Tis the season for food bloggers to post crazy. It seems that even those bloggers that normally only post a few times a month churn out tons of posts between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And who can blame them. The season is made for cooking…and eating. There are posts on making cookies, making candies, creating holiday themed cocktails or cooking up snacks and appetizers for holiday parties. And while there are also lots of wonderful posts on creating memorial Christmas meals for the whole family there seems to be a lack of posts concerning those who aren’t spending the holidays with extended family but still would like to cook a nice meal.

That is exactly what we are doing this year. It will just be me, my wife and my daughter. While we have family only a short distance away (1 1/2 hours) we decided it would be nice just to spend a holiday with just “us”, something we’ve only done once before with our daughter. I will miss the hustle and bustle of an extended family Christmas, but it will give us a chance to make some of our own traditions and, as Christmas approaches, I find myself relishing the idea of quite, low key Christmas with just the 3 of us.

But that means no huge, roasted Turkey, Crown Roast of Pork, or Rib of Beef. Instead we are thinking smaller. Pork Tenderloin fits that bill perfectly. They normally weigh in about 1 1/2 – 2 pounds, just the right amount for a meal for 2-4 people. And better yet, they don’t take very long to cook-less than 1 hour, start to finish, including prep time. Accompanied by a dried fruit relish or chutney (look for a recipe with a twist on Cranberry relish later this week), creamy brasied cabbage and roasted root vegetables, you have the makings of a simple, yet elegant Christmas dinner that doesn’t have you spending hours in the kitchen (not a bad thing when you are cooking for a crowd, but it can be tedious when cooking for just a few people). Make the meal special by serving a nice bottle of American Pinot Noir or ratchet up the festive level and serve one of my favorite Champagnes, Billecart Salmon Rose. It will run you about $80-90, but it’s well worth it, and besides, it’s Christmas.

While I’m crusting pork in this recipe, the same procedure works just as well with lamb or chicken breasts. In fact, I think the first time I made this it was to crust Rack of Lamb at one of the first high end restaurants I ever worked at. Yes, this recipe is pretty traditional. It surely won’t win any awards for creativity or trendiness, but there is a reason the classics are classics. It’s because they work. Enjoy!!

Mustard Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin
serves 2-4

1 1/2 – 2 pounds pork tenderloin
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 1/2 Tbl. rosemary, fresh, finely chopped
1 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
3-4 Tbl. Dijon mustard
salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbl. vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a skillet over high heat. Meanwhile generously season the pork tenderloin with salt and pepper. Add the oil to the pan and when hot add the pork tenderloin. While the pork is cooking combine the bread crumbs, rosemary, garlic, and a bit of salt and pepper. Cook the tenderloin until it is seared on all sides.

Once seared on all sides remove pork from pan and pat dry to remove excess oil. Liberally coat the entire tenderloin with Dijon mustard, brushing it on with a pastry brush.

Then roll in the bread crumb mixture to crust all sides of the pork.

Place on a pan and roast, in the oven to an internal temperature of 140°F. Once the pork reaches 140°F remove from the oven, loosely tent with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 8-10 minutes. This will leave you with pork that is still a little pink inside. Personally I like it this way and am loathe to return to the days when pork was cooked until grey, dry and lifeless, but if you are squeamish about pink pork then cook it to 150-155°F, but remember this is pork tenderloin and not very fatty. Cook it too far and you will have a dry tough piece of meat on your hands.

After resting, cut the pork into slices about 1/4″ thick and serve.

When my wife and I first started dating the very first meal she made for me was her Chicken Paprikash. Being of Hungarian descent (her Dad’s family escaped Hungary in the 1950′s) this was a dish she was very familiar with and felt confident serving to her chef boyfriend (me). Of course, I loved it (and would have never told her otherwise if I hadn’t) and it has been a staple in our house since then as we both consider this comfort food of the highest order. I mean, what’s not to love; chicken slowly simmered in a sauce of onions and paprika, all finished with a healthy (and when I say healthy I really mean unhealthy!) dose of sour cream and served over egg noodles or better yet thick, chewy homemade dumplings-another item my wife excels at!

