Pork

Pig’s Tail Souse

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How many folks have actually tried pig’s tails? Not many in this part of the world I assume. In my opinion, pigs tails are one of the best parts of the pig, but sadly underutilized in the “civilized world”, were we tend to discard secondary cuts or feed them to the animals (lucky dogs 🙂 ).
Thankfully, lately some of these special cuts have found new fans and pigs tails are now widely available again at your favorite butcher and even in supermarkets.
Buy them fresh, smoked or salted (dry or in brine) for a variety of wonderful dishes. For the following dish I used pigs tails in brine.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Pig’s Tail Souse

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Preparation :
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remove tails from brine, rinse under running water for 15 minutes, cover with cold water, season with cider vinegar, garlic paste and hot sauce, simmer until tender but not falling apart, about two hours

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cooked, tender pigs tails

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for the dresing, slice onions, cucumbers and radishes into fine julienne, add kosher salt, cayenne pepper, garlic paste, cider vinegarand a few drops of olive oil

for the dressing, slice onions, cucumbers and radishes into fine julienne, add finely sliced chives, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, garlic paste, cider vinegar and a few drops of olive oil

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pour over tails, let stand at room temperature for about one hour, serve with rustic bread

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Pig’s Tail Souse

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Pig’s Tail Souse

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Pig’s Tail Souse

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this weeks herb bush : Chives

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Links to more pig’s tails on ChefsOpinion:

PIG’S TAIL AND POTATO CURRY, NAAN AND CUCUMBER RAITA

CONGEE WITH SMOKED PIG’S TAILS & VEGETABLES

SMOKED PIG’S TAIL, BOW TIES & VEGETABLE STEW

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Pork Blade Steak

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If you are on a budget but still like to have more than a tiny steak for dinner, you might want to try this cut. While not overly popular, probably because folks don’ know how to prepare it, it is a great piece of meat, tender, juicy and very economic (meaning bloody cheap 🙂 ) The three steaks in the picture were just $ 4.20, so the whole meal was under six buck’s. Even if you are not on a budget, these steaks make for a great, tasty meal. I guess that most people would have had enough with just one steak (which would then be about $ 2.50 per portion, including the salad), but since I did not prepare any starch, the three of them with a small salad were just the right sized portion for me. And of course, Bella had a few bites too.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Pork Blade Steak & Arugula In White Balsamic Vinaigrette

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Pork Blade Steak

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arugula with radish and onions in balsamic vinaigrette

arugula with radish and onions in white balsamic vinaigrette

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Preparation :
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season sliced onions and sliced radishes with kosher salt, set aside

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season blade steaks with kosher salt, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper, dredge in flour, saute in peanut oil

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first one done, two to go…..

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two done, last one on the way

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saute grape tomatoes in garlic/olive oil, season with salt and pepper, just before serving add fresh chives

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meanwhile, squeeze and discard excess juice from radish and onions, add arugula, white balsamic vinegar, freshly ground white pepper, garlic/olive oil and a splash of maggi seasoning

arrange steaks on serving platter, top with sauteed tomatoes and chives

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Pork Blade Steak & Arugula

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Pork Blade Steak

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Pork Blade Steak

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arugula with radish and onions in balsamic vinaigrette

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Steamed Pork Buns (Baozi)

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Today’s early dinner was so delicious, easy and fast to prepare. I now get my dumpling and bun dough fresh from my Chinese neighborhood restaurant, so dumplings and steamed buns are much more often to be found on my dinner table. To prep the stuffing only takes a few minutes, steaming the buns another 20 minutes or so. Great food in a snap 🙂
The stuffing for these buns was ground pork, finely chopped white cabbage, sesame oil, egg white, salt, pepper, garlic paste and grated ginger. Stuff the buns, arrange on oiled paper sheets in steamer, steam for twenty minutes and – bingo !

Bon Appetit ! Life is good !
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Steamed Pork Buns (Baozi), Sriracha, Wasabi

Steamed Pork Buns (Baozi)

Beautiful Charger

Steamed Pork Buns (Baozi)

Steamed Pork Buns (Baozi),
drizzled with dipping sauce
( soy sauce, garlic paste, lime juice, chili oil)

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Breakfast Of Champions # 32 – Milanesa Mexicana

