Chipot-what? Never heard of it.

But of course I have. And like millions of Americans, I love it deeply. This past weekend I tried my hand at some Mexican fare and ended up recreating most of what they heap in to my burrito bowl. The guacamole, black beans and rice and corn and tomato salad were tasty, I won't bother you with recipes (hint: take all of those nouns and add lime juice and cilantro), but the real stars were the carnitas and roasted tomato salsa. Both simple, make-ahead dishes perfect for a summer party.



Carnitas
Adapted from David Lebovitz and Chow
Serves 10ish

Ingredients:

• 7 lbs of pork shoulder, cut in to large chunks, about 5 inches long/wide, fat left on
• Kosher salt
• 2 tbs vegetable oil
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 whole dried ancho chile peppers
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp oregano or marjoram
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 4 cloves garlic
• Water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in large roasting pan over the stove. Salt pork and the brown on all sides, in batches so that you don't crowd the pan
2. When all the pork is browned, remove and deglaze pan with about a cup of water, scrapping up the browned bits. Stir in spices and garlic.
3. Add pork back to pan and pour over enough water to cover it about 2/3 of the way. Roast for 3 hours or so, until it shreds easily with a fork.
4. When done cooking, remove pork from pan and shred with two forks.  Discard chile peppers and cinnamon. Carefully pour pan juices in to a fat separator and then add them back in to pan with the shredded pork. Serve with variety of taco accoutrements like guacamole, salsa (see recipe below), queso cotiija, rice, beans, etc

Roasted tomato salsa
Adapted from Everday Food, May 2011

Ingredients:

• 3-4 largish tomatoes
• 3 jalapenos, seeded or not depending on the level of spice you'd like and the potency of your peppers. (I seeded two of mine and it still had quite a kick.)
• 1 large white onion, halved
• 3 cloves garlic
• juice from one lime
• handful of cilantro leaves
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler. Place tomatoes, peppers, onion and garlic on baking sheet and broil until the skins start to blacken.
2. Remove garlic skin and toss the roasted vegetables in to a food processor. Process until just smooth. Season with salt and pepper and add cilantro. Process for just a few seconds more to combine.

Pork Chops with Country Gravy

I found this recipe in an issue of Cooking Light that I took from the jury room of my county courthouse. In case you were wondering - I was excused. Which is probably a good thing since people that steal stuff from courthouses don't usually have the best moral compass. But I'm so glad I showed up to perform my civic duty that day. I got a whopping $8 and one of my favorite weeknight meals. This was the recipe that helped me get over my gravy fear, fortunately for everyone but my thighs (who can just shut up about it, already).

Pork Chops with Country Gravy
Adapted from Cooking Light
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp. dried marjoram
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. dried sage
• 4 boneless loin pork chops
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 cups milk

Directions:

1. Combine flour and spices. Season pork with salt and pepper and then dredge through flour mixture. Set aside remaining flour for gravy.
2. Melt butter in skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add pork chops. Brown well on each side, then lower heat and continue cooking until cooked through. When done, remove to plate. Keep skillet on medium heat.
3. Combine leftover flour mixture with milk in a bowl. Search frantically around your kitchen for a whisk. Expand search to living room and find whisk in toy box. Wash very, very thoroughly.  Actually, you can probably skip that part if you don't have a toddler obsessed with kitchen utensils. 
4. Use newly sterilized whisk to stir milk/flour slurry in to hot pan. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly.  Season with salt and pepper (lots of fresh cracked pepper). Cook for about two minutes, until very thick. Pour over pork chops and mashed potatoes.

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

When the Pioneer Woman posted this recipe earlier in the week, I knew that making it would be in my near future. Her super easy  brisket has successfully fed many carnivores at my house, and this pork sounded like it was in the same vein. We ended up with a chilly weekend and no plans - the perfect excuse to slow cook a giant hunk of meat. Chris described it as "pretty good for indoor pork", which seems like an accurate description. For something that wasn't dry rubbed overnight and then smoked for hours over apple wood, the results were quite tasty.