Up until earlier this year, Paprikash always meant chicken, for us, but earlier this summer we had some pork that we needed to use up so my wife used that instead of the normal chicken. We fell in love with the dish all over again and now seem to make it more with pork than with chicken.

Like with many family recipes handed down from generation to generation, my wife learned how to cook this one by “eye.” Until today I don’t think she ever measured any of the ingredients that went into the pot. It was kind of eye opening to see how much onion and how much paprika this dish actually uses! Talking of paprika, this dish requires good, “fresh” paprika. If the stuff you have sitting in your cupboard is over 6 months old please trash it and buy new stuff for this recipe as it plays a significant role in not only coloring but flavoring the dish.

Pork Paprikash
serves 8-10

3 1/2 pounds pork shoulder (or other tougher cut of pork)
6 cups onion, peeled and diced (small dice)
3 Tbl. vegetable oil
1 Tbl. salt
5 bay leaves
1/4 cup paprika
2 cups water
2 Tbl. corn starch
8oz sour cream

Dice pork into 1″ cubes. Heat a large pot over high heat and add the oil. Add pork and cook until lightly browned on all sides. Remove from pot and add the onions. Cook for 5 minutes until starting to turn translucent. Return the pork to the pot and add the salt, bay leaves, paprika, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook at a slow simmer for about 3 hours or until the pork is tender and the onions have mostly disintgrated.Dissolve the corn starch in a bit of cold water and add, a bit at a time until thickened to your liking (it should be the consistency of a loose stew). Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Serve over egg noodles or homemade dumplings.

Back in Feburary 2010 I posted a recipe for one of my favorite Mexican dishes, Carnitas. You can find the post here. While I was happy with the recipe I posted, I am always looking for ways to improve my dishes or do them differently. One of the problems with the recipe is that it cooked on the stove top for quite awhile. This meant that since both my wife and I work, the only time I could make these was on the weekend or on a day that I was off. I decided to do the initial cooking in the slow cooker, allowing us to have carnitas any day of the week as most of the cooking was done while we were working.

It’s been awhile since I spoke of my love of the slow cooker, AKA Crock Pot. In my early days as a chef, I used to look down on these gadgets, associating them with bad casseroles and 1970′s cooking. I quickly changed my tune though when I started playing with them and realized what great vessels they were for slowly braising all sorts of meats and dishes. It allows me to start a dish in the morning, before work, making for a quick but tasty dinner soon after I get home.

While you do most of the cooking, for this dish, in the slow cooker, it does need to be finished on the stove top to evaporate the remaining liquid and fry the meat in its rendered fat. Luckily this doesn’t take too long, just about the time it will take you to get the condiments together and heat up the tortillas.

Forget the bottled salsa with these tacos. I prefer the standard accompaniment of finely diced onion, jalapeno and cilanto, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Slow Cooker Carnitas
serves 6-8 people

5 pounds pork roast (I used a shoulder roast, whatever you use it should have plenty of fat in it as you need the fat to finish the dish)
1 can Rotel (original flavor)*
1 Tbl. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
salt
black pepper

Start your preparations in the morning, before work. Pour the Rotel into your slow cooker. Fill the can 3/4′s of way with water and add that also. Place the pork roast in the slow cooker and sprinkle with the chili powder and cumin. Generously season the meat with plenty of salt and pepper. Turn the slow cooker to “low,” cover and allow to cook while you’re at work.

When you get home, 8 hours later, the pork should be fully cooked and quite tender. Break up the pork into large pieces (2-3 bites each) and transfer the meat, along with all the juices and fat to a large nonreactive pot. Place over high heat and cook until all the liquid has evaporated, leaving just the pork and the rendered fat in the pan. Allow the pork to fry in its own fat until it starts to brown around the edges and crisp up slightly. Stir occasionally as it will want to stick at this point. By this time the pork should have broken down into small, bite sized pieces or smaller. If not break it up a bit more.

Serve with corn tortillas that have been briefly grilled to warm then through. Top with a mixture of finely diced onion, jalapeno and cilantro, and finally, with a squeeze of fresh lime.