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This exact dish was my daily breakfast staple for a few months back in 1975, when I spend extended time vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
At that time, Puerto Vallarta was still a smallish, sleepy city with few hotels and minimal night life. Puerto Vallarta became internationally famous after American director John Huston filmed his 1963 film The Night of the Iguana in Mismaloya, a small town just south of Puerto Vallarta. I still have a photo from 1975 which I took on the beach where Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were having their “sexy” beach scenes. It was basically a deserted piece of beach where only a few hippies and locals hung out. In the shot I took, there are as many pigs as people roaming the beach.
Times and Puerto Vallarta sure have changed since then 😦
However, at the time, the group of friend’s I spent most night’s with was a show band from Ireland named “Los Irlandeses”. They performed at the night club of the only 5-star hotel in town, the Westin Hotel, located on a small beach just outside of town. Their show started at around 11.00pm five times a week and that’s when and where I usually started my evening. They made sure to talk to me from the stage when I got there during the show and treated me as if I were a VIP. Since this was the hottest place in town, this little game made sure that by the time the show ended at around 1.00 am, there were already a few groupies sitting on my table, ready to party with the guy’s from the band and I.
We usually partied until 6.00 or 7.00 am (we were very young and sleeping during the day when it was hot made sense. Only the tourists came for a tan 🙂
So, at that time of the day, we usually went to a restaurant/bar in an area close to the beach which served great food (all food was good at that time of day). Almost all the time my best friend at the time who was the drummer of the band and I ended up ordering the same dish, day after day – Milanesa, accompanied by guacamole, salsa mexicana and fried egg’s, washed down with a few Dos Equis beers.
This was the usual daily before going to bed ritual. The Getting out of bed ritual in the late afternoon usually involved a couple of dos equis and a mexican style chicken and lime soup, containing shredded chicken, rice, vegetables and lots of cilantro.
So there you have it : Milanesa Mexicana and a few memories 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Viva Mexico !

Guacamole Recipe Link
Salsa Mexicana Link
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The Domino Principle, 1977

Milanesa Mexicana

saute breaded pork, veal, chicken or beef cutlets until golden and cooked to your desired doneness

meanwhile, prepare sunny side up egg’s

milanesa

top with guacamole

top with salsa mexicana

top with sour cream

top with sunny side up egg’s

Milanesa Mexicana

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Boiled Pork And Shrimp Dumplings

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Boiled dumplings are one of the more common daily food items in Chinese cuisine. Yet, while most dumplings served in restaurants are steamed, the more common cooking method in private homes is boiling them in salted water.
These dumplings are very easy to make and take no time at all, especially if you use ready-made won ton skin’s.
However, tonight I used regular pasta dough (all-purpose flour, whole eggs, water and salt), which I rolled very thin and cut with a round cutter into even shapes) Add a stuffing of half minced pork and half minced shrimp with finely sliced scallions, grated ginger, garlic paste, sesame oil , soy sauce and cayenne pepper. Wet the edges of the dumplings with a wet finger, fold them over and press lightly. Boil in salted water until stuffing is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove to a bowl and toss with sesame oil and chili oil. To serve, sprinkle with chopped fresh coriander and a dipping sauce made of soy sauce, lime juice , sugar and chili flakes.

Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !

Pork And Shrimp Dumplings

boiling pork and shrimp dumplings

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Roasted Piglet

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Once in a while I like to roast a whole pig. When Maria was still alive and we had once or twice a month a party at the house for 30 or 40 friend’s, I usually cooked two 45 pounder. Last night I only had one friend over for dinner at 9.30 pm and another one at 1.00 am, so 25 lbs seemed just fine.
I seasoned the pig with sea salt, sriracha and soy sauce on the inside, then stuffed the cavity with lots of garlic, cilantro, orange wedges, lemon wedges and onion wedges. The outside got sea salt, sriracha, granulated garlic and soy sauce. Roast for half an hour at 425F, then 4 hours at 275F, then the last half hour at 425 again. Basting the little darling every 15 minutes with beer is the secret to the beautiful skin and great taste. After removing the piglet from oven, let it sit for 30 minutes before carving. The result: Perfectly crisp on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside, extremely flavorful. Accompanied by sour dough bread, cornichons, horseradish, mustard and sea salt mixed with freshly ground black pepper. A couple of Stella Artois during the meal and a couple of shot’s of Chivas afterwards. Aaahhhhhhh…. 🙂
Bella and I had the last little bits and pieces for lunch today.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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: suckling pig

: roasted piglet

: roasted piglet

: roasted piglet

: roasted piglet

: roasted piglet

: freshly baked sour dough bread

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Kümmelbraten ( Caraway Pork Roast )

