Asian-Influenced Pork Loin

My family loves pork tenderloin. but so many times it ends up drier than I like inside.  They don't complain, but I just am not pleased. This recipe, that I found on Taste of Home website, turned out so juicy and tender. As usual, I tweaked the recipe to suit what I have on-hand. 

Asia-Influenced Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

        1 boneless whole Pork Tenderloin (3-4 pounds)
        1/2 tsp Sea Salt
        1/2 tsp Ground Pepper
        1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
        1 Tbs Butter
        1 med Onion, finely chopped
        1/2 cup Ketchup (I used homemade - recipe below)
        1/2 cup Light Corn Syrup
        1 Tbs Hoisin Sauce
        1 1/2 tsp Chinese-Style Mustard
        1 tsp Oyster Sauce
        1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
        1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
        1/4 tsp Sweet & Spicy Saigon Seasoning

Directions:

1. Sprinkle pork roast with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
2. Place in a shallow roasting pan.
3. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 oven° for  50 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender.
5. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
6. Bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes, stirring often. 
8. Brush sauce over pork.
9. Bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until thermometer reads 145°.
10. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. 

Homemade Ketchup

Ingredients:   

        1 cup Tomato Sauce (I was out, so I made some from scratch) 
        1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
        3 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
        1/2 tsp Salt
        pinch Ground Cloves

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients until well combined.

                           

Tomato Sauce Sustitute

Ingredients:

        1 part Tomato Paste
        1 part Water

Directions:

1. Mix well.

Enjoy!

            Ingrid

Traditional Schweineschnitzel

Today is my Mom's birthday. Can you believe she would have been 93  Wow! Yes, I was an afterthought. In honour of my German Mom's day I thought I would post this recipe for Schweineschnitzel. We made it a couple of days ago for Octoberfest. No beer, sorry. Too many minors. 

Most of you are familiar with weinerschnitzel (breaded veal cutlet) but I'm not a fan of veal so I decided on this pork variation.

I turned out delicious!

Schweinschnitzel

Ingredients:

        4 Boneless Pork Chops

        1/2 c. Olive Oil (enough oil for meat to "swim")

          1/2 cup Flour, combined

        1 tsp Salt

        3/4 c. Plain Bread Crumbs

        2 Eggs

        Salt & Pepper, to taste

        2 Lemons

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet at medium high heat.
2. Place each chop between two sheets of plastic and pound with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer until thin (1/4" - 3/8").
3. Lightly season both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Combine flour with 1/2 tsp of salt in a shallow bowl.
5. Beat the two eggs in a second shallow bowl.
6. Put the bread crumbs into a third shallow dish.
7. Season each cutlet with salt and pepper.
8. Dip both sides of each cutlet into flour mixture to coat.
9. Dip both sides of meat into eggs to coat.
10. Repeat with the bread crumbs, coating both sides. Be careful not to press the breadcrumbs into the meat.
11. Gently shake off excess breadcrumbs.
12. Don't let the schnitzel sit in the coating or they will not be as crispy once fried - fry immediately.
13. Place in hot oil (about 330 degrees) and cook on both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
14. Transfer briefly to a plate lined with paper towels.
15. Serve immediately with slices of fresh lemon and parsley sprigs or with your choice of sauce.
16. Serve with German spaetzle, buttered egg noodles, French fries, or German potato salad, and with a fresh leafy green salad.

Serves 4

Enjoy!

            Ingrid

Authentic Carnitas - cooked in lard

I know I have featured Carnitas before but I wanted to make sure that I include  this version from The Pampered Chef.  Carnitas are chunks of pork shoulder that have been slowly cooked until golden brown, slightly crispy, and very tender. Cooking them in lard is the secret in this recipe. I have another version more Tex-Mex that is healthier.

Authentic Carnitas

Ingredients:

    

        2 1/2 lbs Boneless Pork Shoulder

        2 lbs Lard

        1/4 cup Lime Juice 

        1/2 Tbs Salt 

        2 doz Tortillas

        Pico de Gallo

Directions:

1. Slice the pork into 3 inch slabs. It's important that they all end up roughly the same size, so they cook in the same amount of time.  
2. Toss the pork into a large bowl.
3. Add the lime juice and salt.
4. Stir the pieces until well coated.
5. Cover the bowl and set aside for an hour.
6. Toss the pieces twice over the course of the hour. 
7. Meanwhile, melt the lard in a large pot over medium heat.  
8. When the hour is up, carefully add the pork to the pot. The lard should cover the pieces. After a few minutes, very large and lazy bubbles will pop to the surface. This is what you want. 
9. Let cook on medium, flipping the pieces occasionally for even cooking, for about 2 hours. The meat should be very tender when pierced with a fork. It took me an extra 15 minutes. 
10. Raise the temperature to medium-high. The lard will start bubbling furiously.
11. Cook for 30 minutes. They should come out all nicely browned and golden. 
12. Set them on a cutting board and let sit for 10 minutes or so. 
13. Meanwhile, fill the bottom of another pot with about a 1/2 inch of water and bring to a boil. 
14. Wrap the tortillas in a towel and set in a steamer basket atop the boiling water. Cover the pot.
15. Cook for 1 minute. 
16. Then turn off the heat and let sit for 15 minutes or so. 
17. Pull the pork apart with two forks.
18. Roll up a little meat into a taco, sprinkle on some salt, and top with pico de gallo.   

Enjoy!

            Ingrid

Carnitas

I love carnitas. There is so much flavour. This version is a more of a Tex-Mex recipe than my version which is cooked in lard. Both are delicious but this would definitely be the healthier version.

Carnitas

Ingredients:

    4-5 lbs of Pork Shoulder, cut up in 2" chunks

    1 large Onion, cut up

    5-6 cloves Garlic, according to taste (we like a lot)

    1 bottle of Beer

    2 Oranges, peeled and cut up

    1 tsp of Cumin

    1 tsp of Coriander

    A good pinch of Oregano

    About a tablespoon of Chicken Bouillon (to start)

    A dollop of Worcestershire Sauce

    2 Bay Leaves

    Some Salt to taste

    Pepper

    Water

    2 doz Corn Tortillas

Directions:

1. Sear (brown) the meat. Set browned meat aside.
2. Sauté the onion and garlic in the meat drippings... then, add to larger pot.
3. Add beer, oranges, cumin, coriander, oregano, and chicken bouillon.  Be sure to add the drippings, Worcestershire Sauce, bay leaves, salt, pepper and enough water to (just) cover the meat...
4. Cover and simmer (don't open lid) for about 2 hours... or until meat is nice and soft without it falling apart... They should come out nicely browned and golden.
5. Set them on a cutting board and let sit for 10 minutes or so.
6. Meanwhile, fill the bottom of another pot with about 1/2 inch of water and bring to a boil.
7. Wrap tortillas in a  towel and set in a steamer basket atop the boiling water. Cover the pot.
8. Cook for one minute. Then turn off the heat and let sit for 15 minutes or so. 
9. On to the pork. There is no wrong way to go about this.  You can slice off a bit with a sharp knife. Or pull the meat apart with a fork.   You can even use you're hands if you're into it.
10. Roll up a little meat in a taco, sprinkle on some salt, and top with pico de gallo or whatever salsa you like the most.  Keep it simple, though. 

   

Note:

This is great with rice.

Enjoy!

            Ingrid