Who doesn't like bacon? Well, this isn't bacon but pork belly is the meat that becomes bacon after curing. We're going to cook it as a dinner entree on the barbecue.
As with a lot of dishes, cooking the meat is just a formality. The key to this dish is the sauce.
Let's see what I have in the fridge that I can use for that purpose.
Here we go, an onion, some sherry, and raspberry preserves. That should work well with pork.
INGREDIENTS1 pound pork bellykosher saltpepperworcestershire sauce1/4 medium onion, finely chopped1 cup raspberry preserves1/4 cup sherry2 tablespoons butter (or, as I did today, bacon fat if you have it available)
Put the pork belly in a sealable bowl. Lightly sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper on each side. Splash on enough worcestershire sauce to have a fine coating on top. Seal and put in the fridge for later.
I need to find my smallest sauce pan. There it is. Holds about a pint, maybe a little more.
I had made some bacon for breakfast today, so I saved a little of the bacon fat to use in place of the butter for this. Heat up your bacon fat (or butter) in the sauce pan. When hot, put in the onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes).
Add the sherry and boil for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
Pull out any large pieces of onion that might float up and discard.
Add the preserves and stir in. Boil 5-10 minues, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer for half an hour. Take pan off of heat when done.
On a charcoal barbecue grill with coals only on one side, place the pork belly over the direct heat and cover. Cook about 4 minutes on each side.
Move pork belly over to indirect heat, cover and cook for another 8 minutes per side. When done, remove and cover with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Serve with sauce ladeled over the meat.
DarrylCopyright 2016 - Darryl MusickAll Rights Reserved
Meat and potatoes...delicious ones...for those of us on a low-sodium diet.
The entree for this week's dinner is some fantastic tri tip steak. USDA Prime that I found for $7.99 per pound. Great deal.
Breakfast uses our standard scrambled eggs recipe but we're cooking some delicious Danish bacon
Get the recipes below:
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Bacon (for an added treat, cook the eggs in the bacon grease after you cook that).
Dinner: Tri Tip Steaks and Roasted Potatoes
DarrylCopyright 2015 - Darryl MusickAll Rights Reserved
After eggs, maybe the most popular breakfast food. Easy to cook, the key is good meat.
Look for strips, thick strips, with a high meat (or lean) to fat ratio. We get Danish bacon from Marconda's Meats at the Original L.A. Farmers Market, where...if you buy a full slab...you'll get $2 off per pound and they'll slice and pack to order.
Get a large frying pan, lay the strips across the bottom, cover with a splatter screen, and turn the heat to medium/high. Put the splatter guard on top to keep the grease from flying all over your stove and kitchen.
After several minutes, when the pink on the bacon gets darker and headed to red, use some tongs to flip them over...carefully.
Cook several more minutes until they start to turn brown. The browner they are, the crispier they will be.
When done, put a couple of layers of paper towels on a plate. Put the bacon on the towels then put one more sheet on top. Let sit for about ten minutes so the paper towels can soak up the grease before serving.
DarrylCopyright 2015 - Darryl MusickAll Rights Reserved
I had a late lunch with an old high school friend recently. A very good dish of chilaquiles and eggs overlooking a harbor a bit north of Los Angeles.
The next morning, the mix of the eggs and tortilla chips stayed with me and helped inspire this dish, which pulls a bit from Mexico, France, and the good 'ol USA.
INGREDIENTS
4 eggs1 merguez sausage1/4 cup bacon bits (leftover from another breakfast)6 leaves of spinach1 teaspoon half and half.1 stalk of broccolini or broccoli2 tablespoons soft goat cheese2 cloves fresh garlicpinch of salt2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil3 corn tortillas
Cut the tortillas into small triangles. Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan on high heat. When very hot, cook the tortilla triangles until crispy. Remove and set on a plate with paper towels to drain and save for later.
Chop up the merguez sausage into small bits. Add another 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan.
Cook the sausage and spinach together until the spinach is well wilted.
Chop the garlic finely. Do the same with the broccolini.
Add to the pan and stir until the broccolini begins to soften.
Add the bacon and goat cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted.
Put the eggs into a bowl. Add the half and half plus a pinch of salt and stir until well combined.
Add the tortilla chops to the pan and pour the egg mixture over the top. Stir with a spatula until done.
DarrylCopyright 2015 - Darryl MusickAll Rights Reserved
