Carnitas!

I love carnitas.  They are one of my favorite things to order in a Mexican restaurant.  I love the juicy, tender chunks of pork flavored just right with the wonderful crispy edges where the flavor intensifies.  Carnitas always seemed a mystery to me.  How do they make it so tender and yet crispy & crunchy at the edges in just the right balance?  Frankly, I didn't think too deeply about it since I was too busy savoring every delicious bite.  I never thought I'd be able to make carnitas at home.

Turns out, I was wrong.  I made carnitas last Saturday, and they were amazing.  They might not be the best carnitas I've ever eaten, but they hold their own against good carnitas at various places I've eaten.  They were even better than a couple of places I ate at in the past.  And I think I can make them even better next time.

I am reading David Lebovitz's book The Sweet Life in Paris, which is fully of funny vignettes about living in Paris, cooking, and life.  It's one of those books you don't have to read cover to cover.  I pick it up here and there and read a short chapter or section culminating in a (generally) delicious looking recipe. The other day the section I was reading ended with a short anecdote about visiting a Mexican restaurant in Paris and how disappointing it was.  He finished with a recipe for carnitas, which he likes to make for French friends to introduce them to Mexican food.  He says:

"Since Mexican food isn't especially well represented in Paris, I like to show friends how good it can be, and carnitas are the perfect introduction, since it doesn't matter whether you're from here or there: who doesn't love caramelized pork?" (pg. 62)

This recipe takes a long time.  Not even counting the prep, we're talking 4 1/2 to 5 hours of cooking time.  This is a multi-step process--but that process yields fantastic results.  After cutting the pork into large chunks, you sear them in oil in batches, allowing the pieces to get really brown on all sides--this takes a while.  Then you remove the pork, deglaze the pan with some water, add spices, and then plop the pork back into the pot and stick it in the oven to braise for 3 1/2 hours.

At 2 1/2 hours I was a little nervous about how the pork was going to turn out, because it still felt rubbery like it was undercooked or tough when I poked at with a spoon.  One hour later, and magic had happened.  The pork had become super tender and easy to shred into large, bite-sized pieces.  It was tender and juice, but it still had those crispy edges that are so yummy.  Frankly, I couldn't help myself from eat several bites right then, even before the last stage of cooking: caramelizing.

This last stage involves putting the shredded pork back into what's left of the cooking liquid and placing it back in the oven to allow the rest of the liquid to evaporate and caramelize on the pork.  I did start this step, putting the pork back into the oven, but I stopped about an hour later before it quite got all of the way to the caramelizing because it was 11 at night, and I needed to go to bed.  This doesn't seem to have hurt it any, because it was just as delicious today when I had some for lunch.  I heated it in the microwave at work, but it's even better reheated in a frying pan with just a little oil.

A slightly different version of the recipe appears on David Lebovitz's blog.  That recipe doubles the chili powder.  I think that would be even better.  The recipe in the book only calls for 1 teaspoon of chili powder.  I think a second teaspoon would add a little kick.  I have another piece of pork shoulder in the freezer, so I can make this again and try adding the extra chili powder.  I admit that (as usual) I did not follow the recipe exactly.  I think it's nearly impossible for me to do that.  As it is, I only tweaked this recipe a little bit.

Carnitas
by David Lebovitz
with some revisions by Alex--the majority of this recipe (and all the credit for its greatness) goes to David Lebovitz

4-5-pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 5-inch chunks, trimmed of excessive fat
1/2 to 1 tablespoon sea salt
2 tablespoons oil
water
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
2 small bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

Rub the pieces of pork shoulder all over with salt. (I sprinkled; rubbing the salt in may be better)

Heat the oil in a roasting pan set on the stove top. Cook the pieces of pork shoulder in a single layer until very well-browned, turning them as little as possible so they get nice and dark before flipping them around. If your cooking vessel is too small to cook them in a single-layer, cook them in two (or more) batches.

Once all the pork is browned, remove them from the pot.  Pour in about a cup of water, scraping the bottom of the pan with a flat-edged utensil to release all the tasty brown bits.

Add the cinnamon stick and stir in the chile powder, bay leaves, cumin and garlic.  Put the pork pieces back in the pan and add enough additional water to cover the pork by about 2/3.

Braise uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 3½ hours, turning the pork a few times during cooking, until much of the liquid is evaporated and the pork is falling apart. Remove the pan from the oven and lift the pork pieces out of the liquid and set them on a platter.

Once the pork pieces are cool enough to handle, shred them into bite-sized pieces, about 2-inches, discarding any obvious big chunks of fat if you wish.

Return the pork pieces back to the roasting pan and cook in the oven, turning occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the pork is crispy and caramelized. The time this takes will depend on how much liquid the pork gave off, and how crackly you want them.

Even though this dish took ages, it wasn't really difficult to make.  Next time, I start it early, mid-morning maybe, to give myself plenty of time to finish the caramelization process fully.

