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A 4-part Dinner Especial! Pork, Jicama Strands, Green Beans, and Salad
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 Posted: Thu Mar 5th, 2015 04:09 pm
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Vargr
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Wuffy went "all out" in the "Kitchen Experiment" category tonight, both for fun, and to treat a guest who was dropping by.

Pictured are, from "11 O'Clock" and running clockwise:
- Pan-Seared Sous Vide Pork Belly on a bed of
- Oven-Toasted Jicama Strands
- Lemon Pepper Green Beans
- Orange Jicama Cucumber Black Bean Salad

Wuff will post the recipes for each of these separately, but all of these turned out VERY nicely! And all are dramatically different, but designed to complement each other in a harmonious blend.

The pork belly, drizzled with a reduction of the pork Jus, is ridiculously rich! The skin side is deep fried until it is crunchy-crisp, then the edges are pan-seared for a bit of toasted bacony flavor to complement the tender, fatty interior. Rubbed with Mesquite seasoning, and painted with thick sweet soy sauce, and just a touch of sriracha for heat, before placing it in the Sous Vide, it has a wonderful combination of sweet, smoky, warm "BBQ-ish" notes.

Toasting the Jicama heightens its natural sweetness and adds a layer of toasted nutty tastiness. Lighter and fresher than potato crisps, it complements the rich pork without adding the heavy starchiness a potato would.

Fresh green beans, sautéed with lemon zest, lemon juice, butter, black pepper, white wine, and a bit of honey to keep all the lemon from becoming too tart. Crisp, fresh, light lemony flavor with a touch of sweetness cuts through the heavy rich fat of the pork. The sweetness of the honey marries nicely with the note of sweetness of the sweetened soy sauce that the pork was cooked in.

The salad is a combination of fresh jicama matchsticks, English seedless cucumber, black beans, fresh basil, garlic, chili powder, and red onion. Dressed with Balsamic vinegar, olive oil, orange juice, orange zest, and a bit of agave syrup. The jicama keeps its fresh, sweet crunch, with cool crisp cucumber, sweet orange wedges, a aromatic basil. Light, sweet, cool, crunchy, and crisp, with a hint of smokiness and warmth from the chili powder. It ties all the other elements together, while bringing a refreshing lightness to the rich fatty pork entrée.

There are a few things wuffy will change for next time, such as adding the orange wedges after dressing the salad, so they retain their bright, clean orange appearance. And wuff will go a little lighter on the sear for the pork, (but not on the skin - it was wonderful with that sharp crunch when bitten into).

Wuff will also make more of the toasted jicama. Vrghr wanted to taste it again, but that's all there was.

All told, a very exotic and tasty special meal. It takes a fair bit of planning, since the Pork needs 36+ hours in the Sous Vide (but can be held in the 'fridge after that for a day or so). The rest comes together in under an hour, so this isn't really TOO time-consuming. And wuff learned enough with these sides to want to make them again for other dishes!

Next up, the recipe for the Pan-Seared Sous Vide Pork Belly!

Attachment: pork_belly_experiment_plated2.png (Downloaded 6 times)



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 Posted: Thu Mar 5th, 2015 04:12 pm
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Vargr
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Pan-Seared Sous Vide Pork Belly

This one definitely needs advance planning, but the Sous Vide method ensures the pork pig belly is lusciously tender, juicy, and packed with flavor from its own fat and collagen. Luckily, you can rest the finished meat in the fridge for a day or so after cooking (in fact, you HAVE to, to prep it for the crispiest skin!). So you can do the Sous Vide part, then put the meal together a couple days later when you're ready.

Despite the length of time needed, this is really a fairly easy prep. The only real "cooking" comes when crisping the skin and searing the portions. It's going to get a bit messy from splattered oil, but it's pretty easy to pull off.

And, if you are a fan of bacon, pork fat, rich and tender pork, you're going to LOVE the results. Note; this IS a pig belly, so you shouldn't expect anything resembling "lean meat" here. There is LOTS of fat in this dish! Size your portions accordingly!

Ingredients:
For the Sous Vide
~4 lb Pig Belly
~2 Tbs Sweet Thick Soy Sauce
~3-4 tsp Mesquite Grill seasoning
~2-3 tsp Sriracha sauce
~1/4 tsp liquid smoke

For the crisp skin
~3 tsp Kosher Salt
~2 tsp Baking Soda

Directions:
Leave the skin on the pork belly
Score the flesh side of the pig belly every inch, about 1/2" deep
Rotate the meat 90 degrees and score it again
Sprinkle a light coat of Mesquite Seasoning over the flesh side and rub it in
Mix the liquid smoke with the sriracha sauce and spread it over the scored meat. Rub it in.
Drizzle the scored meat with the thick sweetened soy sauce and rub it in.
Place the pork in a large zip-top bag. Using the displacement method, remove the air and zip the top.
Place in 155 degree Sous Vide for 36-40 hours. If necessary, weight it with a drying rack to keep it submerged. Use a large sheet of aluminum foil over the pot to reduce evaporation.

When the pork is done cooking, remove the bag from the water. Slightly open the zip top and pour the accumulated juices into a small jar or bowl. Refrigerate until frying the pork.

Remove the pork from the bag. Pat the skin side thoroughly dry with paper towels.
Mix the kosher salt and baking soda together. Rub the skin thoroughly with the salt/soda mixture.
Place uncovered, skin-side up, in the refrigerator for 6 hours or over night. (The chemical reaction from the salt and soda makes the skin extra crispy when fried later.)

