Category: Technique

Homemade Pork Scratchings aka Pork Rinds

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In the carnivore realm there are two groups. Those that eat pork and those that don’t. In our household we love the Swine. Sausages, bacon , chops, loins, roasts,etc.Need I say more? Pork really is a tastier and a more versatile meat.Religious reasons I get and respect.Even those restrictions were an early form of food safety. But,I hear a lot of people for various reasons profess why they don’t eat pork, is that it’s dirty. That excuse  is dated, period. Nowadays eating poultry, fish, and eggs can out you at more risk than eating pork. There are fewer cases of Trichinosis out there and reported than Salmonella or E Coli. I’m not here to convert but I’m just saying….

Not believing in waste, I had a whole large piece of pork skin left over from the belly used to makeChorizo. The perfect crispy skin has always eluded me. Close but not perfection. Then I came across some references to the famous English Chef Fergus Henderson, who is known for his nose to tail style of cooking. Nothing is wasted and respect is shown to animal  without waste. It seems his pork scratchings( pork rinds) are a huge deal and a superior recipe. A total of a five to six day process, the skin is lovingly salted for five days to confit and swathed in duck fat andconfited .Once tender and jelly like after the confit, the skin is then racked in the oven and puffs and bubbles to a beautiful golden brow, It really is the perfect recipe. Your next cocktail party, football game, or holiday gathering , offer up these nibbles and your swine eating guests will bow at your feet. You can purchase pork skin in most Latin markets, or save it from when you buy whole roasts.

I did make a little error with these nibbles. I didn’t soak the skin after salting. Fortunately I didn’t use loads of salt, so a nice cold beer washed it away. That’s my second salt accident this month.When doing the final baking , rather than keep the skin intact, cut it up into smaller pieces to aid crispiness, I find the smaller pieces puff more. Then you break it up even more when complete.

You know this isn’t  health food and should only be made on special occasions. But it is way better than deep frying the rinds in my opinion like the Mexican Chicarron,but its wickedly good. Enjoy!

I did feel like Hannibal Lecter while making this. Carefully tending to large swathes of skin. My refrigerator looked like a lab.So this recipe isn’t for the squeamish, if things like that bother you. You know, the type that likes their meat all neat and packaged in Styrofoam and wrapped in plastic. Kidding!

Be sure check out the Duo Dishes , who posted their own version of pork rinds this week too.

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Pork Scratchings

adapted by Fergus Henderson from Beyond Nose to Tail


 

 Ingredients

  • Pig’s skin  with a little fat on the underside
  • Kosher Salt or Sea Salt
  • Duck fat (about 1 cup or more to cover the skin)
  1. Spread a layer of sea salt on a glass , plastic or non reactive tray.
  2. Apply sea salt on top of the pork skin liberally( approx about 1-2 tbsp. Depending on size of skins.
  3. Cover salted skin and leave in  the refrigerator for five days.
  4. Remove skin and soak in cold water overnight for several hours or overnight.
  5. Dry skin and place on a lipped baking sheet.
  6. Rub duck fat on both sides of skin .
  7. Cover with foil.
  8. Bake  in a medium oven( about 220-225 F) for 2½ hrs.
  9. Take out to cool.
  10. At this point you can make sure fat solidifies over skin and keep covered with fat until ready to use at alater date in the fridge.
  11. Or…Place a rack on a lipped baking sheet, then lay your skin on top.
  12. Turn oven to approx 350-375 F and roast. Skin should  slightly puff up  and turn golden and crispy.
  13. Do not overly brown or burn
  14. Remove from the oven  and cool.
  15. Place the crispy skin on a board and  break it up with with a heavy knife.
  16. Serve

* skin can be chewy and tough in some parts so be careful with sensitive teeth or dental issues.

