Sic Semper Porcus

Bacon, Morels and Eggs

One my favorite parts of late Spring and early Summer in the Midwest, aside from reprieve from the character defining Winters, is searching for my favorite mushroom, morels.  My pops and I went out on a gorgeous day and scrounged around the forest floor for these gems.  Morels are probably one of the more sought after mushroom, obviously deferring to truffles, because they haven't really been successfully cultivated commercially and because of their unique flavor: smoky and woody with a meaty element as well. 

Morels are such a treat that I usually prepare them in a very simple way.  I used up most of my share of the morels on a cream and shallot sauce that topped some roasted cornish hens (mouthwatering mini chickens, mmmm).  Morels seem to react so well with cream and butter, the mushrooms gain a supple creamy body and then they in turn impart their wonderful characteristics into the sauce, making a velvety sauce that taste like the forest floor.  In any case, eggs also marry very well with morels and I needed to use up the remaining one before they dried out.  I figured our fennel and pepper cured bacon would add a little heft to the meal and the smoky element would naturally meld with the morels so I chopped up about four thick slices and then diced that.  Throw it on medium to low heat and render out as much fat as possible.  Add a couple tablespoons of butter and then your diced morels and sautee until soft and the mushrooms have absorbed most of the fat and butter.  Add your eggs with salt and pepper to taste, and briskly scramble to taste. I like mine just a little runny.  Toast up some nice bread and slather on butter and you have yourself a decadent breakfast perfect for lazy/ hungover mornings. 

As a note, if you ever want this meal when morels aren't in season or you don't have access to fresh morels dried morels make a decent substitute.  Be careful not to put too much water as they'll become overly soft because they're basically like little sponges.  Err on the side of less water when reconstituting.

BTC Sammich

Nothing says summer like a BLT.  Crisp bacon with beautifully ripe tomatoes and crisp flavorful lettuce (the lettuce is clearly the least interesting part, but it's tradition).  So in order to ring in the warm weather and grilling I thought I'd have a nice BLT.  Well as fortune had it, there was no lettuce in my apartment so I had to get a little creative.  I decided to model it after the bahn mi sandwich of Vietnam.  Crisp vegetables, normally carrots and cucumbers, and fragrant herbs (cilantro) are paired with meat on a baguette to create a refreshing sandwich perfect for those blisteringly hot days where even siting up makes you sweat.  We had some fennel and pepper bacon that we actually got around to smoking this time rather then cooking it in the oven.  Fry up three slices of thick-cut bacon slice up some nice tomatoes (it's still a little early in the season so these were mediocre) slice some carrots thin, a mandolin makes this very easy.  I toasted a portion of a baguette, spread on some homemade mayonnaise and dressed it all up with some fresh rosemary.  Stellar.  On a final note, get ready for more madness as now my partner in crime, Tom, will actually be posting on the site.  It'll be interesting to see how this goes, it might turn out slightly schizophrenic...

Pork Loin

Here's a little dish I made the other night.  I brined a pork loin and then roasted it.  The purpose of brining in this situation was not to completely preserve the meat, but rather to change the molecular structure of the meat just slightly, resulting in a more flavorful and juicy cut of meat.  Pork loin is one of the most oft over-cooked cuts, surpassed only by pork chops.  This is an easy way to ensure that you have a juicy pork loin that'll win you awards, make you a millionaire and make you irresistible to whoever your love interest is.  Results may vary, but you always end up with tasty pork, which is a plus.

Brine

2 cups of salt
4 tablespoons ground Szechuan peppercorns (black peppercorns will work)
2 tablespoons ground ginger
6 cups of water, or enough to completely submerge your pork loin
2 dried bird chiles, whole (chiles de arbol or any other small dried chile will work)
1/2 cup sake

Brine for 12 hrs.  Remove from brine and rinse.

