Tag: pork

Braised Pork in Lazy Cherry Ancho Mole
I’m going to be completely honest here; I’m not the biggest fan of cherries.

It’s not that I have anything against them, they’re just not really my steeze. But this blog is supposed to be a challenge, and that means transforming whatever is in season, whether I like it or not, into something unique and delicious.

Doing research for cherry flavor profiles ended up giving us the key for what we would do with them. While cherries aren’t toward the top of my list, there are a multitude of flavors that I do love that have an affinity for them: chocolate, nuts, coffee, dried fruit or chiles, vanilla, and other spices like cinnamon to name a few. I had trouble picking a direction until I realized that I didn’t have to, after browsing through a Mark Miller cookbook. There’s already something out there that uses most of these things and that I was certain would welcome the presence of cherries: mole.

Sometimes containing upwards of 60 ingredients and often demanding an entire day to make, mole is definitely an undertaking. While all the work is certainly worth it, sometimes I’m just not up to it. Sometimes I just feel like being lazy while something braises in the oven for hours while I troll my way through an RPG or a good book. I’ve made so many damn lazy moles in my day, and while they aren’t as complex as they could be, I still find that they hit the spot; plus they’re really fun to make and easy to experiment with. Never under-estimate the amount of joy I can derive from dumping a bunch of shit in a food processor, blending it together, and seeing what happens. I certainly had a lot of fun fooling around with this recipe.

Lazy Cherry Ancho Mole:
- 1½ ounces ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 1 pound of fresh dark cherries (we like Bings), pitted and halved
- ½ small onion, roughly chopped
- 1 cup of brewed strong coffee, hot
- 2 chipotles in adobo sauce
- ¼ cup whole almonds, toasted
- 1 ounce chocolate (over 60%, please, none of that milk chocolate nonsense), finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon of allspice
- A pinch of clove
- A few grates of fresh nutmeg
Rehydrate the chiles by submerging them in water and microwaving for 2–3 minutes. They should be soft and have changed in color, becoming more red. Remove from the water and set aside. Discard the water.

In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients for the mole except for the coffee and the vinegar. Pulse repeatedly, scraping the sides until the mixture is as smooth as you can get it. Combine the coffee and vinegar together and pour through the top of the food processor while the blade is running. The mole should loosen up and blend until completely smooth. The quick mole is ready to use, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week before using.

Braised Pork in Lazy Cherry Ancho Mole:
- 4 pounds lean pork shoulder, cut into 2-3 inch cubes
- 1 batch of Lazy Cherry Ancho Mole
Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a casserole dish (or dutch oven), pour in the mole and place the pieces of pork on top. If using a dutch oven, simply place all the pork inside and give it a quick stir. Cover in aluminum foil or lid and braise for about 3 hours or until the meat becomes tender and falls apart. After braising, remove the meat from the mole, allowing it to rest and be shredded later. Remove the excess fat and, if you like, use an immersion blender to make sure the mole has a really smooth texture.

Shred the meat with forks and serve after cooling with sauce on the side. Accompaniments can include corn tortillas, rice and beans, or just eat it out of the pan over the stove.
June 26, 2016
Mapo Doufu

If it isn’t obvious yet, serious comfort food for us usually involves something really spicy and filling coupled with a beer. There are going to be a lot of recipes on here that fit that description, and this is one of them.
I have a lot of memories of this dish growing up since it was one of my dad’s favorite things to make. Naturally it was a recipe that I inherited from him and brought with me when I went to college. I made it all through school, afterward, and eventually, for Nate. Since our tastebuds are eerily similar, he likes it almost as much as I do.

I would describe mapo doufu as a gravy. A spicy, meaty, savory gravy. You simmer pork and tofu together with some black bean paste, soy sauce, and a huge amount of garlic, ginger, and chile paste. Feel free to adjust the chile paste levels, but we have to say that the benefits of a nice chile glow are underrated. (more…)

June 6, 2015
Carnitas Amargas
The name of this dish translates to “bitter little meats.” Carnitas are a pretty standard protein in Mexican food, and why wouldn’t they be? It’s pork slow cooked in spices until it falls apart then is fried in its own fat. Sounds pretty great, right?
We’ve made carnitas too many times to count. They’re easy, they keep well, and they also lend themselves to an incredible amount of quick and satisfying dinners. There are so many recipes for this, and it’s pretty hard to go wrong with carnitas, but we wanted to make something that stood out among the rest. So Nate had the great idea of making it taste more complex by enhancing a flavor profile that is often underrated but present in them already: bitterness.

Initially, I was dubious. Classifying anything bitter right off the bat is often a turnoff for many. However, after he made me a first batch, I was hooked, and we’ve made them the same way ever since. Cuts of pork shoulder are coated in salt and cocoa powder then seared in a pan, then cooked in their own juices with onions, garlic, some spices, and whole lime. The result is a tasting experience in two definitive stages: fatty and salty followed by a hint of bitterness, almost even floral.

Carnitas Amargas
- 2 lbs pork shoulder
- 1 tsp. cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 5 cloves of garlic, peeled, whole
- ½ yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 lime, halved
- 1 tbs. Mexican oregano
- 1 bay leaf
Preheat oven to 350.