*Note: For those of you not familiar with Rotel, you can find it in the store with all the other canned tomato products. It’s a mix of diced tomato and green chiles. While I don’t advocate too many canned products, my house is never without at least of cans around at all times.

When I was first introduced to Mexican Chorizo I was very confused. What I knew as “Chorizo” came from Spain and it was a dried sausage, so the first time I ordered Chorizo and Eggs I was perlexed by what I received. My consternation didn’t last long, however, after taking my first bite. I immediately fell in love with this new (well at least new to me) form of sausage. And I’ve been in love ever since.

Chorizo is a great way to add a little spice and Southwest flair to just about any meat dish that calls for ground meat. I often like to add it to chili, use it to fill tacos and burritos, add some into fried potatoes, or a pot of refried beans, and, of course, in the ever popular Chorizo and Eggs, for breakfast. But one of my favorite things to do with chorizo is to make my Southwestern Chorizo Burgers. It’s a combination of chorizo and ground beef and it makes one of the best nontraditional burgers around. You can find the recipe on my blog here.

Making Mexican Chorizo is a pretty simple process, especially so since I find no need to stuff it into casings. The vast majority of uses requires it to be crumbled and browned so there is no need to bother with the hassle of stuffing. To be honest, as much as I love chorizo, it is a pretty spicy product and I’m not sure that I’d enjoy eating it as a link.

Mexican Chorizo

4 pounds pork butt
2 Tbs. paprika
1 1/2 Tbs. ancho powder*
1 Tbs. chipotle powder**
1/4 tsp. ground clove
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp. ground black pepper
5 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/3 cup cider vinegar

Cut the pork butt into 1 inch pieces, making sure to remove any glands you might come across (for a description is my post on making Italian Sausage). In a nonoreactive bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix into the pork.

Add the vinegar and mix well. Cover and place in the refrigerator for, at least 2 hours, or overnight. Before grinding place all grinder parts in the freezer to chill. Grind once using the coarsest die.

Mix the sausage to help distribute the seasonings even more then grind, again, through one of the smaller dies. Make a small patty and cook it up. Taste and check for seasoning. Adjust seasoning to your taste. This recipe makes a full flavored sausage with just a bit of heat. You can up the ancho and chipotle, or even add a bit of cayenne if you want more. I usually then package it into 1/2-1 pound packages that I freeze until needed. While this sausage is ready to go after grinding, I find giving it another day, for the flavors to meld, improves it even more.

*If you can’t find Ancho powder, take a couple of ancho chiles (the dried form of the poblano pepper) and roast them in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes. Allow them to cool completely, remove the stem and seeds (you can leave the seeds in if you want it hotter), crumble it up and grind in a spice grinder.

**If you don’t have Chipotle powder puree 1-2 chipotles en adobo as a substitute. You can find these in most Hispanic sections at the grocery store nowadays.

This past September my wife and I bought 1/2 a hog and I had promised to write about some of the things I did with the meat. Well, as usual for me, I did a few things, like make bacon, which you can read about here, but then didn’t write much about it after that. It’s not that we haven’t used any of the pork we got, it’s more the fact that I was too lazy to write about it, or didn’t think that the simple roasts we did were worth writing about. This past week I was determined to change that so Sunday was “Sausage Making Day” at the Martin household. With just under 10 pounds of pork trim, I figured that I would make 2 of my favorite fresh sausages, Spicy Italian and Mexican Chorizo. Someday I would like to do some dry cured sausage and salami, but in our current house that probably won’t happen unless I can convince my wife of the need for another refrigerator; one that holds beer in the summer and curing sausages in fall. I’m not going to hold my breath though.

I’ll give you the recipe for the Chorizo in an upcoming post, so that leaves the Italian sausage for today. Sausage making is not difficult, although people seem to think that it is. The only hard part is stuffing the casings, but that is always optional. You can easily make sausage and leave as bulk pack, ready to be turned into sausage patties, meat balls, pizza topping, or crumbled up and used loose. At its most basic, sausage is nothing more than seasoned meat, most often pork although just about any meat can be turned into sausage, that has been run through a meat grinder, or finely chopped. That’s it…nothing more.

