Homemade Tocinokatsu
Like I’ve said many times before, Tocino is one of my most favorite Filipino dishes. It comes after pork adobo. I will forever profess my love to JMOM for teaching me how to make homemade tocino. So anyhooo, while blog hopping the Link Friday entries the other week, I came upon Tara, Let’s Eat recipe of Tocinokatsu. I’ve never heard of Tocinokatsu before until that day.
Tocinokatsu is basically your regular tocino, then breaded in breadcrumbs then fried in oil. It makes sense right? I decided right then that I am definitely making some as soon as I get a hold of some pork. So I did, and my whole world made total sense even more.
Stewed Pork In Tomato Sauce & White Wine
When I’m cooking with tomato sauce and wine combo, I’m usually using chicken but for a change I decided to use pork the other day. I actually thought I was doing the braised method but my husband called it “stewed” when he saw the dish so I figured Stewed Pork In Tomato Sauce & White Wine would be a good name for this dish.
Pork Cutlets In Cream Of Mushroom & White Wine Sauce
This Pork Cutlets In Cream Of Mushroom & White Wine Sauce is more like lemon chicken except instead of lemon juice and chicken stock in the sauce or gravy (as my kids call it), I used a can of cream of mushroom and about a cup of white wine. Use whatever leftover white whine you’ve got. The combination was creamy and delicious with a slight sweet kick in the flavor thanks to the wine.
Homemade Pork BBQ Siopao
When I made the homemade baked pork barbecue buns back in February, I did mention that I set aside 4 buns to steam which is mostly known as siopao. There is an easy way to make siopao using biscuit dough but if you want to feel accomplished after dealing with flour, yeast, kneading and dough rising then continue reading this post.
Baked Pork BBQ Buns
I was watching Food Network’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate show a couple of weeks ago and the topic was something about Bar-B-Que. Chef Chris Cosentino picked baked pork bbq buns from Yank Sing in San Francisco. I just kept hearing whispers, “you can make that” over and over again. And I said, “you damn right I could.” My baked pork buns were not as pretty as the ones from Yank Sing but I’m proud of my buns, nonetheless.
Shredded Pork Barbecue Sandwiches
The original plan for this shredded pork barbecue sandwiches is that it was going to be accompanied by broccoli coleslaw. Not as a side dish but on top of the shredded pork itself. It sounds good, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, I found out that the broccoli coleslaw leftover from the dinner the night before I made this pork bbq was all gone. My husband ate it for lunch.
So these two pork bbq sandwiches were left like that while I served the rest of the pork with mashed potatoes and veggies. Now you’re probably wondering how did I make the pork barbecue. This isn’t the southern vinegar-based pork bbq. This is the tangy, sweet, tomato based barbecue sauce. But you can sure create sandwiches out of the southern pork bbq if you want to.
In the meantime, let me tell you the meticulous way I made this pork bbq. I slave myself in the kitchen to get the best results.
NOT.. 
2 ingredients: thick pork steaks, 2 cups of bottled barbecue sauce. Use whatever brand you like. OR, make your own barbecue sauce. Marinate the pork steaks with the barbecue sauce for an hour or so. Overnight, if you planned ahead.
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Transfer the pork in a roasting pan. Pour some of the sauce on the pan too. Cover the roasting pan with a foil. Stick it in the oven to cook for 2 1/2 hours or so.
The pork should shred easily when by prodded with a fork.
Shred to make pork sandwiches with broccoli slaw or serve as pork steaks bbq with mashed potatoes and veggies on the side. I suggest you try the sandwich version.
Baked Pork Roast With Dry Rub
So you found yourself wandering down the meat aisle. The beautiful pork shoulded caught your attention so you said, hey, why not. On your way home you asked yourself what you’d would it. If you’ve got time to spare, you’d cut the meat in slices to divide ‘em for different pork dishes that would be good for maybe a week. But then you tell yourself that you don’t really feel like you have time to be a butcher in your kitchen. Then you thought, damn, if only I have a turkey deep fryer and peanut oil, I’d have deep fried pork roast. How about a southern pork barbeque cooked in a crock-pot? That sounds good for sure. But just in case you want another way to cook a pork shoulder, this is where this baked pork roast with dry rub comes in.
The more ways you can cook pork, the better. Right, my fellow porkers out there? BTW, this is dish that cooks for hours so if you plan on eating dinner by 6pm, start prepping by 2pm.
INGREDIENTS:
3-4 pounds of pork shoulder
2 tbsp of paprika
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp dry mustard
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp of brown sugar
a sprinkle or more of red pepper flakes (optional)
Combine everything in a bowl.
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Using a sharp boning knife, cut on top of the skin, diagonally. Do not go all the way down. Then cut under the skin to sort of separate the skin from the meat but not all the way to the bone. You still want the skin and meat to be together.
Generously rub the roast with the dry rub. Outside and underneath the skin that you sliced into. Place it in the roasting pan. Cover it tightly with a foil. Stick the whole thing in the oven to cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
While the pork is cooking, you can exercise so you wouldn’t feel so bad when it’s time to eat. OR, you can play Farmville in Facebook, if you have one of course. If you don’t have Farmville, go find old friends, old boyfriends/girlfriends, and old high school enemies in Facebook. OR, hit Twitter and tweet how the pork in your oven smells soooo good. OR, you can grab the box of crayons and a coloring book and color with your children. OR, play a board game. My point is, do something productive while the pork is cooking. Personally speaking, I’d probably put the baskets of laundry away that’s been sitting in my living room for a week. So my husband wouldn’t have to walk from our bedroom to the living room to find a pair of socks, FOR A WEEK
Back to the pork……….