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How to Make Sauerkraut

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There is a blog I check in with from time to time written by Rural Rose. She has a farm in British Columbia, and is a font of common sense practical information on her Life Through the Cracks blog. It was there I saw a post on how to make sauerkraut. Who knew it was so easy! Then on various catalogs I’ve been seeing ceramic crocks for fermenting for sell. So last month I ordered the smallest size ,1 gallon, and began the task of making my own Sauerkraut.

I researched various methods to ferment. The key is salt, plenty of it, and keeping your shredded cabbage sealed and weighted underneath the brine which forms as water is drawn out the cabbage. You also want to be careful of your temperatures as it ferments at room temperature. Not to hot or cold. You never want your environment to be over 75 degrees as the cabbage will become soft and not ferment properly. I found this link to best most comprehensive How to ferment sauerkraut. I liked this link because its comprehensive , addressing temps, altitudes for canning, etc.Don’t be alarmed if you see a scum during fermentation. You can carefully remove that.Some people wont get that at all. The cabbage is protected underneath the brine. Make sure your utensils and vessels are clean. Keep your edges clean as you weight your cabbage with a plate that fits inside. Then add a salt water filled plastic bag or water filled jug on top top weigh the plate down and keep the cabbage covered and air tight. A brine filled bag is good in case your water leaks. The total amount of salt varies, but use NON IODIZED Kosher or Sea Salt. Most people give a guideline of 3 tablespoons of salt to 5 lbs of cabbage. In addition the salt keeps the cabbage crunchy.

There are those that will argue the decision to can or not. As sauerkraut is formed through lactic acid fermentation, it is quite healthy with pro-biotic benefits. However processing your sauerkraut will kill the beneficial nature of fresh sauerkraut, and leave you with just a tasty treat . Wild Fermentation has an excellent post on this. The choice is yours . If you keep it fresh and raw , it will keep in the refrigerator for months after the fermentation period which ranges from 1-3 weeks depending on climate. If you process it in a water bath , the shelf life is longer and can kept at room temperature. For this first trial, I went the canning route to give as gifts and just to put up.

Be creative. Use red or green cabbage. I used both. Combine with other shredded vegetables or apples even. I threw in some caraway seeds and juniper seeds while fermenting to flavor.

As Autumn approaches you will have an enjoyable side to compliment your sausages and roasted meats and vegetables. Wash it all down with a cold beer.

Bread and Butter Pickles…My Way

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A few of you may know I volunteer at the 61st Street Farmers Market when my schedule permits. It’s been  a few weeks since my last shift and I was so happy to see such an abundance. What a difference a few weeks make in the growing season. Naturally I loaded up and went to town preserving the taste of summer with my beautiful Weck jars.

I don’t particularly care for sweet pickles. Give me a big sour Kosher dill pickle and I’m happy. But I decided to do a sweet pickle because I purchased a combination of various cucumbers. One being a beautiful sweet white variety. I looked at some recipes and played around and I decided to use all white vinegar, as I don’t like the taste of apple cider vinegar when I’m pickling. Odd, but that’s me.

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Bread and Butter Pickles

makes 4  1/5 liter jars

  • 8 or nine small cucumbers for pickles ( equivalent to 2 punnets in size) ( try to get a variety )
  • 1/3 cup salt
  • 1 onion sliced thinly in rings
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon  whole all spice
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 tablespoon hot mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon dried garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dill
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  1. Slice cucumbers into rings , preferably with a ripple cut. Slice onion thinly.
  2. In a bowl, put the cucumbers and onions. Add salt and cover with  cold water to cover. Cover with lid and let sit for about 3-4 hours.
  3. Sterilize your jars and lids according to manufacturer instructions. Prepare your hot water bath.
  4. Drain the sliced cucumbers and onions.
  5. In a non reactive sauce pan, heat sugar, vinegar and spices.
  6. Pack your cucumber and onions.
  7. Pour hot vinegar/sugar solution with spices over the vegetables and  seal according to manufacturer instructions.
  8. Process in a  hot water bath for 10 minutes.
  9. Allow to cool on a rack  and leave undisturbed t seal overnight.
  10. Test/ check seals. Read how to see if sealed according to your jars manufacturer instructions.