I wish I had used the larger can of chipotles, as PW recommends. I was trying to ensure it would be toddler-friendly, but it could definitely have used a little more kick. I also wish I'd used more onions. At the end, I chopped up the onions and peppers and threw them back in the shredded pork. More onions would have been nice. Before serving, I reduced the cooking liquid to concentrate the flavor and make it a little thicker and I also added a bit of mustard. Overall, an incredibly simple and delicious pulled pork with a lot of versatility. We served on rolls with purple coleslaw, but it might end up on tortillas or in pasta sauce later this week.

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork
Serves 8-10
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

• 1 5-8 lb pork butt or shoulder (my cut had a large bone in the center, not sure if it was mislabeled or not)
• 1-2 large onions, cut in to wedges
• salt and pepper
• 1 can chipotle peppers (I used 7 oz, PW calls for 11 oz.)
• 2 cans (or 3 cups) Dr. Pepper
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 2 tbs mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread onions over bottom or large dutch oven or roasting pan. 
2. Season pork liberally with salt and pepper. Place over top onions. Pour chipotles and Dr. Pepper over pork. Dissolve brown sugar in a bit of Dr. Pepper and pour over meat as well.  Tightly cover pan and place in oven. 
3. Roast for six hours (carefully turning every hour or so),  until meat easily pulls apart.
4. Remove meat to cutting board. Pull apart with forks, discarding large clumps of fat and bone. Chop onions and peppers and mix in with meat.
5. Pour juices in to a fat strainer. Once separated, pour about two cups of juices in to small sauce pan. Bring to simmer and reduce to about half. When reduced, add mustard.
6.  Add juices back to shredded meat and serve.

Pork Chops with Rosemary Wine Sauce and Blue Cheese Polenta

Okay, I lied about doing more complicated recipes over the weekend. But at least this one seems fancier, right? Because of the wine? And the blue cheese? Regardless, it is good. I promise you that. The red wine sauce was stolen from a meal a few weeks ago. It is eye-rollingly yummy with the polenta (or “classy grits”, as I like to call them).

Pork chops with Rosemary wine sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

•   Olive oil
• 4 pork chops (I used boneless loin chops, about ¾” thick)
• Salt and pepper
• 3 springs rosemary
• ¾ c. red wine
•   ½ c. broth
• 3 tbs. cold butter
• 1 tbs Dijon mustard

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250. Heat oil in heavy skillet over medium high heat. Season chops liberally with salt and pepper. Brown chops on both sides, until just cooked through. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in oven.
2. Add rosemary to skillet. Deglaze with wine. Cook until wine is reduced and syrupy.
3. Add broth and continue to reduce for a few minutes. Then remove rosemary and stir in butter, one pat at a time. Stir in mustard.
4. Spoon over chops and serve.

Blue cheese Polenta

Serves 4+

Ingredients:

• 4 ½ c. water
• 1 c. polenta (or grits or corn meal)
• 2 tbs. butter
• ½ c. of your favorite crumbled blue cheese

 Directions:

1. Bring water to a boil. Quickly whisk in polenta. Reduce heat to medium.
2. It will only take a few minutes for the polenta to thicken – stir frequently. When nice and thick, add butter and blue cheese. Stir until fully incorporated. Serve and smile.

Stuff It.

Yeah, two “stuffed” recipes in a week. I don’t know what to tell you.

