Don't Pass Up the Pork Belly

One of my favorite places to buy fresh meat is at the Meat House in Arlington Heights.  I was amazed at all they had to offer, not just at the counter, where I picked up two very thick, bone-in veal chops, but also in the back freezer.  Anything from bison ribs, venison, elk, game birds, boar, and pork belly - which may not be so exotic a find as alligator per-say, but not a common find at the local grocer. So on a whim, along with the fact it was $6.17 for almost 2lbs, I decided to buy it.  It sat in my freezer for about three weeks when I decided it was time to try out a recipe for roasted pork belly I had been eying in my copy of River Cottage Meat Book .

It was football Sunday, therefore another great opportunity to hole myself up in the kitchen. We had invited two of our friends over for football, well one of them came over for football; my friend Anya was lured with the promise of roasted pork belly. She is a foodie like myself and we very much enjoy going out to dinner as much as staying in and eating home-cooked meals - wine is generally involved as well, another like we have in common, one that goes so well together. 

Root Mashed Potatoes

My first preparation was that of the root-mashed potatoes, a recipe that originally came out of Inside America's Test Kitchen.  I have adapted the recipe to my own dietary needs and I am continually changing, as suggested in the book, the variety of root vegetables I add.

1.  I filled my Le Creuset 5 1/2qt. Dutch Oven with 2" of water (I did not have chicken stock on hand, normally I would use that instead of water).  I put in the pot:

• One large Sweet Potato cut into 2" cubes
• Two medium Gold Potatoes cut into quarters
• Three small-medium Parsnips, cut length-wise and then into half-moon shapes

 

2.  I allowed the mix to steam (about 45-55 min on low heat - the brilliance of Le Creuset ware is that it holds heat so well that you can simmer on the lowest flame setting on a gas stove).  You want the vegetables to be tender enough that you can easily pierce with a fork.

3.  I let the cooked vegetables sit on the stove with the lid on to keep hot until I was ready to mash - that moment came when the pork was ready rest, and the other side dish was about finished.  When that time came, I dumped the mix into a bowl and mashed away with a potato masher.  I did not drain out the liquid at the bottom of the pot; instead of using cream, milk, soy, almond milk etc. I decided to use the mild vegetable broth from the steaming, there was probably about a 1/2cp of liquid left.  I do sometimes use almond milk, which is great by the way if you are lactose and soy intolerant.  Almond milk is a much better substitute for a cream substitute - unlike soy, almond milk does not curdle when it comes in contact with acidic ingredients like onions.  I find that the Almond Breeze brand is light in flavor and has a nice creamy texture; I recommend this brand over other brands which I have found to have a bitter almond extract taste to them.

4. Once mashed, I mixed in fresh ground pepper, salt and fresh thyme to taste. Another add-in that is quite delicious is bacon (two thick slices from the butcher is all you need) as a garnish sprinkled on top.

To accompany the pork belly I made a Cranberry-Apple Sauce

You will need:

• 4 Granny Smith Apples (one apple per person), peeled and cored, sliced into 1/4" half-moons
• 1/2 cp fresh cranberries
• Zest from one orange
• Juice from half a lemon
• Cinnamon
• 1-2Tb of super fine sugar

1.  In my cast iron skillet, I mixed all the above minus the cranberries, and placed on medium heat until mixture was simmering, stirring regularly so not to burn the apples.

2.  I then lowered the heat and let cook with occasional stirring until the apple slices were soft, but not mushy; I then stirred in the cranberries.


3.  I let the cran-apple sauce lightly simmer, with occasional stirring until the apples were cooked to the point where they could be easily pierced with a fork and the cranberries were able to be mashed a bit.

This dish can be served at room temperature, but this time I simply reheated while the pork was resting.



Roasted White Asparagus

My heart was so full of glee when I came across white asparagus at the local Stop and Shop, it is a rarity there, so I jumped at the chance and bought a bunch.  I wish I had bought more and froze them, but hopefully they will soon return. White asparagus are milder in flavor and delicate, compared to the green variety.  The bottom of the stalks of the white asparagus, I find, do not require a fight in order to eat and digest.

My plan was simple and the result was a perfectly roasted vegetable side dish to join with the rich pork belly and and earthy root vegetable mashed potatoes.

In a shallow glass pie pan, I sprayed olive oil on the asparagus using my Misto, added salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, and chopped garlic.  The asparagus roasted in the oven at350F for about 18-20min; at the half-way point I rotated the asparagus.

Pork Belly:

You will need:

•  Fresh thyme
•  Sea salt
•  Fresh ground pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 425F; you will want to roast the pork belly at this temperature for 30min and then lower the temperature to 350F and continue to roast for about an hour.

1. With a sharp knife (or as suggested in the River Cottage Meat Book, use a utility knife) make multiple slices into the skin of the pork. Then rub the thyme, salt and ground pepper into the "pockets" of the skin .

2. Roast for 30min at 425F and lower to 350F until the juices run clear and the crackling (pork skin) is a golden brown.

3. Let the pork rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.  I kept the crackling on the pork, rather than remove it and serving it separately.

Strawberry Whole Wheat Pancakes

 

I recently went to the grocery and, as always, checked out the $1.09 rack - which is where produce that is past the point of looking good enough to pay full price end up.  I came across two bushels of very ripe strawberries, I put them in my cart and went about my shopping.  As soon as I got home I washed the strawberries and picked out the bad ones (of course there were some with mold that were beyond saving).  I then cut off the tops and placed them in the freezer for future smoothies and pancake toppings!  I made wheat pancakes and heated the strawberries separately in a small sauce pan, adding just a bit of water. No sugar was necessary because the berries were so ripe when I froze them; their natural sweetness was just enough, especially when combined with maple syrup.  The berries simmered over medium-low heat with occasional stirring for about 15-20min to allow the water to evaporate and the strawberries to form into a slightly thick  consistency, some juice was desired so that it absorb into the pancake. All I can say is that Eric had more than one serving, and I did as well.

