your refrigerator if not using right away -------------------------------------------------- CLUB MEMBERS! GET 4 COOKBOOKS FOR $1 EACH! Turn any meal into a magnificent feast with the help of world famous chefs like Julia Child and Emeril Lagasse. Learn how to make tempting treats, dazzling dinners and decadent deserts--fantastic foods that will make dining a delight! Discover a great selection of quick and easy recipes, techniques, and tips for both beginners and experts alike. Start now with 4 cookbooks for $1 each from The Good Cook. Click for details. http://html.chef2chef.net/goto.php?id=86 -------------------------------------------------- Shopping Lists: 1/2 avocado Sour cream 1 4 oz. can tomatillos Salt Sugar Cumin, ground Black pepper Chili powder Paprika 1 stick of butter 1 cup of honey 1 cup Dijon Mustard Lemon juice Salt Marinade Ingredients Orange juice Lemon juice, fresh Fresh garlic Sugar Soy sauce Pinch of pepper Sauce Ingredients Butter Creamy peanut butter Soy sauce Lemon juice, fresh Dried red pepper flakes 1/2 cup coconut milk, or heavy cream 1 sm. Yellow onion 3 stalks of celery 2 cloves, fresh garlic Butter Brown sugar Rice vinegar 1 cup beef stock or broth Catsup Worcestershire sauce Dijon Mustard Red pepper flakes Salt and pepper to taste. -------------------------------------------------- QUESTIONS, Comments, Technical Support: http://forums.chef2chef.net -------------------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE or Unsubscribe Requests: http://chef2chef.net/forms/form-entry.htm or reply to this E-Mail by typing into the SUBJECT line: remove club or subscribe club -------------------------------------------------- ARCHIVE: All Club e-mails are archived each Friday at: http://chef2chef.net/news/club/ -------------------------------------------------- LIST PURGE: We attempt to send email for 24 hours. If not successful, your address is removed. Re-subscribe if in doubt. -------------------------------------------------- |