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I wish I would have been able to get a pork neck for this dish, but I couldn’t, so I used the next best thing, a pork butt (shoulder). For pork steaks and roast, I prefer the neck, because in my opinion the flavor and texture is far superior to any other cut of the pig. However, the butt is also a great cut to roast or braise, so at the end I was happy with what I got.
This dish is very common in the south of Germany where I grew up, so whenever I prepare this dish it alway’s brings back happy memories of a more simple time in my life. But on Friday when I cooked this, I had Daryl and Leo over for dinner, so it was a happy meal after all. (Some wine and rum also made sure of that) 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Kümmelbraten (caraway pork roast)

Pork butt (shoulder)

Pork butt, knuckle removed

Knuckle

Seasoned with mustard, thyme, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion and caraway seed

Place on a rack above red wine and beer, add chilies, scallions and tomatoes, roast at 420 F for 30 minutes, turn down to 270F cook, for three hours

Add potatoes, cook for another hour or until potatoes are soft. Remove meat, cover lightly and let rest thirty minutes

Meanwhile, remove sauce, potatoes and vegetables to a small pot, add tomato paste and simmer for fifteen minutes.

Meanwhile, transfer sauce, potatoes and vegetables to a small pot, add tomato paste and simmer for fifteen minutes. Check/adjust seasoning and texture of sauce

Kümmelbraten (caraway pork roast)

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“Schweine Braten” (Roast Pork Butt)

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Yesterday morning at 7.00am I put this beautiful hunk of meat in the oven at 325 F for 6 hours. (Seasoned with kosher salt, sriracha, granulated garlic, cumin seeds an caraway seeds).
I had the first portion for lunch with the red wine jus and bread dumplings. Wonderful.
Then in the evening I made the rest into a sandwich on sourdough bread with a bit of jus to moisten the bread and freshly grated horseradish with lemon juice to give it a bit of a kick 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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“Schweine Braten” (Roast Pork Butt)

: “Schweine Braten” (Roast Pork Butt)

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Tonkatsu & Dipping Sauce

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Tonkatsu ! Sounds exotic and foreign ?
Rightfully so. However, tonkatsu is a common japanese dish, usually served with shredded cabbage and a worcester based dipping sauce. But, if you take the japanese name and replace it with the english name, what you get is ” breaded pork cutlet”.
In this version I have used a pork chop instead of pork cutlets and have omitted the shredded cabbage. Anyway, I usually prefer vinaigrette dressed shredded iceberg lettuce instead of the cabbage. I also use my own modified tonkatsu sauce recipe which I prefer to any store bought version.
But, can you still call it Tonkatsu ? You be the judge 🙂
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Tonkatsu & Dipping Sauce

: Tonkatsu & Dipping Sauce

Tonkatsu :

Season the pork chops with kosher salt, cayenne pepper and lemon juice. Bread with flour, egg and panko bread crumbs. Saute in peanut oil until golden and cooked through, but not dry. Remove to absorbent paper and pat dry. Let rest for five minutes before cutting into wide strips. Serve with dipping sauce and lemon wedges. Enjoy !

Tonkatsu sauce (my way) :

Mix 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tblsp soy sauce, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp mustard, 1 tblsp white wine (or sherry), 1 tsp sriracha and a few drops of maggi seasoning.

Note :

I love this dipping sauce and use it for lot’s of other fried, grilled and sauted dishes.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Curried Lentil Soup With Pork & Pork

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” Curried lentil soup with pork, vegetables, potatoes, sun dried tomatoes, chilis and chicharones (the other pork) ”

Last night it was a bone chilling 68 F outside, (this is Florida, folks),
so this one-pot meal provided much needed heat and comfort 🙂
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Ingredients :

Pork butt, diced
Chicken stock,
Lentils, any color will do
Bell peppers, diced
Onions, diced
Potatoes, diced
Celery, diced
Carrots, diced
Sun dried tomatoes, chopped
Garlic, paste
Chicharones,
Butter, substitute with olive oil if you prefer
Kosher salt,
Cayenne,
Maggi seasoning,

Method :

Saute onions, carrots, celery, sun dried tomatoes and garlic in butter until onions are translucent. Add curry powder, saute slowly for 30 seconds. Add pork, chicken stock and seasoning. Simmer until pork is tender. Remove pork, set aside, cover so it does not discolor. Add lentils to stock and simmer for 15 minutes. Add potatoes and peppers. Simmer until tender but not falling apart. Blend one quarter of the soup until smooth and thick. Return to pot, add pork and heat through. Adjust seasoning if required. To serve, sprinkle with chicharones.

Bon Appetit ! Stay Warm !
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