Carnitas

"There are two things in the world you never want to let people see how you make 'em: laws and sausages." --- Leo McGarry from The West Wing.

My wife has prohibited me from making my own sausage. I won't go into the reasons for her edict, but a lot of it probably has to do with Mr. McGarry's above observation. Someday I will make my own sausage, and when I start learn the art of sausage making, I'll consult Bruce Aidells, the sausage king. I'll pick up his book on sausage making.

Since I'm barred from making sausage, I've spent time trying recipes from two other books written by Mr. Aidells: The Complete Meat Cookbook, and The Complete Book of Pork. He's a guy who knows how to cook a piece of meat, and both of these cookbooks are indispensable compendiums of recipes, various cooking methods, and information about various cuts of meats.

The carnita recipe is from The Complete Book of Pork. I love this recipe because it's flavorful, it's economical, it feeds a crowd, it freezes well, and it makes great leftovers. Also after the initial preparation, it requires very little effort, so while the pot simmers, I use my time to fix some great side dishes, like guacamole, pico de gallo, and salsa.

Carnitas

Spice Rub

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons chili powder

• 3 pounds boneless Boston butt, cut into 1 2/2 inch pieces and trimmed of visible fat

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 large onion, diced

Instructions:

1. Make dry rub by combining all spices in a medium bowl.

2. In a bowl toss pork and coat with dry rub. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

3. In a dutch over or deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. In small batches, brown the pork. When meat is browned, transfer to a plate, and continue cooking the remaining pieces.

4. In a small bowl, stir the vinegar with the honey until the honey dissolves. Stir in chicken broth and add mixture to the pot, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom.

5. Add the onion and bring the liquid to a boil.

6. Lower the heat until the pot simmers.

7. Return pork to the pot, cover, and cooking until pork is fork-tender, 1 1/4 - 2 hours.

8. Remove the cover and increase the heat slightly to maintain a lively simmer. Continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated - about 30 minutes.

Chorizo Tacos

Since we'll be out of town this weekend, we're trying to clean out the fridge of any leftovers, so I haven't been doing a lot of cooking this week. I did try a new apple dumpling recipe last night, but you'll have to wait until fall for me to share it.

Today, I thought I'd take a little bit of time to share a fabulous recipe for Chorizo Tacos that I prepared for last Friday's supper. It's a quick, easy recipe from Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures: Recipes and Stories, a book written by Rick Bayless and his daughter. Mr. Bayless is a Chicago chef who has garnered numerous awards, including the James Beard National Chef of the Year. I've tried several of his recipes and haven't been disappointed yet. He seems to be rooted in using simple, fresh, and seasonal ingredients, and he doesn't get too uppity about food.

The success of this recipes hinges on two important elements:

1. Roasting your own green chiles. You could make this recipe with canned green chiles, but I like the flavor of fresh peppers. I also like the whole experience of roasting chiles. I usually use a poblano chile, but you could easily substitute an Anaheim. For a guide to chile peppers, click on the following link at The Cook's Thesaurus: A guide to chile peppers. If you're unsure of how to roast a chile pepper, consult the following link: How to roast a chile pepper.

2. Good chorizo. I'm sure you could make this with a less expensive chorizo, but I like the sausage made by The Community Mercantile in Lawrence. I don't know a lot about chorizo, but I look forward to learning more in the coming years. If you're a vegetarian, there's a product called Soyrizo that you could use in place of chorizo. I haven't tried it, but I plan on slipping it into a meal in the near future.

Chorizo Tacos

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces (1 cup) Mexican chorizo sausage
• 3 medium (3/4 pound) red potatoes
• Salt
• 2 medium poblano chiles roasted
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I think you could get by with a little less)
  
• 1 small onion

Condiments

• salsa
• guacamole
• sour cream
• cheese
• cilantro

1. Cook chorizo in large skillet. Break it up as it throughly cooks. If there's a lot of fat, drain it off. Remove chorizo from the skillet.
   
2. Cut potatoes in half, then cut each half into 4 pieces. Place potato pieces in non-metal bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high power for 4 to 5 minutes, until completely tender.
3. Pour oil into skillet and heat over medium heat. Add sliced onion and stir regularly. Cook for 2 minutes until onions are translucent.
4. Add potatoes and cook. Stir regularly and cook for 5 minutes until browned.
5. Stir in chiles and chorizo. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes more. Taste and season with salt if necessary (Although I've never needed to salt this recipe because there's plenty of seasoning in the chorizo.)
   
6. Keep warm over very low heat.
7. Serve: Heat corn tortillas according to directions on the package. Serve with your choice of condiments. I usually keep this taco very simple as you can see in the pictures. I usually only eat it with a little cilantro and maybe some guacamole.

Enjoy,
muddywaters

Bistec Empanizado (Cuban Breaded Steak)

Occasionally my family will have dinner & a movie night, when we'll plan a menu around one of our favorite films. Dinner and a movie night is always an anticipated event in our household because it allows us to be creative while doing something we love and there are always suprises involved in the event. Unfortunately, the daily grind of life keeps us from doing this as frequently as we'd like. My wife has reminded me on numerous occasions that it's been awhile since I've hosted a dinner and a movie, so I'm trying to generate ideas for a possible dinner and a movie this month.

To get me in a creative mindset, Thursday night I revisited one of the recipes I used in a dinner revolving around the movie Wrestling Ernest Hemingway. The movie, set in Miami, focuses on the relationship of two senior citizens played by Richard Harris and Robert Duvall. Since Cuban culture plays a role in the film, my menu showcased Cuban cuisine. My main dish was Bistec Empanizado, a simple Cuban Bread Steak, and since it received rave reviews and I was scratching my head for possible dinner ideas, I decided to make this for dinner.

I like the simplicity of the this recipe.

• 1/4 cup olive oil


• 1/2 cup sour orange juice (see Note)


• 2 tablespoons vinegar


• 1 cup finely chopped onion


• 1-1/2 pounds tenderized round steak


• 1 cup cracker meal (finely ground crackers - I used Club Crackers)


• 2 teaspoons garlic powder


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 2 egg whites, beaten


• Olive oil for sauteing


• Fresh cilantro, chopped


• Freshly ground pepper

1. Mix olive oil, sour orange juice, vinegar and chopped onion to make a marinade. Add unpounded beef steaks, cover, and marinate for 20 minutes.


2. Remove steaks from marinade and place them, one at a time, between two pieces of waxed paper. Using a meat mallet, pound steak to 1/4 thickness. Return steaks to marinade. (If you are in a hurry, proceed with the remaining steps. Otherwise, refrigerate and continue marinating for 1 to 4 hours.)


3. In a medium bowl, combine cracker meal, garlic powder and salt. Dip wet beef in egg whites, then dip in cracker mixture, coating well on both sides. Fry to desired doneness in from pan and place on plate.

Note: Sour orange juice, naranha agria, is a popular in Cuban cooking.
You can find it by the can in some Latin supermarkets. Or make your own substitution by using 2 parts orange juice, 1 part lemon juice and one part lime juice.

Nutrition facts per serving: 496 calories, 21 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 81 mg cholesterol, 33 g carbohydrates, 42 g protein, 436 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.

I served this with some sauteed spinach and cilantro-lime rice. Later I'll post the recipes for each of these dishes. I'm still not feeling comfortable snapping photos of my food. It just seems unnatural, but I'll still plug away at perfecting my culinary presentation.