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Charcutepalooza Challenge: The Brine

lora — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:29:51 +0000

When this month’s Charcutepalooza challenge was announced as Corned Beef, I was relieved that other brining options were available. I’ve got nothing against corned beef, but with leftover bacon in the freezer, and half of the prosciutto in the fridge, I was glad to take on something I could serve as a weeknight dinner. G. had already earmarked the brined pork chop recipe in Ruhlman’s book, so that was an easy choice to make.

brined pork chop with fried okra

I was surprised that the chops only needed to set in the brine for 2 hours. I’ve often done lazy marinades overnight in the fridge. But, after having cooked the pork, I wouldn’t want it any saltier.

preparing the brine: salt, brown sugar, juniper, garlic, sage

We picked up a cast iron fry pan this weekend, and this was the best alternative we have to grilling. We’ve had a few warm days in March, but we also saw snow this week. Not quite grilling weather.

brined pork: cooked perfectly in cast iron

Our verdict? Delicious. Perfectly tender meat with a great deal of flavor. My small foray into brining has me seeing the potential. Perhaps I’ll try the chicken or turkey next time.

There is one member of the family who hasn’t been happy about all of this meat-making. Everything’s been too delicious to share with poor, dear, dog.

the saddest dog in the world

Bacon Challenge, and Braised Pork Belly

lora — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:58:56 +0000

This weekend I started my bacon for February’s Charcutepalooza challenge. I popped over to Savenor’s in Cambridge where one of their butchers rolled out an entire pork belly on his wood block and asked how much I’d like. I wanted it all, really, but managed to limit myself to a cut that ended up just shy of 5 lbs. I was going to ask for 3lbs, just enough to make 2 good sized slabs of bacon, but remembered a delicious crispy pork belly dish at Craigie on Main, and wanted some extra for cooking.

Ever wonder what 5lbs of pork belly looks like?

For the homemade bacon, I cut out two slabs of about 1.8 lbs. Not for any particular reason, but that’s just how they came out. I prepared the salt cure mix as described in Ruhlman‘s Charcuterie and then added my seasonings – brown sugar, maple sugar, maple syrup. I rubbed one of the slabs with a bit of homemade cajun seasoning (cayenne, allspice, paprika, garlic and onion salts, black and white pepper) before rolling in the salt cure, to see if I could get a bit of heat in with the sugar.

can't wait til this is bacon

Well, these two are now hanging out in the fridge, and I’ll get to cut them up and smoke them next week.

In the meantime, I took the left-over bits of pork belly and made a quick meal. I had a bit of pork broth left over from my weekend boudin project (more on that soon, I promise!), but a seasoned chicken broth will do just fine. If your broth is plain, add some dried herbs during the braise, and the pork fat will do the rest of the magic.

braised pork belly with vegetables

Braised Pork Belly with Cabbage, Parsnip and Carrots
1 lb (or more!) pork belly
1 head small savoy cabbage
2 carrots
2 parsnips
1 – 1.5 cups broth
Preheat the oven to 375F. Wash the carrots and parsnips but do not peel. Halve and cut into 1″ long slices. Remove the heart of the cabbage, halve, then chop roughly.

Heat a cast iron dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pork belly, fatty sides facing down, and brown on all sides. Once browned, add broth with the carrots and parsnips, along with salt and pepper to taste. Place cover on dutch oven and braise at 375F for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, stir in cabbage, and braise for another 5-7 minutes, until cabbage is soft. If your cabbage hasn’t wilted, you can stir it on the stove top removed from heat, as the cast iron will retain some heat for a while.

Serve, and enjoy!

Charcutepalooza: Duck Prosciutto Two Ways

lora — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 23:17:46 +0000

I’m a bit late in getting my first post in for the Charcurepalooza challenge, so I thought I should at least try to up the game a bit. I decided on two different seasonings for my duck breast – Maple Sugar and Juniper Berry/Bay Leaf.

The duck breasts cured in salt for 24 hours, then washed, patted dry

duck prosciutto salt cure

Breasts are seasoned then wrapped in cheesecloth

left: maple sugar, right: juniper berries and bay leaves

and here they are hanging in the pantry til next week, or until their weight is halved.

keep the duck at 50-60f in a cool humid place

Hopefully a few friends will be around when we cut into these next week. Now, onto the bacon challenge.