Of course, we can refine that a bit to get a better end product. Sausage relies heavily on its fat content. This not only brings moisture and and flavor to the sausage, but also helps to bind the sausage and adds to its mouth feel. Most sausages work on a ratio of 2 parts meat to 1 part fat. This is a rough estimation and your sausage won’t suffer if this ratio is not dead on, as long as it is in the ball park. Now you could get really anal about this and weigh out your lean meat and fat, making sure you have the exact right proportions or you can do it the easy way and just buy an untrimmed pork butt. This cut of meat naturally comes with just about the right proportions.

At one time sausage making was a way to preserve meat for a longer period of time, before the advent of refrigeration. Hogs were butchered in the fall not only because they were at their fattest then, but because the cool weather helped keep the meat longer. Salting and curing meats also helped stave off decay, allowing for longer storage. Today’s fresh sausages don’t really require so much salt as modern refrigeration takes over the role of preservation, but as with bacon, we have come to enjoy the saltiness of a good sausage so salt still plays a major role in flavoring. Beyond salt, flavoring options are virtually endless. Almost all herbs and spices are used in sausage making somewhere in the world, although garlic seems to play a prominent role in the vast majority of them.

One final word about sausage making. If you plan on stuffing sausages, please buy real casings. Some people might cringe at the thought of working with natural casings, but they really do provide the best texture and mouth feel. They are a little less forgiving than artifical casings but, in the end they aren’t that hard to work with.

Spicy Italian Sausage
makes approximately 16 4oz links

4 pounds Pork butt (or pork trim if you are doing your own butchering or cutting) about 70% lean and 30% fat
4 cloves garlic
4 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbs. black pepper, coarse ground
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbs. fennel seed
1 cup red wine

Lightly crack the fennel seeds, using either a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Don’t grind it into a powder, but just slightly crack the fennel. Combine the fennel with the sugar, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt. Set aside. Cut the pork into 1 inch pieces, removing any heavy connective tissue or silverskin. Also as you are cutting through the large veins of fat look for, and remove, any glands. You can tell its a gland because it will be a dark tan color surrounded by the white of the fat. It also will have a slightly gelatinous look and texture to it. Remove any that you find as they can lend an off flavor to your sausage. Finely mince the garlic then mash it into a coarse paste with the side of your knife blade. Place pork in a large, nonreactive bowl then add the spices and the red wine. Mix well to evenly distribute the seasonings.

Cover with plastic wrap and all to marinate for, at least 2 hours, or overnight. About 1 hour before you are ready to grind your sausage, place all your grinding attachments into the freezer to chill. At this time you will also want to soak about 12-15 feet of natural casings. They usually come salt cured so we need to remove the salt and rehydrate them. Rinse the casings in fresh cold water for about 5 minutes then allow to sit, in fresh cold water, for about 30 minutes. Finally, just before using, open up one end of the casings, place over the faucet and run cold water through them. They are now ready to use. Set up your grinder using the coarse die. Oftentimes sausage is ground twice, once through a coarse die and then again through a smaller die. For this sausage which I like a little more rustic I only grind it once through the coarse die. Working with a handful of pork at a time, push the meat through the grinder, letting it fall into a bowl below.

Once the sausage has been ground gently mix it by hand to ensure that everything is evenly distributed. The sausage is now done and can be used as is, or you can continue on to stuffing.

Set up your stuffer, per the manufacturer’s directions. While I would love to have a stand alone stuffer, that’s not going to happen anytime soon so I use my Kitchenaid and the sausage stuffer attachments. Lightly oil the stuffer tube then slip the casing over the tube, feeding it on until only about 2 inches are hanging off. Many recipes will then tell you to tie a knot in the end, but I find I get a large air bubble so I leave it open for now. With one hand, feed the sausage into the hopper. With the other hand gently guide the sausage as it is being extruded into the casing.