Sorry for the lack of photos; I had to borrow one from David Lebovitz website.  My carnitas did look pretty much like that photo.  However, it belongs totally to him and not me, but I hope I'm forgiven for using it this once.  And check out his blog and his book, The Sweet Life in Paris.

A Successful Stir-Fry

Well, it's been nearly a year since I last posted, and a lot has happened. I got a full-time job, moved to a new state, and finished my first semester as a professional librarian. I also turned 40 and went to Hawaii. It's been a busy year.

Just because I haven't posted doesn't mean I haven't been cooking during the year. I still have the information about the trifle I made from the Madeira cake (the one that turned out not so great). The trifle was much better than the cake. I also made some granita from orange, peach, mango juice and gin. Pretty tasty.

Tonight I made a very successful stir fry from a recipe from Williams-Sonoma. The recipe is called Stir-Fried Pork and Sugar Snaps with Soba Noodles.

The recipe sounded easy with ingredients available at the local grocery store. I was really surprised to see no garlic in the list of ingredients though. The main flavors come from soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, and red pepper as well as a generous amount of green onions. There was a lot of oil in the recipe between the sesame oil and the oil for cooking the pork. I think it could be reduced, at least the amount needed to sautée the pork could be. A tablespoon was way more than needed. The flavor turned out well. I might try it with some garlic next time though to see how that changes it.

picture from Williams-Sonoma.com

BBQ on a Rainy Day

Earlier this week I made BBQ Ribs for dinner. It was pouring down rain so I couldn't exactly use the grill. Instead, I made oven baked BBQ ribs. I got the recipe idea from one on Cooks.com. It's super easy and requires very little effort. I used a package of boneless country-style pork ribs (I've made it with bone-in ones too). You want the ones that are very meaty--not baby back or spare ribs.

     First, I mixed together equal parts sugar and salt and coated the ribs in the mixture. Then I put the ribs in a foil-lined 9 x 13 pan and poured enough water in around them to come about halfway up the sides of the ribs. Then I baked them in a 250 degree oven for 1 hour. After an hour, I removed the pan and turned the ribs over then baked them for another hour. Next, I removed the pan and turned up the oven temperature to 400 degrees. I poured the water out of the pan and poured some bbq sauce over the ribs. I then returned the ribs to the oven for another 1/2 hour.

     The ribs turn out tender, juicy, and very flavorful. I served them with Brussel Sprouts sauteed with pancetta and toasted pecans. This dish was inspired by my sister's way of cooking Brussel sprouts with bacon--so delicious--I never thought I'd love Brussel sprouts. I don't usually have bacon in the house, but I do occasionally have pancetta. I cut the pancetta into small pieces and cooked them in a large non-stick skillet draining off most of the fat. I trimmed and cleaned the Brussel sprouts, sliced them in half, and steamed them in the microwave until they were cooked but still firm. I drained off any liquid in the bowl, and then added the sprouts to the skillet with the pancetta, sauteing them on medium high heat until the outer leaves of the sprouts browned slightly. Then I tossed in some toasted pecans and served them up.

Raw Eggs For Dinner

Last night's dinner was Linguine Carbonara. Carbonara is made with raw eggs, which makes some people nervous--I get that. Technically, the eggs do cook, they just don't cook like you normally think of preparing eggs. But it's also not like cracking an egg open and drinking it down. It's like when you order eggs over easy in a restaurant, and the menu has that safety warning to cover its butt liability-wise, but hundreds of people eat them that way every day and never have a problem.

I originally made this dish using a recipe from the cookbook Trattoria Cooking by Biba Caggiano. I'm sure how I make it has changed somewhat since I first made it from the recipe, but it's essentially the same. You need eggs, garlic, red pepper flakes, pancetta, and Parmesan. For 2 people, I cook 2 ounces of pancetta with 2 or more minced garlic cloves. Once the pancetta is cooked, you set it aside until the rest of the dish is finished. While the pasta is cooking, (about 2 ounces, dry, per person) I beat two eggs (medium or 1 x-large) with some red pepper flakes and a little salt & pepper. You don't need too much salt because the Parmesan and pancetta add some saltiness to the dish.

When the pasta is cooked, I drain it then put it back in the pot. I take some of the hot noodles and put them in the dish with the eggs, stirring to warm the eggs up a bit. If you don't warm up the eggs before adding them to the hot noodles, you end up with noodles with scrambled eggs in them--not good. After warming the eggs with some of the noodles, quickly stir the egg/noodle mixture into the rest of the hot noodles, stirring vigorously, so the hot noodles heat up the eggs. Next stir in the pancetta and garlic then some Parmesan. Serve topped with a little more Parmesan. This dish is delicious and really easy to make.

Now for the safety warning: You do need to be careful though, because the eggs are not fully cooked. If you are pregnant, have a compromised immune system, or aren't confident in the safety and freshness of your eggs, you probably shouldn't make this.