Tasty Pork Favorites for Your Table
Charlie Palmer is considered one of America's best chefs. To many, he's a culinary icon.
Palmer has 13 restaurants, including several steak houses in Washington D.C., Reno and Vegas, a fish restaurant in Reno, and a wine boutique in Napa, Calif. He's also been a judge on the current season of Bravo's "Top Chef: Las Vegas."
Palmer has taken home several James Beard Foundation awards, which many refer to as "Oscars of the Food Industry."
And Wednesday night in New York, seven award-winning chefs will gather to celebrate American cuisine at the foundation's annual gala and fundraiser. Palmer will be cooking there with the best of the best. However, he shared some of his favorite pork recipes on "The Early Show" that you can make at home.
Roasted Pork Tenderloin
Thyme-Roasted Apples, Truffle Brussels Sprouts
1 pork tenderloin, silverskin removed
vegetable oil
1 Golden Delicious apple, unpeeled, cored and quartered
2-3 T unsalted butter
3 sprigs fresh thyme
salt and pepper
1 T butter
2 T shallots, small dice
10 Brussels sprouts, leaves separated, blanched
1 T white balsamic vinegar
2 t black truffles, sliced, julienne
Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Season the tenderloin with salt and black pepper. Pour just enough oil into an ovenproof sauté pan to cover the bottom of the pan and heat until smoking hot. Sear the tenderloin on all sides, and then reduce the heat to medium. Toss in the apple pieces with the butter and thyme and move the pork and apples around to coat them with butter and herbs.
Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the pork for 7 to 10 minutes, depending on how you like it cooked (150degree F is medium). Make sure your meat thermometer reads approximately 150 degrees. Baste the meat occasionally with the pan drippings and turn the apples to keep them moist.
Take the pan out of the oven and transfer the pork and apples to a plate; cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
If there's enough butter left in the pan, go right in with the shallots. If not, add a little more butter. Sauté shallots until they are translucent. Add blanched Brussels sprout leaves and toss to combine with shallots. Deglaze pan with white balsamic vinegar. Toss with julienne black truffles to finish.
To plate
Slice the pork, spoon the apples onto a plate and spoon any remaining pan juices over the apples. Arrange the sliced pork over the apples and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Scatter the truffle Brussels sprouts around the plate.
Ahi Tuna Wrapped in Bacon
Serves 4 as an appetizer
Ingredients
1 each ahi tuna loin
6 slices applewood smoked bacon
1 tbsp butter
3 each shallots, finely minced
2 oz white wine
16 oz shitake/mitake mushrooms, cleaned
1 tbsp Sherry vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
4 each green onions, minced
drizzle Meyer lemon oil (recipe below)
8 oz mache, washed and dried
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Cut ahi tuna loin into a 3" x 5" portion. Wrap portioned tuna with bacon (approximately 6 slices will cover the entire piece of tuna). Cut four 8" pieces of butchers twine and tie the bacon wrapped tuna in four places making sure that the ties are spaced evenly. After the tuna is tied, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate and keep well chilled.
In a large sauté pan, heat butter to a foam and cook shallots until translucent. Add chanterelles and cook 5-7 minutes. Add wine and deglaze pan. Add sherry vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and slightly cool. Place in a food processor bowl and pulse until smooth. Check seasoning.
Place the chilled tuna in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Rotate the loin so the tuna cooks on each side and baste with the fat as it emerges from the bacon (this process is called rendering). The tuna should be cooked just on the outside edges leaving the middle of the tuna rare. Remove tuna from pan and let rest 5 minutes before cutting into four equal portions.
To plate, place a generous portion of chanterelle puree in the middle of the plate. Top puree with a slice of the cooked bacon wrapped tuna loin. Garnish tuna with minced green onion and drizzle liberally with Meyer lemon oil. Toss mache with Meyer lemon oil and season with salt and pepper. Place a mound of mache salad on the plate beside the tuna.
Meyer Lemon Oil
Ingredients
6 each Meyer lemons, peeled
16 oz grapeseed oil
Method
Place Meyer lemon peel in small saucepan and cover with water. Over medium-high heat, bring water to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook peel for 3-5 minutes. Remove peel from water and shock in ice water.
Place grapeseed oil and lemon peel in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn off heat and let peel steep for 8-10 minutes. Discard peel and refrigerate oil in airtight container.
Note: If you do not blanch the lemon peel, the water in the peel will produce bacteria and spoil the oil.
Braised Pork Belly with Caraway Sauerkraut and Potatoes
From "Charlie Palmer's Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen" published by Melcher Media Inc.
