Herb-Crusted Pork Loin

A few weeks ago, I was the one with a few minutes of free time, so I made dinner for David and I. I picked out this dish and I think it turned out really well. I got this one from The Paleo Mom. 

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs pork center loin or sirloin
• 2 large sprigs fresh rosemary (about 2 Tbsp chopped)
• 10-12 sprigs fresh thyme (about 2 Tbsp chopped)
• ½ tsp Salt
• ½ tsp cracked Pepper
• 8-9 cloves Fresh Garlic
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• ½ tsp Paprika

1.    Preheat oven to 350F.
2.    Blend spices in the small cup of your Magic Bullet or a small Food Processor. If you are using entirely dry spices, you could blend in a Spice Grinder.  Alternatively, you could chop extremely fine and then grind in a mortar and pestel.  (I used the mortar and pt
3.    Rub spices evenly over entire roast (if you don’t quite have enough for an even coat over the whole roast, focus on the top of the roast, which should be the side with the fat cap).
4.    Optionally, you can wrap the roast in plastic wrap, place in your fridge, and let “marinate” for a few hours or even overnight.
5.    Place roast fat side up on a roasting pan.  Cook for 20 minutes per pound, until internal temperature reaches 160F.
6.    Remove roast from oven and let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Chipotle Meatballs.

one last meat-tastic recipe, these are a rick bayless recipe.

3 slices bacon, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs (could shift to some amount almond flour for paleo)
1 1/4 lbs gr. pork (again, meat could vary here)
1 28 oz. can of diced tomato, mostly drained (1/4 cup juice left)
2-3 chipotles in adobo
1 med. onion, diced
1 tsp oregano, dried
1.5 tsp chili powder
1.5 cups broth (beef or chicken)
bonus: 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint (didn’t use)

preheat oven to 400.

in a bowl, combine bacon, 2 cloves garlic, eggs, bread crumbs, pork, mint, chili powder, and 1.5 tsp salt. make into small meatballs – we used out minimuffin tin and it was a good decision, i think. bake about 15 minutes, until lightly browned.

while they bake, saute your onions well, until in they brown a touch. add remaining 3 cloves garlic for a minute, then add tomatoes, broth, chipotles, and oregano. mix well, add salt to taste. when meatballs are ready, mix well and you can serve.

we’ve served this with cauliflower rice, and it’s a nice pairing. it’s also fine by itself, as a sort of appetizer.

Meatloaf.

our eating has shifted towards a more paleo-oriented diet. this meatloaf is a blend of ina garten’s recipe and one from the paleomg cookbook.

2.5 lbs ground meat (i’ve been doing 1 lb gr. pork, 1.5 lb ground beef)
1-2 chopped onions
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
3 tbsp worcestershire sauce (considering this as a more strictly paleo version)
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup almond flour/meal (i didn’t measure last time i made this, but i def. needed a bit more than i cup to get the right consistency)

NOTE: the paleomg recipe uses 1 shredded sweet potato in here. i’d like to try this out.

preheat oven to 325. mix everything into a loaf, then put into a greased meatloaf pan. cook for 60-75 minutes. ina says a pan of water on the lower rack will prevent the top from cracking, though i don’t pour ketchup on this like she does.

anyways, it has been a solid start to meatloafing. we’ll see where it takes us.

 

Pork and Poblano Stew.

this most recent one came from simply recipes; carla picked it out, and it looked fine to me. we made it last night, and i was pretty happy – lots of great flavor. i think it helped that i got a particularly nice bit of pork shoulder from our butcher.

• 4 to 5 poblano chile peppers (about 3/4 pound)
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed, cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
• Salt
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 chipotle chili in adobo, minced
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 quart chicken stock (use gluten-free stock for gluten-free option)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn (no need to defrost if frozen)
• 1 large (about 1/2 pound) sweet potato, peeled and diced (about 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes)
• Sour cream for garnish
• Cilantro for garnish
• Toasted shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) for garnish

1) Char / broil the chiles; skin, stem, and seed them, then chop into 1-2 inch pieces. One main switch – neither of the two grocers I visited had poblanos! So I made an audible and toasted and rehydrated some anchos instead. I chopped them much more finely, as they are a bit less pleasant to eat big pieces of.