In the last 30 minutes of cooking, take the foil out, then stick the pan back into the oven. Cook for another 30 minutes ( or less) to crispy up the skin. Once done cooking, let the meat rest for about 15 minutes before cutting into it. Yah I know, just be patient. Make it 10 minutes if you’re that hungry. The good thing is, the meat would be falling off the bone so it wouldn’t take you long to cut into it.
Serve with any kind of steamed veggies and Lipton pasta side or rice.
ADDENDUM: Typically, you could let the pork roast sit in the fridge overnight or 2 days (the longest) after the dry rub. It’s up to you. Either way is good.
Crockpot Cooking: Southern Pork Barbeque
When someone mentions “Pork Barbeque” here in North Carolina, it doesn’t mean you’re about to eat a piece of pork marinated in a tomato based bbq sauce then grilled. NOPE. Here in the South, when we say Pork Barbeque, we’re talking about pork roast cooked for hours, then pulled into shreds, then partnered with a vinegar-based spicy barbeque sauce. You would be surprised how people take their North Carolina Pork Barbeque seriously. I wouldn’t be surprised if I get some flack in this blog with my own version which I cooked in a crockpot. See, once the sauce is mixed together, you’re supposed to let the whole thing infuse for about 4-8 hours. Some even said it should infuse for a month before you pour it in the pulled pork. Whewww. I don’t think I could wait that long. Hence, the crockpot. I figured the slow-cooking method will take care of infusing the sauce with the meat. Right?
To the North Carolina pork barbeque connoisseurs out there who might find their way in my little foodblog, I apologize first hand if my version is not authentic. I just really love it but I can’t afford $6/1 quart of it all the time so I have to make my own, in the easiest most affordable way I possibly could. If it makes you feel any better, no one can compare North Carolina pork barbeque in my book. My heart beats strongly for North Carolina pork barbeque. I dream about it everyday, I live for it, I ……….. errrm, just ask my husband (if you can find him in Facebook), he’ll tell you.
Ok, enough with the pork barbeque drama, let me show you how I make mine……
INGREDIENTS:
pork roast
1 cup of white vinegar
1 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika powder
1/2 cup of water
1 tbsp hot sauce (Texas Pete is highly recommended)
1 tbsp brown sugar
generous sprinkle of red pepper flakes (more if you like spicy food)
sprinkle of black pepper
Except for the pork roast, mix the remaining ingredients together in a bowl.
Place the pork roast in a crockpot. Pour the barbeque sauce onto the pot. Set your settings. If you’re cooking at about 9am, set it to LOW. If you’re cooking at about 10 or 11, set it to HIGH. Let the magic of slow-cooking do its job. While it’s cooking, do the laundry, or the dishes, then watch a DVD movie with the family. Heck you can actually watch 2 movies while the pork is cooking. If chores and movies aren’t your thing that day, read a book while the whole thing is simmering away.
Here it is after cooking for hours. Use a bigger size of pork roast if you want. No biggie. Try it with roast with skin too.
Scoop some of the sauce from the crockpot into a small pot. About 3-4 cups or so. Let it simmer in the stove to reduce in half. Stirring occasionally.
While the sauce is reducing in the stove, shred the pork using two forks. Or a fork & knife combo, whichever way is easier for you.
Transfer the pulled pork into a serving bowl. Once the sauce has been reduced into half, pour over the shredded pork and stir together. Sprinkle more red pepper flakes if you want.
Serve with 2 side dishes or make a sandwich out of it with burger buns, sub sandwiches.. whatever.
Aaaaahhh, North Carolina, you’re speaking my language..
Honey-Mustard Pork Cutlets
I’ve made honey-mustard chicken wings a lot but I’ve never tried using the same sauce idea on pork until the other night. I decided to use pork cutlets by slicing thin cutlets from a pork roast for easy bites and fast cooking.
INGREDIENTS:
pork cutlets
2 cups of flour (save 4 tbsp for the sauce)
salt and pepper
butter for frying the pork
SAUCE:
1/2 cup or more honey
4 tbsp spicy brown mustard
1/2 cup of water
4 tbsp of flour (from the seasoning flour)
salt & pepper
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan.
Season the flour with salt and pepper. Drench the pork cutlets with flour. Fry the pork cutlets on each side. Set the cooked pork cutlets aside.
MAKE THE SAUCE: Using the same pan, add more butter to melt, add flour, scrape the bits and pieces with a whisk until you come up with a roux. Add water, honey, and mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Keep stirring until you get a gravy consistency. Just add more water if it turns too thick.
Transfer the cutlets into the pan to coat them with the sauce.
I served it with herb-roasted potatoes and peas. You can serve it with other veggies and rice too if you want.
Sweet Pork Hocks W/ Green Onions
A step away from the usual sour, salty and spicy pork dish is this sweet dish using hocks cooked for hours in a crock-pot. It’s not something I make all the time because I much prefer salty, sour, and spicy tastes but it’s also good once in a while.