This process can be a little tricky so it may help to have a second person; one to feed the hopper and the other to guide the casing. Eventually, it becomes easier and I usually do it by myself. As the sausage is extruded and starts fill the casings, you want to guide the casing off of the stuffer. The sausage should fill out the casing, but not tightly. If you stuff the sausage too tightly you won’t have room to twist the links and the casings will explode. You also want to avoid any large air bubbles. Continue stuffing the casings until you have used up all of the sausage. Once that it done, tie a knot in one end of the casing, tight against the meat. Measure out about 5 inches of sausage then gently pinch and twist, making 2 rotations towards you. Measure another 4-5 inches and repeat, this time twisting away from you. Continue doing this, alternating between twisting towards and away from you. Once you get to the end, tie another knot again tight against the meat. Don’t worry, if you rupture the casing as you are making your links. Just remove some meat, cut the casing and tie it off at the point, starting again where you left off. I have made a good amount of sausage and still, rupture a casing now and then.

Put the sausage into the fridge, uncovered for about 2-3 hours to dry out the casings slightly, then package and either freeze for future use or use up in the next 4-5 days.

This country is facing a huge problem. Yes, I know, we are facing a lot of problems; the financial crisis, the housing crisis, looming oil prices and its impact on the environment, Scott Walker and the union busters. The list goes on, but I’m not talking about these front page issues that take up most of our time. I’m talking about something more insidious. An issue that has seemed to have slipped past the media’s attention and yet no one noteworthy has taken up its cause. Yes, I’m talking about the fact that it is getting harder and harder to find a good plate of Biscuits and Gravy anywhere in this country, even in the Deep South. One day, America is going to wake up, craving a warm comforting bowl of lumpy liquid love, and it won’t be there. And the sad thing is we have no one to blame but ourselves. Even when you find it on menus, what you get get, most often, is a pile of pasty,white “gravy” that is graced with the occasional nugget of sausage, or, my personal favorite, the pasty, white “gravy” with slices of breakfast links tossed into it at the last minute.

You’ll notice that I put the word gravy in quotations. That’s because I don’t consider white sauce, fresh out of the can, or made from mix, to be the real thing. It’s sad, because sausage gravy, besides being a thing of beauty, is also quite simple to make, and doesn’t take much longer than most breakfast dishes.

So, I am arming my readers against that day when Biscuits and Gravy finally disappears from restaurant menus altogether. For it is you that will carry on the tradition so that your children can experience the comforting, artery clogging goodness that is sausage gravy.

Sausage Gravy
serves 4

1 pound breakfast sausage, bulk not links
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
1 Tbsp. fresh sage, minced
2 Tbsp. freshly brewed coffee
salt
pepper

In a large skillet brown the sausage.

Once browned sprinkle in the flour. This is one of the biggest mistakes that people make when making sausage gravy. They pour out the sausage grease, but then make a roux on the side consisting of butter and flour. It seems to me you are throwing a lot of the good sausage flavor away, only to introduce more fat, in the form of butter, when you add the roux. So don’t drain the grease off of your sausage, just add the flour and make your roux right in the pan with the sausage.

Stir the flour in until it has absorbed all the grease and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add the cold milk stirring constantly. Add the sage and bring to a boil to allow the flour to thicken. Stir constantly, scraping the bottom to avoid scoring the milk. Season with salt and pepper. How much will depend on both your taste the the sausage you are using. Finally, add the 2 Tbsp. of coffee. Yes, I know it sounds strange, but you won’t taste it in the final product and the acidity helps to both brighten and deepen the flavor. Serve over split biscuits, enjoy, and know that you are doing your part to keep a bit of American culinary history alive!!!

Once again, I’ve been neglecting my blog. This is one of my major resolutions this year; to post more regularly. Yes, I know I have promised this quite often, but I really am going to buckle down and write more often. I expect you, my readers, to hold me accountable for this resolution.

My wife will tell you that I’m not a big fan of leftovers. It’s true, while I don’t hate leftovers, I am usually not a fan of eating something 2 or 3 days in a row. I will agree that certain things are definitely better the second or third day. Soups, stews, and most braised dishes fall squarely into this category. And who can resist a meatloaf sandwich the day after? Or a roast turkey sandwich the day after Thanksgiving? But these are the exceptions. To really get excited about leftovers, I have to come up with a whole new way to disguise and serve them.