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Don’t forget you have until next week to win a set of Three Nordic Ware Bundt Pans for my Housewarming Party for Coco-Cooks.com.

The Best Ever Crock Pot Boston Baked Beans

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If you have followed me on Twitter you know I have been away in Boston the past week. What an amazing city! Coming from Maryland, I thought we had the edge on seafood. But Bostons seafood was amazing, On a limited budget I ate very well and worked off all the good food walking and touring this most important of American cities . One thing I saw were these cute little bean crocks to make authentic Boston Baked Beans. I love a good baked bean. I have been to many a picnic where cooks try to perpetrate by doctoring up canned beans. One of my favorite cooking memories were my mother and I attempting to make out our own baked beans from scratch. I remembered it took hours to cook. Craving baked beans, but not wanting to run the oven in this summer heat , I opted for my crock pot/slow cooker.Many of my foodie friends associate slow baking beans with winter and fall. But isn’t a good baked bean dish quintessential to summer time and BB Q’s? While I cooked this via crock pot, I finished them of in the authentic crock for 45 min or so sprinkled with brown sugar in the oven. Let me say the house smelled fantastic turning the key and entering to find the beans cooked perfectly.Enjoy.

Crock Pot Boston Baked Beans

1 lb dry Navy Beans or Great Northern Beans

12 oz-1 lb salt pork with rind

3/4 cup molasses

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 tbsp Dijon Mustard

1 onion chopped

1 onion studded with cloves( about 1 tsp worth)

4 cups water

ground black pepper

Soak your beans over night covered in cold water. The next day drain water. In a small pot of boiling water, boil the cubed or cut up salt pork for a few minutes to remove excess salt. Remove salt pork from water and place on the bottom of crock pot. Place the clove studded onion in crock pot. Cover with soaked dried beans. Add mustard,ground black pepper, chopped onion,brown sugar,molasses. Pour 4 – 5 cups of cold water over the beans and spices. Beans should be covered but not excessively so. The slow cooking adds moisture.Turn on your crock pot/slow cooker to the setting of 10 hours.

After 10 hours you can finish of individual servings on mini crocks sprinkled with brown sugar in a an oven at 350 F for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

I think this perfect for this months My Legume Love Affair #14 hosted by the founder Susan of the Well Seasoned Cook.

Bone In Veal Breast Roasted In A Salt Bed

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With Certain Someone back for a while before he jets off again, I find myself a carnivore for once.I have posted a few times here about Certain Someones mothers pork roast which is prepared in a salt bed. Wanting to expand on that theme and writing about it here, I decided to try another cut of meat. Veal breasts are relatively inexpensive and can be very delicious. One can buy them with the bone in or out. If the bones are out , veal breast work great stuffed.You will find all sorts of recipes for veal breast in Italian, German and other European cuisines. I love bones and roasting with them in imparts a whole another dimension. Veal breasts can be fatty, but yields a lot meat in the brisket like section.
This veal breast was simply prepared with a rub of lemon juice and some Penzeys Bavarian Seasoning blend( crushed brown mustard, rosemary, garlic, thyme,bay leaves, and sage),cracked black pepper, and studding of garlic cloves throughout. Place meat in a cast iron skillet or roasting pan. Take a container of salt and pour it around the meat. The meat should not lie on top of the salt, the salt should only surround it. Salt aides in retaining the moisture in the meat, while drawing out fats. The cut of meat draws the just enough salt it needs for flavor. Believer it or not, the meat does not come out salty. The ancient Chinese developed this way of cooking with salt . Roast the veal for 2 hours or more at 350F uncovered, depending on size. Remove from oven and allow to sit to settle.Slice and serve.
Notice how juicy the meat is upon carving.
Cooking with salt crusts works great for whole fish, chicken, and beef as well. The fish is usually covered in salt. The Chinese cover the chicken in a flour, salt,and water crust and bake.