Ingredients
4 lb fresh pork belly
2 1/2 cup kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
handful of Italian parsley, washed and roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp caraway seeds
1 lb sauerkraut, rinsed and squeezed dry
2 branches fresh rosemary, bruised with the back of a chef's knife
3 cups white wine
4 large Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1lb), peeled and cut into thick rounds
Dollop your favorite mustard
For braising the pork
Vegetable oil
1 large white onion, quartered and sliced
To Cure the Pork
Remove the skin from the pork belly (if the butcher hasn't done this for you). Using a sharp knife, score the fat side in a crisscross pattern, making cuts about 1/4 inch deep. Stir together the salt, sugar, parsley, garlic and red pepper flakes. Rub the mixture all over the pork, especially into the scored fat. Place half the remaining cure mixture in a large shallow pan or baking dish and press t he pork into it, bone-side down. Press the remaining mixture over the pork cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.
To Braise the Belly
Brush as much of the cure mixture from the pork as possible. Pour just enough oil into a large, heavy sauté pan over low heat. Put the pork in the pan over low heat. Put the pork in the pan fat-side down and slowly render until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Turn the pork and brown the side with the bones.
Remove the pork to a platter and carefully pour off about half of the rendered fat from the pan. Add the onions and caraway seeds to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. The onions should be limp but not fully tender, and the caraway aromatic. Stir the sauerkraut into the pan and heat it through. Nestle the pork belly in the pan and tuck in the rosemary as well. Pour in the wine, cover the pan, and slowly braise the pork until fork-tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Check about every 45 minutes to make sure there is enough liquid in the pan, adding water if necessary.
About 20 minutes before the pork is done, add the potatoes, cook until they are fork tender but still have the slightest touch of a bite to them.
Slice the pork into 4 thick slabs and serve on a platter over the potatoes and sauerkraut. Accompany the pork with a dish or a dollop of mustard.
For a Pulled Pork Sandwiches recipe, go to Page 2.
Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Mango Salsa, Fennel & Celery Root Slaw & Potato Salad
From "Charlie Palmer's Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen" published by Melcher Media Inc.
For the pork:
1 each pork butt (about 8 lb)
10 each cloves garlic, halved
1 each onion, diced
2T vegetable oil
1T ground cumin
2t Turkish red pepper flakes
1/2 C honey
2C fresh orange juice
2C coffee (or 4 shots of espresso)
11/2 C ketchup
1C brown sugar, packed
1C red wine vinegar
2T tomato paste
1T dry mustard
Large buns of choice
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Pierce the pork all over with the tip of a paring knife, and then insert pieces of garlic into the slits. Put the pork on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325°F and roast for 2 hours longer.
Take out the pork but leave the oven on. Let the pork stand until cool enough to handle, which will take a good half-hour. Now simply pull the pork apart (it should shred easily) and set aside until the sauce is ready. Don't toss the roasted garlic -- put it in with the shredded meat.
While the pork is roasting and cooling, make the sauce:
In a stockpot, sweat the onions in the oil over medium heat along with the cumin and red pepper flakes; cook for a few min¬utes, just until the onions begin to wilt. Stir in the honey and cook for 5 to 7 minutes longer, stirring occasionally; the honey will start to caramelize, darkening in color.
Add the orange juice and bring to a bare sim¬mer. Add the coffee, ketchup, sugar, vin-egar, tomato paste, and mustard, whisking to blend. Simmer the sauce for 15 minutes to let all the flavors come together.
Mix the pork into the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven to slowly stew for 45 minutes. Check and stir occasionally; if the sauce starts to cook dry, add a little more coffee or a few spoonfuls of water.
Salsa
2 each mangos, peeled and diced
1/2 each red onion, finely diced
3T fresh lime juice
1t minced fresh jalapeño
1C chopped fresh cilantro
Mix the mangos with the onion, lime juice, and jalapeño, and season with salt and pepper. Wait to add the cilantro until just before serving, otherwise the acids will wilt it and darken it.
Fennel and Celery Root Slaw
Ingredients
2 each heads fennel, trimmed of fronds and halved
2 each medium celery roots, peeled
1 each carrot, peeled and grated
2C white wine vinegar
1 1/2 C granulated sugar
1T salt
1 1/2 C mayonnaise
Thinly slice the fennel with the aid of a mandoline and put it in a shallow bowl.
Finely julienne the celery root (also with a mandoline) and add it to the bowl. Add the carrots.
Mix together the vinegar, sugar, and salt, and pour over the vegetables; stir to com¬bine. Place plastic wrap directly over the vegetables and press it down to keep them submerged in the marinade. Let stand at room temperature for 6 hours, or refriger¬ate overnight.
Drain the vegetables, then wrap them in a big kitchen towel and squeeze all excess moisture out of them.
Place the vegetables on a cutting board and coarsely chop through them several times, then place in a bowl.
Mix in the mayonnaise, season with salt and white pepper, and refrigerate.