Stuffed pork chops with pan roasted brussel sprouts and butternut squash

Stuffed Pork Chops with Apple and Onion
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless center cut pork chops
• Salt and pepper
• 1/3 c. diced apple
• 1/3 c. diced sweet onion
• 1/3 c. dry herb stuffing mix
• a little water or broth
• olive oil
• ¾ c. white wine
• 1 pat cold butter

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375.
• Pat porkchops dry. Cut a slit in the side of each to create a pocket. Season well with salt and pepper and set aside.
• In an oven-proof skillet, heat some olive oil until shimmering. Add onions and apples and sauté until onion is translucent. Add stuffing mix and toss. Throw in enough liquid to soften stuffing. Let mixture cool for a few minutes.
• Stuff each chop with half the stuffing mixture. Secure with toothpicks (stuck in at a slant so that the chops can lay flat in the skillet).
• Heat a tablespoon or so oil in skillet. Brown the chops on each side. Carefully turn using big tongs.
• Put the skillet in the oven and bake for at least half an hour, or until the temp at the end of the chop measures 145 or so and juices run clear.
• Take the chops out of the pan and put skillet on medium heat on stove. Deglaze with wine, stirring up brown bits. Simmer for a few minutes until reduced. Take off heat and whisk in cold butter. Drizzle over top of chops and serve. Remember to remove toothpicks!

Smokin' Up

Adventures in Pulled Pork with Grillmaster Bob

Like getting your driver's license or turning 21, smoking your first giant slab of meat is a right of passage in my family. Sure you might be married, have a college degree and maybe even kids of your own, but you aren't a full Clements until you've spent a few hours out back next to the Smoker. The clothes you wear are your badge of honor -- wreaking of a distinctive mix of pork fat and smoke, like a wild hog caught in a forest fire. However, I don't believe that anyone has ever documented this multi-day process, so I thought I would give it a go. Essentially, you apply a rub to the meat and refrigerate over night. Then you smoke it for a few hours, put it in the oven for a few hours, pull the meat, then add some home made barbecue sauce.

Smoked Pulled Pork
(This serves about 15 people, we tripled it and smoked 3 Boston butts)

Ingredients:

• 1 7lb Boston butt pork roast
• 1 tbs salt
• 1 tbs pepper
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 2 tbs chili powder
• 2 tbs paprika
• 1 tbs dry mustard powder
• barbecue sauce (recipe further down)

Special Equipment:

• a smoker (or charcoal grill. America's Test Kitchen has good pointers for that.)
• charcoal
• kindling and newspaper
• apple wood, soaked in water
• a large metal steamer tray filled with water

Directions:

• Combine the 6 dry ingredients to make a rub. Rub all over pork. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.
  
• The next day, prep your smoker. Fill with balled newspaper, kindling and half a bag of charcoal. (We actually used lighter fluid and thought it was fine, evidently that was a no-no, but oh well)
• Place steamer tray of water above fire and under grill plate.
• Once the fire gets going, add the apple wood.
  
• At the point, you can put your pork (unwrapped) on the opposite side of the grill from the fire. Make sure it is fat side up, so that the juices self-baste the meat.
  
• Close the lid. Drink some beer. Wait 3 or more hours.
• After a few hours, you have some choices. You can wrap it and continue smoking or you move it to the oven. We wrapped the meat tightly in many layers of foil, making sure to keep track of which side is the fat side. I then put it in a steamer pan with an inch of water and covered the whole pan tightly with foil. If the meat is coming straight off the grill, you can do 325 for 2 hours. Our pork was refrigerated in between smoker and oven, so I did 375-425 for 2.5 hours.
  
• Take out of the oven and take a fork to the edge of the meat. If it flakes off easily, you are probably good to go. Let it cool a bit before pulling completely apart. I found that using my hands was easiest to pick out bits of fat.
• Mix with 3/4 c. -1 c. of barbecue sauce, just enough to keep it moist.
• Serve with kaiser rolls, bread and butter pickles, extra barbecue sauce and cole slaw.
  

Barbecue Sauce
Makes ~4 cups

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 c. ketchup
• 1/4 c. molasses
• 1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 c. dijon mustard
• 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
  
• 3 tsp. liquid smoke
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 2-3 tsp. pepper sauce or hot sauce
• salt and pepper

Directions:

• Heat about 2 tbs oil in dutch oven (enough to coat bottom of pan) over medium.
  
• Add onion and garlic, saute until translucent.
• Add remaining ingredients and bring to simmer.
  
• Turn heat down to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  
• Cool and keep in airtight container in fridge.