Not long ago we had some leftovers from a pork roast. Usually, I would just slice and eat it as a sandwich or chop it up and make BBQ’d pork sandwiches with it, but I wanted something different. Then I remembered one of my favorite chinese dishes that I used to eat regularly, when I lived in Chicago-Char Sui Bao-steamed dumplings with barbecued pork. Suddenly, I was very much looking forward to leftovers.

I knew I couldn’t make traditional Char Sui. That starts with marinating your pork before cooking. My pork was already cooked. Even if I couldn’t make “real” Char Sui, I could approximate its flavor. The buns were a different matter. I had never attempted Bao before so I searched the web, reading numerous recipes and came up with one I thought would work well. The texture turned out well, and the flavor was excellent. The only thing that I wasn’t happy about, and this is a small compliant, is that my ends didn’t end up beautifully white like the ones I would buy at restaurants. Mine were more of an off-white, with a slightly yellowish tinge. If anyone knows how I can fix that please let me know. Other than that, these turned out great!!! These buns are very versitile and I imagine that I will find excuses to make these again and fill them with all sorts of great fillings, so be on the lookout for future posts about Bao.

Mock Char Sui

1 pound cooked pork, cut into 1/4″ dice
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 1/2 Tbsp. honey
4 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1/4 tsp. Chinese 5 spice powder
3 Tbsp. water

Heat a saute pan over medium high heat. Add oil and allow to heat. Add pork and cook for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile combine all the rest of the ingredients and mix well to dissolve the honey. Add remaining ingredients to the saute pan and cook until sauce has thickened and coats the pork. There should be very little excess liquid. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature, or make ahead and chill until ready to use.

Bao

1 1/2 tsp. instand dry yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
3 scant cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

Combine yeast, water, oil and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Set aside and allow 10 minutes for the yeast to start to activate. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the yeast mixture. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the liquid until a soft dough forms (if it doesn’t seem to come together easily add more water, a teaspoon at a time, until it does. Turn the dough out onto a flat surface and knead for 5 minutes. The dough should be tacky, but not sticky at the beginning. If it sticks to your fingers add just a sprinkling of flour. Lightly oil a bowl and add the dough. Cover and put in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 1-1 1/2 hours. Gently punch down and divide into 12 (this will make rather large bao so if you want smaller, appetitizer sized bao divide into 24). Flatten into a 3″ disk, with the sides thicker than the middle.

Add about 1 1/2-2 Tbsp. of the Char Sui filling and pinch the top closed, sealing in the filling. Place the Bao on pieces of wax paper (cut 3″x3″) and place in a bamboo steamer.

Allow the Bao to rise for 30 minutes, then steam for 15. Do not open the steamer during the 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

It’s been quite a long time since I’ve been this excited about a project, but my recent endeavors at making bacon really got me pumped up. I mean, what’s not to love about bacon. It’s sweet, it’s salty, it’s smoky, and it’s got lots of crispy, chewy pork fat, Add to that, the fact that this bacon was made completely at home, from pork that a good friend raised, and you can’t go wrong. I have to admit though, I was also rather nervous. The last thing I wanted to do was to destroy the pork belly I had received with the half pig we had purchased. I’m not one to get overly philosophical about my food (though sometimes it seems like I do), but the last thing I wanted to do is ruin a good piece of meat that some animal died to provide me with. It might sound kind of “corny” but that thought went through my head a number of times during the bacon making process.

Making bacon isn’t all that difficult, but it does take considerable time, at least a week or more to do it right. In fact, about the hardest part of the whole process can often be finding a butcher willing to provide you with pork belly. Chances are, you will need to special order it unless you have a local butcher who makes his/her own bacon.

In the days before refrigeration curing bacon was a way to preserve the meat for long term storage. The bacon of yesteryear was heavily salted and smoked and didn’t much resemble the bacon of today. Today, modern refrigeration makes bacon a luxury, not a necessity. As such, we have been able to swap preservation with flavor. Today’s bacon doesn’t require numerous soakings in water to draw out salt to make it more palatable, and while still heavily smoked, it is not smoked to the point of almost being jerky-like.