Sesame Pork Loin

3-4 lb pork loin, rolled and tied
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 cup sesame seeds
2 tablespoons Szechuan peppercorns
2 tablespoons chile oil (chile infused oil, make it yourself or look for it in Asian markets)

Dress the loin with the oils and then roll the loin in the sesame seeds and ground pepper and allow it to sit and absorb some of the flavors for a couple hours.  Drink a beer(s) to kill the time.  Preheat oven to 400.  Place loin in and roast at high temperature until it has seared a bit on the top (about 15 min).  Turn the oven down to 350 and cook for another 20 min per pound.  The internal temperature should reach 155-160.  Serve on a bed of rice noodles dressed lightly in tahini with fresh cilantro and ginger for garnish.  I would probably pair this with a nice wine from Savennieres, a rich full expression of Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley.

Hungover Smoked Pork Shoulder

    So it's been a while since I posted and I apologize to anyone whose life was unfavorably affected by my absence.  In any case there's a lot coming up in the future.  Unfortunately I don't have a pretty picture of this smoked pork shoulder because I was quite hungover while making this and I completely forgot to snap a picture before it was devoured.  But in order to keep consistent with my format I have provided an example of what a pork butt looks like. 
    So we had a former German exchange student of my roommates in visiting and reconnecting with her long lost high school friends, and I figured there was no better way to welcome her than to smoke some meat.  I know Germans like smoked meat and I know they really like pork, so this was a logical choice and a flagrant generalization, but I'm comfortable with that.  I had it all very well planned out but then I hit a stumbling block.  The reason why I was a bit worse for the wear during the preparation of one of my favorite cuts of pork was because Sam's Wine and Spirits had their employee appreciation party the night before and I perhaps got a bit too exuberant with the bottles of bubbly.  This lead to me not preparing the marinade and marinating this big hunk of meat for the appropriate time and making it obviously very difficult to cook it the day after, but I persevered through the throbbing headache.  It still turned out alright but clearly the flavors had not fully permeated the cut.  Anyway, here's the recipe, slightly modified to what I would have done had I been more competent when this was all being made.  I paired this with a Sparkling Saumur I had been using for Mimosas earlier in the day (hair of the dog).

Lemon and Lime Smoked Pork Shoulder

The Marinade:
3 stalks of lemon grass
2 tablespoons of grated ginger
6 tablespoons of chile oil (bird chile infused oil)
4 cloves of garlic
3/4 cup of water
5 keffir lime leaves
3 tablespoons of salt

Heat the oil over medium to low heat and then add all the ingredients and cook covered for 8-10 minutes or until everything is very tender.  Remove the top and reduce the liquid for another minute.  Allow to cool and then transfer to a food processor or blender.  Puree until smooth.  Apply evenly to the pork shoulder and allow it time to marinate at least 12 hrs.  For a 4-5lb pork shoulder it takes about 5-6 hours to smoke it appropriately for this dish. You should be maintaining the temperature around 225.  The paste should have become slightly charred but it will make a nice outer crust.  Slice off large chunks and you're set.  The leftovers make an excellent sandwich.

Veal Pâté

More pâté goodness.  The first one was a bit too gamey; it either had a bit too much pork liver, or the quality of liver was suspect. In any case I decided to try for something a little more subtle.  I had some leftover ground veal and concluded that this endeavor would venture away from my normal porcine theme.  The texture of this one is the same as the last, coarse ground, slightly rustic and capable of conjuring up visions of small French farmhouses.  The results were certainly an improvement.  The pleasing, slightly mellow flavor of the veal showed well but I don't think I spiced this one sufficiently.  In addition, I think I'll try crusting the top with spices or seeds as it will add another layer of flavor and texture.  Serve on a toasted baguette slathered in butter with braised leeks and a nice bottle of dry rosé from Les Baux-de-Provence.

Veal Pâté

1 lb pork liver cut in to large chunks
2 lb ground veal or a veal shank cut into small chunks
2 tablespoons kosher slat
2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 cups sliced button mushrooms
2 tablespoons Madeira or Amontillado Sherry
2 slices of white bread, crusts removed and roughly chopped
1/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Follow the process from the Pâté Grandmère sautéing the mushrooms along with the shallots.