When ready to fry the pork
Retrieve the reserved juices. Pour into a small sauce pan and reduce by about 1/3 over medium heat to make a wonderful pan jus.

In a large frying pan, heat about 1/4 " of high smoke-point oil until it reaches 350-375 degrees.

Remove the pork from the refrigerator and rinse the salt/soda from the skin.
Pat thoroughly dry with paper towels. Make sure to get ALL the water off or the oil will erupt!
Carefully place the slab of pig belly skin-side down in the hot oil.

Deep fry the skin until dark and crispy (about 90-seconds to 2 minutes).

Remove the pig belly to a resting plate. Pour off the oil in the pan, leaving just a little coating the metal.

Slice your pig belly into serving-sized portions.
Return it to the hot skillet and sear the cut sides until they are somewhat toasted and the fat slightly crisped (about 1-2 minutes a side).

Plate, and pour a bit of the reduced pork jus over the meat.
Devour!!

Attachment: pan_seared_sous_vide_pork_belly.jpg (Downloaded 6 times)



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 Posted: Thu Mar 5th, 2015 04:13 pm
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Vargr
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Oven-Toasted Jicama Strands

This is utterly simple to make, and a lovely refreshing difference from the normal potato sides.

Ingredients:
1 Jicama (about 2 lbs)
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Peal the tough skin from the jicama
With a spiral slicer, food processor, or grater, slice the jicama into strands
Spritz with olive oil, or place in a small bowl and sprinkle with olive oil, toss to coat
Spread the stands on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle very lightly with kosher salt.
Bake until they smell fragrant and start to toast lightly (about 12-14 minutes).

Plate and devour!



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 Posted: Thu Mar 5th, 2015 04:15 pm
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Vargr
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Lemon Pepper Green Beans

Fresh green beans keep a nice touch of their garden crispness, enhanced with lemon zest, white wine, butter, and a touch of honey to keep the lemon from getting too tart.

A very nice side to any protein, be it beef, pork, fish, or fowl. And quite easy to make, too!

Ingredients:
~ 1 lb fresh Green Beans
1 Lemon
1 Tbs salt free Butter
2 Tbs dry White Wine
2 tsp Honey
1/2 tsp ground Black Pepper
Pinch Salt

Directions:
Bring a small pot of water to a boil.
Remove the stems from the beans.
Blanch the beans in the boiling water for ~ 30-40 seconds, until they turn bright green (but don't cook them!)
Remove beans to chilled/ice water to stop the cooking.
Drain thoroughly

In a medium skillet over medium high heat, heat the butter until it stops foaming.
Zest about 3/4 of the lemon into the hot butter
Slice the lemon in half and squeeze the juice from half of it into the butter/zest
Add the honey. Stir all together.
Add the green beans. Toss until all are coated with the lemon/zest mixture.
Add the white wine. Cover the skillet with a lid (or a plate).
Allow the beans to steam until crisp-tender, about 6-8 minutes.

Uncover, and toss one more time to re-coat the beans in the liquid.
Squeeze some of the fresh lemon juice from the other half of the lemon over the beans.

Plate, and zest a wee bit of the remaining lemon onto the plated beans.

Serve immediately

Attachment: lemon_pepper_green_beans.jpg (Downloaded 6 times)



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 Posted: Thu Mar 5th, 2015 04:17 pm
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Vargr
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Orange Jicama Cucumber Black Bean Salad

A refreshing, light, crisp and tasty salad to complement the Pan-Seared Sous Vide Pork Belly. Orange juice and balsamic vinegar bring a bit of acid to cut through the rich, heavy fat of the pork. Chili and garlic add a note of Southwest flavors to complement the Mesquite Seasoning of the entrée. The jicama stays crunchy and crisp even after you've dressed the salad.

This is a very flexible dish. You could add some chopped sweet red and yellow peppers for more color, or some minced jalapeño pepper for a little bit of heat. Have fun and experiment with it!

Wuffy used the Agave Syrup to counter a bit of the tart orange and vinegar flavor. Could have used a bit of sugar, but the agave doesn't need to melt into the liquid like sugar does.

Ingredients:
1 large Navel Orange
1/2 large Jicama
1/2 medium Purple Onion
1/2 English (Seedless) Cucumber
1 14oz can Black Beans (rinsed and drained)
1 bunch (~4 oz) Fresh Basil
1 heaping tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp ground Black Pepper

For the dressing
2 Tbs Orange Juice
1 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar
~ 1-2 Tbs good Olive Oil
~2 tsp Agave Syrup
Dash salt

Directions:
Peal the thick skin off the Jicama and slice it into matchsticks.
Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise, then into half moons about 1/4" thick
Drain the can of black beans and rinse in a colander. Shake about a bit to drain completely.
Chop the fresh basil
Mince the purple onion
Place all above into a large bowl.
Sprinkle with the ground black pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder.
Zest the orange into the bowl

Cut both ends off the orange, slice off the peal, and carefully slice between the segments.

Make the dressing
Place all dressing ingredients into a small bowl and whisk vigorously to emulsify and combine. Alternately, do this in a small blender cup.

Pour the prepared dressing over the other ingredients in the bowl. Toss thoroughly to combine.
Add the orange segments on top (adding them before discolors their bright orange with the darker dressing).

Makes about 5-6 servings.

Attachment: orange_jicama_cucumber_black_bean_salad.jpg (Downloaded 6 times)



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