Slow Cooked Carnitas

I promised Rob I’d post recipes that he could make on a budget.  My goal is to post one a week on this blog.  Being on the computer he’ll have easy access.  When I decided to make this I thought it would make enough for dinner and leftovers to do something else with.  This ended up being dinner, and being so good that we wanted a repeat as left overs later in the week.   I usually just by a jar of tomatillo salsa, since I had the time I decided to try the recipe that was linked, it was good and easy.  I need to use my crock pot more!

Printable recipe 

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs or pork shoulder (Boston butt), cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder 
2 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
2 garlic cloves smashed and roughly chopped
1 small onion, cut into 8 pieces
1 avocado, halved, pitted, sliced
Fresh cilantro sprigs
Corn tortillas

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Directions:

Toss pork in bowl of slow cooker with salt, black pepper, chili, garlic and dried oregano to coat. Place onion pieces atop pork. Cover slow cooker and cook pork on low setting until meat is very tender and falling apart, about 6 hours (or longer).

Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to cutting board. Discard onion pieces. Using fingers, shred pork; transfer carnitas to platter. Place avocado slices, cilantro sprigs, and sliced red bell peppers, if desired, alongside. Wrap corn tortillas in damp kitchen towel; microwave until warm, about 1 minute. Serve carnitas with warm tortillas and tomatillo salsa.

Adapted from Epicurious

I love the idea of a Sunday night dinner that can then easily be made into something else later in the week.  I bought a pork loin roast with the idea of stuffing it and roasting it until I ran across this recipe in Fine Cooking for a brined pork loin served on a nest of fennel and apple.  Besides being easy it was delicious.  Later in the week I'll use the leftover roast for Mu Shu.  I had a roast that was a little over 2 pounds so I meant to cut the recipe in half and forgot!  Seemed to still be the right amount of every thing.  This made more than enough for the 2 of us, leftovers for lunch and another dinner.

Roast Pork with Maple Mustard Crust

Serves 4

For the Brine:
8 cups cold apple cider or juice
3/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, smashed
3 sprigs fresh thyme
One 4-lb. boneless pork loin roast (or two 2-lb. loins), trimmed only if it has a thick layer of fat

For The Roast:
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 Tbs. whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper; more to taste
1 large fennel bulb or 2 small bulbs, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

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Brine the pork: Combine 2 cups of the apple cider or juice with the salt, brown sugar, garlic, and thyme in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring so the salt and sugar dissolve, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining apple cider or juice and cool to room temperature. Transfer to a large container, add the pork, cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 18 hours.

Roast the pork: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 450°F. In a small bowl, mix the maple syrup, mustard, thyme, and pepper. Drain the pork and pat dry with paper towels. Brush the pork all over with the mustard mixture.
In a medium bowl, toss the fennel and apple with the oil, salt, and a few generous grinds of pepper. Scatter the mixture in the bottom of a large roasting pan (large enough to hold the pork with a couple of inches of space around the perimeter). Put the pork, fat side up, on top of the fennel and apples. Roast the pork until the crust just starts to brown, about 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F and continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the loin registers 145°F, 30 to 50 minutes more.
Let rest for 10 minutes and then thinly slice a quarter to a third of the pork. Serve, topped with the fennel, apple, and juices. Allow the remaining pork to cool to room temperature, wrap well with foil, and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Source:  Fine Cooking

I purchased a small spiral sliced ham to take down to Orange County after Christmas and fix for Rob and forgot to take it with us!  Decided I needed to use it as a base for meals this week.  

I had never had a ham loaf until at Christmas Dinner prepared by my mother-in-law  Jane about 30 years ago, she served "Ham Loaf".  It was basically the meatloaf recipe off the Quaker Oat carton with ham rather than pork.  Nothing memorable.  Never having the desire to replicate it at home ham loaf was not part of our diet, until I clipped this recipe from a copy of Bon Apetit in the late 90's.  I found it to be yummy comfort food.  Trying to eat as heart healthy as we can its something I only make once a year, if that often.  I use the leanest pork sausage Jimmy Dean makes, red pepper and cut the recipe in half which makes 2 dinners and left overs for lunch for us.  A friend served a corn pudding a few months ago, her secret recipe.  I think I'll try one on Allrecipes.com and add green chili's and some cheddar cheese as a side to the ham loaf. 

 

Pork and Ham Loaf with Marmalade-Mustard Glaze

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1 pound finely chopped smoked ham (about 3 1/2 cups)
1 cup finely crushed saltine crackers
1 cup milk
2 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Cool mixture completely.

Mix ground pork, ham, crushed crackers, milk, eggs, pepper, salt and cooled onion mixture in large bowl; combine thoroughly. Transfer pork mixture to shallow baking pan. Shape into 9x4x2 1/2-inch loaf. Using long knife, make shallow crisscross (diamond) pattern in top of loaf. Bake loaf 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, blend orange marmalade, Dijon mustard and brown sugar in small bowl for glaze.

Drizzle 1/3 cup glaze over loaf; bake 15 minutes. Drizzle another 1/3 cup glaze over loaf; bake 15 minutes. Drizzle remaining glaze over loaf and bake until thermometer inserted into center of loaf registers 165°F, about 20 minutes longer. Transfer loaf to platter; let stand 10 minutes. Pour pan juices into small bowl; whisk to blend.

Cut loaf crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Serve with pan juices.

Source:  Bon Appétit  | February 1998