2) Heat oil in a dutch oven, then brown the pork, salting liberally.

3) Remove the pork – add onion and cumin to the dutch oven, cooking until translucent (~5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook another minute.

4) Add the chopped chipotle (I used 2 rather than 1, and was very happy with the spicyness level), along with the pork and the poblanos. Then add the stock and oregano, and simmer covered for about an hour.

5) Add the sweet potato and corn, then cook for 45 more minutes, until sweet potato is cooked through.

You can garnish with sour cream, cilantro, and or pepitos, though we did none of those last night. I thought this was a very savory, delicious stew. It took a chunk of time for sure, but the end result made me pretty happy.

Roast Loin of Pork with Apple Sauce

Another Gordon Ramsay recipe. I have wanted to make something with “pork medallions” for so long and I had a feeling that Ramsay would be a good place to start.

Serves 6-8

3-pound boneless pork loin roast, skin on if possible (we went with no skin).
few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion sliced
olive oil for drizzling.

Apple Sauce:
1 pound tart cooking apples (we used Granny Smith)
1 1/2 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. lemon juice
4-5 Tbs. sugar

Preheat the over to its highest setting, about 500F. Remove the butcher’s stings if the loin is tied. Pat the skin of the pork dry with paper towels, then score in a crisscross pattern, spacing the cuts 3/4-in apart (we skipped this, be cause we didn’t have skin). Cut a slit along the thick sides of the loin, without cutting all the way through, to open out like a book.

Mix the chopped rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, olive oil, and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir well, then spread the mixture over the pork loin. Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper. Roll up the loin and secure tightly with kitchen string at 1 1/2-in intervals. Rube the scored skin with a large pinch of salt.

Scatter the onion over the bottom of the roasting pan. Set the pork on top, skin side up. Drizzle olive oil generously over the skin and sprinkle with another large pinch of salt. Place in the oven and roast until the skin is golden and starting to crisp, about 20 minutes.

Turn down the oven to 350F and roast the pork until it is just cooked through, 30-40 minutes longer (we did 35 minutes). To test, insert a metal skewer into the thickest part of the loin and press gently; the juices that run out should be clear. (Ramsay prefers to serve pork just slightly pink to retain the succulence and moisture). Let rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.

Make the apple sauce while the pork is roasting: Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Roughly chop the quarters. Put them in a medium sauce pan with the butter, lemon juice, 4 tbs. of sugar and a splash of water. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes. Lift the lid and give the apples a stir every not and then, adding a little more water if the pan looks too dry. When the apples have broken down into a purée, taste for sweetness and add a little more sugar to taste. Adjust the consistency with a little more hot water, as necessary. Serve warm with the roast pork.

David: I though it turned out really well. It was a touch overcooked (maybe less time, in the future). Overall a big success. A-

Carla: I really like it. I really liked having the pork medallions and the apple sauce was great. It was surprisingly easy to put together. A

Carnitas (July 20, 2008)

From Carla’s birthday extravaganza!
CARNITAS

pork butt – we made 2 three pound cuts
4 onions
1 bunch cilantro
4 jalapenos
2 liters coca-cola

RUB:
* 1/4 cup paprika
* 2 teaspoons cayenne
* 2 tablespoons salt
* 2 teaspoons white pepper
* 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons garlic granules
* 2 tablespoons chili powder
* 2 tablespoons oregano

we applied the rub the day prior, and let it all get up in there. chopped the onions and jalapenos roughly, and divided them into the two big pots. filled the big pots with half water, half coca-cola. let these bad boys simmer away in there for about 2 hours. then transfer to the hot grill for a few minutes, giving a good char to the outside and carmelizing some of the coke. by the time all this is happening, the meat should be falling apart – so we finished the job, and served with tortillas (homemade!) and toppings – salsa, lettuce, cheese.

this turned out very nicely – the pork tasted great.