Besides salt and sugar used in the curing of bacon, the cure also often contains sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate. These salts act as preservatives, helping to keep the meat pink and free from botulism. These chemical salts can be difficult to obtain and usually need to be ordered online or through the mail unless you are friendly with a butcher. Unfortunately, these salts can also be dangerous if used in higher amounts than needed. While I sometimes use these salts personally, I find it often easier, and less dangerous, to use Morton’s Tender Quick. It is a curing salt mix that can be found in many grocery stores and already has the nitrite and nitrate mixed into regular salt, removing the danger from the hands of novices. I developed this recipe using Morton’s Tender Quick and am quite happy with the results. I think you will be also.

As for the pork belly, you can either leave the rind on or remove it. You will hear proponents of both ways. I don’t think it makes a difference and I prefer to remove the rind (skin) before making my bacon. It saves a step later on. Also for easy of storing, during the curing process, I cut my pork belly into 1-2 pound chunks. I just find it easier to handle this way and it takes up less room in the fridge.

Maple Cured Bacon

1 whole pork belly (8-10 pounds) cut into 1-2 pound chunks

Curing Mix (per pound of meat)
1 Tbsp. Morton’s Tender Quick
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/4 tsp. granulated garlic
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper

Weigh out each piece of pork belly and make up a batch of Curing Mix using the ratios above per 1 pound of meat. Rub the belly with the cure making sure to evenly distribute it over the entire surface of the belly and place in a zip lock bag. Remove as much air as possible and seal.

Repeat with remaining belly pieces. Place in the fridge and allow to cure for a minimum of 7 days per inch thickness of belly. Flip the bags once every day and massage the meat to ensure even distribution of the cure. At the end of 7 days test to see if belly is cured. The pork is done curing when the flesh no longer feels “mushy” and feels tight, like a well done steak. If not fully cured give another 24 hours and check again. Continue until pork is fully cured. Once done, remove from bags and give a good rinse in cold water, washing off all the excess salt and cure. Place on cooling racks set over cookie trays, place in fridge, uncovered, and allow to dry for 24 hours. The following day prepare your smoker or kettle grill and cold smoke bacon for 3 hours. Increase heat to medium and continue to smoke until you get an internal temperature of 150°F. In all, it should take 6-8 hours to fully smoke your bacon.

Chill the bacon overnight then slice to desired thickness, package and refrigerate and/or freeze.

When cooking this bacon, cook over medium heat or just a little higher. You don’t want to cook at too high of a heat due to the high sugar content of this bacon. Cooking over too high a heat will cause the bacon to burn before it is rendered crisp.

On a number of the cooking sites and forums I belong to, the topic often comes up about great local and regional sandwiches. Sandwiches that always get mentioned are Muffulettas (New Orleans), Philly Cheesesteaks, Kentucky Hot Browns, Chicago style Hot Dogs, Italian Beefs, Brats, along with some lesser known sandwiches. But there always seems to be one missing from this list, and that is the Pork Tenderloin Sandwich. Found sporadically around the Midwest, this sandwich reaches its apex in Iowa and in central Indiana. I remember, as a kid, coming back to Indiana (both my parents were born there, as was I, before we moved out East) and being treated to this regional delight. What fascinated me, at the time, was how big the sandwich was. And by big, I mean huge. While served on a standard sized hamburger bun, the meat in a Pork Tenderloin Sandwich is pounded into a thin disk about the size of an average dinner plate!

The Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, of Indiana, is a simple affair. Pork tenderloin, or sometimes pork loin, is pounded thin, dipped in seasoned flour, egg wash and then breadcrumbs before being deep fried. It is then placed on a bun and served, most often, with lettuce, tomato, onion and mustard. My grandfather, from what I remember, like any self respecting Old Timer, would forgo the tomato and once home with the sandwiches, would slice up some of his own homegrown, sun riped tomatoes to place on top.