In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and salt together, then rub mixture over the pork. In a hot pan on medium high heat, sear all sides of the pork.

When the pork is done searing, place it in a dutch over or clay pot (something with a cover) along with the garlic, onion, lime, Mexican oregano, and bay leaf. Cover and bake for about 2.5 hours, or until the pork is tender and falling apart. Remove from the oven and discard the lime and bay leaf. Tear the pork apart with a fork until it becomes stringy, then transfer everything in the clay pot into a hot pan (ideally the pan you used at first) and cook off all the liquid while crisping up the meat a little bit. Taste test for salt, then the carnitas are ready for use.
April 25, 2015
Spaghetti and Meatballs
We’ve been on a pasta kick, and what good is a that if you don’t have spaghetti and meatballs in there somewhere? If you play your cards right and have the marinara prepared ahead of time, you can make this rich and relatively quick spaghetti and meatballs easily…perhaps a bit too easily.
Instead of using homemade noodles for this, we opted for packaged angel hair spaghetti, which we think gives the dish more diverse textures. Any pasta will do. At the end of the day, though, it’s all about the sauce and the balls.

spaghetti_and_meatballs_01

One trick we use is to soak the breadcrumbs in red wine. Since we use Pinot noir in our marinara, it’s a perfect match. This recipe will make a lot of meatballs, so hope is that you’ll have enough for leftovers.

Spaghetti and Meatballs
- ¼ cup homemade breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Pinot noir red wine
- ½ lb. ground pork
- ½ lb. ground beef (not lean)
- ½ oz. (about ¼ cup) Italian parsley, packed
- ½ onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 quart marinara (we recommend Nate’s Pinot Noir Marinara)
- 6 oz. dried angel hair pasta
- parmesan, Italian parsley, red pepper flakes to finish
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Soak the breadcrumbs in the wine in a small bowl until the breadcrumbs have absorbed all of the wine, about five minutes. Place meats, onion, parsley, garlic, egg, salt, pepper, and soaked breadcrumbs in the bowl of a large food processor. Pulse until combined. Don’t process too much or you’ll whip the egg, which isn’t what you want here.

Prepare a 13 x 9 baking dish with about half the marinara spread evenly. Set aside.

Divide meat into 1.5-inch balls and place into the baking dish, leaving some room around the meatballs so they don’t stick together. Cover the meatballs with the rest of the marinara.

Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 160°F.

Put a large pot to boil.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Stir the marinara to incorporate the rendered fat and roasted bits that were on top of the meatballs. While the meat cools, cook pasta al dente. Strain and toss noodles with just enough marinara to coat the noodles. Serve with more marinara and three meatballs. Garnish with parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, and red pepper flakes to taste.

Yields about 18 meatballs.

spaghetti_and_meatballs_03
April 19, 2015
Lemon Basil Lasagna
Sometimes, we like to go all out on a meal. Lasagna is one of those meals. We know we’ve been posting some quick recipes that you can make on a typical weeknight, but this one—this one is for the weekend.
Lasagna is a production, especially if you’re making (almost) everything from scratch. For this we used Nate’s pinot noir marinara, but instead of using oil to caramelize the onions, we opted for rendered fat from ground pork. What really makes this shine, though, is Jon’s lemon-infused ricotta mixture. It accents the tart umami of the marinara perfectly, giving the lasagna a duality: rich and floral.

Lemon Basil Lasagna
- 1 batch everyday pasta, rolled to 5 or 6 thickness or 1 12-oz. package of no-boil lasagna noodles.
- 2½ c. shredded mozzarella
- ¼ c. parmesan reggiano or pecorino romano, grated
Sauce
- Ingredients for 1 batch Nate’s Pinot Noir Marinara
- 1 lb. ground pork
Ricotta mixture
- 1 15-oz. container whole fat ricotta cheese
- ½ c. grated parmesan reggiano or pecorino romano, grated
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- ½ oz. basil leaves, chiffonade
- 1 egg
- salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
For the sauce, follow the directions here, browning the pork sausage in the same pot for the marinara over medium high heat. Remove the meat from the pan using a strainer, leaving the rendered fat and add diced onions to the hot pan. Add a small amount of oil if needed. Add the rest of the ingredients and reduce sauce for up to 1½ hours, stirring constantly.

While the sauce is reducing, make the pasta dough.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

Mix the ricotta, parmesan, basil leaves, lemon juice and zest, and egg in a medium bowl.

Roll out pasta into lasagna noodles and coat with a light dusting of flour to keep from sticking. Take a 13″ by 9″ baking dish and coat the bottom with just enough marinara, about 1 cup. Place a layer of noodles in the pan.

Dollop in about a third of the ricotta mixture and spread evenly over the noodles. Add about ¾ cup marinara and spread evenly. Sprinkle ¾ cup mozzarella on top and place another layer of noodles on top of the layer. Congrats! This is your first layer!

Repeat this twice.

For the top, spread enough marinara to cover the noodles thinly. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and parmesan over the top. Cover with foil. Bake covered for 40 minutes. Remove foil carefully (use an oven mitt!) and bake for another 15–20 minutes, until cheese is browned and the lasagna is boiling.

Lasagna-01

Remove from oven and let rest for 10–15 minutes before serving.

Serves 8.

Lasagna-02
April 10, 2015