The Evolution of Broth Part IV: Chicken Broth

There are a variety of ways to control the flavor and intensity of any broth.  One way, for example, is how you spice your chicken for roasting. The spices infuse with the succulent drippings from the bird that end up at the bottom of the roasting pan, not to mention the spice-infused skin.  Another way is adding vegetables; I use vegetable scraps collected over a period of time (stored in the freezer).  Generally my vegetables add-ins include the following: yellow onion peels and ends from a few onions, carrots, the ends of asparagus stalk, broccoli stalk, red and green bell peppers, zucchini  . . . you get the idea.  These add wonderful flavors to a broth, as well as great nutrients.  I personally like a hearty and rich broth, that could stand on its own. 

 

Simmering the broth (2 1/2 hrs)

 However, sometimes a rich broth is not called for or necessary, sometimes a light broth that provides subtle flavor is just the right thing - I tend to use light broths when making spicy white bean chili - the spices are powerful and generally over power the broth.  The intensity of the broth can simply be manipulated with how long the broth is simmered.  For a strong, hearty broth I simmer the stock for almost 3hrs.  For a light broth I simmer for only 2hrs. Intensity will also depend on vegetables used in the stock, for example I find broccoli stalks adds a bold flavor to broth compared to the lighter,subtle flavors of yellow squash.

When I make chicken, or any meat broth, I usually let it cool in the fridge overnight.  This allows the fat to separate and congeal at the top.  If there is a lot of fat, I scrape the fat off the surface of the gelatinous broth.  As seen below.

Spooning the fat off the top of the chilled broth (light-yellow areas are fat).

The broth I made last week was rich and flavorful. I added locally grown, organic kale, chopped portabella mushrooms, diced onions, and chicken meat leftover from the previous night's Spicy Roasted Chicken. I added two bay leaves and let the soup simmer on the stove for one hour covered. After an hour I added slightly undercooked brown rice and simmered for another hour.  The result was a delicious and hearty/healthy chicken soup.

 

Everything in the pot!

Finished!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two nights ago I made a Roasted Italian Herb Chicken.  It was quite good.  I picked off leaves from my sage basil and thyme plants, diced them up fine and spread all over the chicken with olive oil. I served the chicken with white asparagus, tossed in  olive oil with garlic and baked at 350F for 15min in the oven while the chicken rested. The other side was roasted potatoes and carrots which I through in with the chicken from beginning to end.  The red potatoes and carrots were simply quartered and allowed to roast in the chicken juices, which allowed the the skin of the potatoes to develop a wonderful browned crust of fat, from the runoff of chicken juices (not exactly healthy, but soooo good).  

 A few days later I made the broth.  It was made with one whole chicken and I few pieces of onion, three large cloves of garlic - so a medium flavored broth.  Tonight I am going to use it to make Italian Herb Chicken Noodle Soup!

Spiced Roasted Chicken

Last week Eric and I had dinner at a friend's house up in Andover.  I offered to bring a whole chicken, challenging my cooking skills because they live 50 min away due to Friday night traffic.  I had to figure out the best way to prepare the chicken for travel and, most importantly continuing to cook the chicken on arrival without drying out the chicken or under cooking it. 

So here is how I prepared a delicious Roasted Chicken, that was tender and juicy:

 

 

1.  Preheated the oven to 450F

2.  I removed the chicken from the packaging and placed the insides in the freezer for stock to be made at a later date. I then patted down the chicken with paper towels (I did not wash the chicken - water splashes everywhere contaminating your sink and counters) - the paper towels also remove the slimy/wet barrier so the oil and spices better stick to and penetrate the skin during roasting.

3. I use a foil lined roasting pan, easier clean up and I can build up the sides of the pan with the foil so less moisture escapes, curving the foil slightly toward the chicken so the moisture collects and falls back into the pan - I do not cover my roasted chickens with foil during any part of the cooking process, nor do I baste the chicken - neither are necessary and basting just allows the heat from the oven to escape.  Of course if you notice your chicken skin burning, this happens on occasion if I get preoccupied, then cover with foil.

4.  I used my Misto to spray the olive oil on the chicken and for this particular occasion I used a variety of spices to create an Indian-style roast chicken: Ground Fenugreek Seed, Sumac Berries, Cloves, Paprika, Cumin, sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

5.  I placed the chicken in the oven at 450F for about 20min, keeping my eye on the skin for any signs of burning.  I crisp up the skin first at this high heat to lock in the juices.  If you save this part for the end, then you may easily dry out your chicken. 

6.  Once the skin turned a nice yellow-brown and appeared transparent and crisp, I lowered the heat to 375F.  I kept the chicken in at this temperature until it reached 160F (this took a total of 1hr 20min or so).

I will tell you that if I were to have continued to cook the chicken for another 30min it would have been done - the temperature you want when you take it out of the oven is about 175F and as it rests the chicken will continue to cook up to the final wanted temperature of 180F.  However I was traveling to Andover so I took it out early so I could finish the job at my friend's home.

7.  I called my friend and told her to preheat her oven - which was no problem because she was already using her oven to cook squash. 

8.  When I got there the oven was at 350F.  So I put in the chicken and let cook for another 30min and when it came out of the oven it was allowed to rest for another 10min.  During resting the chicken continues to cook up, so the final temperature of the chicken was a perfect 180F. 

I think everyone enjoyed the chicken as little was left.  This image leads to my next blog, which is how to get from this (the carcass) to this:

Next time The Evolution of Broth Part III - Chicken Broth




d