There’s a chain of burger joints, up here in Wisconsin, that serve a pork tenderloin sandwich, but it just seems to lose something when the pork “patty” is massed produced and frozen. It just can’t compare with the real deal, freshly cut, pounded and still dripping with hot oil as it is placed on the bun.

I encourage everyone to, not only make this simple recipe, but to tout the joys of the Pork Tenderloin Sandwich. I want to see it take its rightful place, listed among the great sandwiches of our nation.

Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound) or 1 pound of pork loin
3/4 cup flour
salt
pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. water
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
vegetable oil

Remove all the fat and silverskin from the tenderloin.

Cut into 4 portions, each weighing 4-5 ounces. Place 1 portion, cut side down, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound until about 1/4″ thick and about 8″ in diameter or more.

Season the flour with salt, pepper and the garlic powder. Make an egg wash by beating the eggs with the water until well mixed. Fill a large skillet (at least 10-12″ in diameter) with about 1 1/2 – 2″ of oil. Preheat to 350°F. Bread the tenderloins by first dredging them in the flour, then dipping in the egg wash and then coating in breadcrumbs. Allow to rest for about 4-5 minutes to allow the breading a chance to stick.

One at a time, fry the tenderloins until golden brown on both sides and cooked all the way through, about 3 minutes on each side. Drain and season with salt while still hot.

Place in a 150°F oven to keep warm as you fry up the remainder. When done place on burger buns and serve with the condiments of your choice.

This past Spring a good friend of mine purchased 4 piglets for his kids to enter into the county fair. Soon after I got a call from him to see if I would be interested in half of a hog. With visions of home cured bacon, homemade sausages and succulent barbecued ribs, I jumped at the chance. He also invited me over to see my potential holiday ham. Of course, I couldn’t resist. When I finally had a chance to drive over to his family’s place the pigs had grown from the 25 pound piglets shown above to full grown hogs weighing in at over 230 pounds. This in just a matter of a few months.

Now I know many people would have a problem meeting their potential dinner, but I have grown up around farmers for a good portion of my life and it does not bother me. Some might think I am cruel, but I don’t see it as such. Most people don’t like to think of their food in terms of living beings and prefer to remain ignorant of where that steak or that pulled pork sandwich came from. Instead, it’s much easier to think of that meat in terms of always being an inanimate object. While this type of mindset might ease people’s conscience, I totally disagree with this “head in the sand” approach to blind consumption. If the only way you can eat meat is by convincing yourself your ribeye was never a living, breathing thing then maybe you should become a vegetarian. It just seems hypocritical, to me, for someone to continue to eat meat, but not think about its origins as a living being. I know this sounds harsh, but I think if more people would think about where their meat came from the better off both us, and the animals we eat, would be.

Our refusal to contemplate the origins of our food, meat specifically, has lead to large, industrial farming practices. These practices are not good for the environment, not healthy for the animals, are often considered inhumane, and ultimately I don’t believe can really be healthy for us. These practices often include packing animals so tighly together that they have very little space to move about. Because they are so tightly packed they are often pumped full of medications and antibiotics to stop rampant disease that can spread quickly through herds housed so closely together. They are also pumped full of growth hormones to help them achieve market weights in a shorter amount of time. Not only are these practices inhumane, one has to wonder about how much of these chemicals are passed along to humans in the end.

On the other hand, I have seen, first hand, how my pig was raised. I know the person who raised him. I have seen the large pen in which the pig lives, with only 3 others, and know he has plenty of room to roam about and lounge in his mud pit. I also know that this animal has been fed on a diet of all organic grains and the only drugs that have been administered was a shot of penicillin give once because of an eye infection.

I can feel good about knowing I have purchased meat which has been humanely raised and in return I know that the product I will be receiving will be more flavorful than anything raised using factory farm methods. I have also contributed to a person who farmers in a more sustainable, environmentally sound way.

I see it as a win-win situation, by getting to know my food. I win because I am guaranteed a wonderful, flavorful product, the animal wins because it is raised in a more humane manner and we all win as such small scale, sustainable farming practices are less detrimental to the environment.

I hope to have my half hog by the end of September, just in time for some cooler weather. Stay tuned for my experiments with pork!