Quicksale pork hock: pulled pork and pork and barley casserole

I found two rather generous sized pork hocks on special and I purchased them without too much thought.  After a week in the freezer I realised that something needed to be done with them.  I went to the internet for research purposes and found it rather lacking in great ideas for pock hocks.  I did though have 'pulled pork' on the brain after my husband enjoyed a delicious smoked pulled pork sandwich at the City Market. 

Pork and pearl barley casserole

Pulled pork

I put both hocks into the slow cooker with chicken stock, carrots, onions and garlic.  I seasoned with salt and pepper and also added a teaspoon each of smoked paprika and cumin seed.  At times like this I love slow cookers - I put it on high and just left it to bubble away.

A few hours later I removed one hock and a ladle full of stock.  I poured a cup and a half of pearl barley into the slow cooker with the remaining hock and left it cooking on high for another two hours.  This turned into a lovely dinner for myself and my husband, as well two meals of leftovers.

I shredded the other pork hock, removing most of the skin, and mixed through the stock.  I then added a quarter cup of 'Maharaja Sauce' - a delicious chutney available at Moore Wilsons.  This meat went back in the fridge for dinner the next night (and to give time for the meat to suck up the flavours).  Adding the stock helps to keep the shredded meat from going dry - the chutney (BBQ sauce is more traditional for pulled pork) gives a delicious spicy fruit flavour to the meat. 

Last night we used the pulled pork in home made fresh buns with lettuce from the garden, cucumber and a generous tablespoon of vegetable pickle.  It was very, very good.

I was really pleased with these meals.  I paid about $5 for the two hocks, usual price around $12.  So we ate cheaply and deliciously for a couple of nights this week and I'm looking forward to more pulled pork sandwiches over summer.  I'd forgotten how much I like pearl barley as well.  It doesn't need pre-soaking and cooks pretty quickly for a dried grain.

Apart from using hocks to make stock, I'd love to hear from other people what they do with pork hocks.

French cooking failures

I really do like to try cooking new things; this does not mean that we sit down to gourmet meals each night.  It is generally 'family friendly fare' to suit the tastes of the whole family.  Most often it is some kind of stir fry (like tonight - chicken kebabs, stir fried veges and rice).  Every now and then though I fall for the advertising in the glossy mags and try to come up with some kind of effortlessly glamorous meal.  Last week was French food.

It started with a new cookbook at the library - a Women's Weekly French Food cookbook.  Everything looked pretty good, and I've never had a problem with a Women's Weekly recipe before.   I decided on pate and rillette.  The supermarket had no chicken livers so it was pork belly rillette by default.  Pork belly, wine, and herbs were simmered slowly for a long time (I used a slow cooker).  Red onion and Italian parsley were finally diced and added at the end.  The pork belly was finely shredded and the mixture (including all the fatty liquid in the slow cooker) is mixed together and spread on fresh bread or toast and traditionally served with gherkin. It was disgusting.  I love pork belly, and so does my husband.  I think he called it horrible.  We served it up to some friends over for a Rugby World Cup viewing session.  Two declined to comment, one friend described it as tasting like cat food "but I like cat food" she said as she had another, and final taste.

It even looks beautiful, packaged in a glass preserving jar.   I can't bring myself to throw it out.  But out it is going.  I haven't achieved a glamorous dinner, but I'll just revel in the knowledge that the house is actually tidied (and I got as far as dusting/polishing).  I record this information because as soon as the girls get up in the morning it will be back to normal!

Charcuterie 4, and the impact of spring on cheesemaking

I'm continuing with the processed meat experiments.

I really liked the pancetta I made last time, but wondered how well it was preserved in the centre of the meat.  When I realised that I would be on holiday when the recently defrosted pork belly would finish preserving I decided to experiment a little.  This time I have cut the pork belly into strips and am flipping every day.  The meat appears to be shrinking very quickly.  As a flavour experiment I've added a whole lot of semi-dried rosemary.  I think it will be very nice.  I found the pancetta tough to cut into strips last time, I'm considering seeing if the local butcher might help out with their slicing machine....

I don't have a 'cheese fridge/ beer fridge' so my cheesemaking throughout winter has relied on fairly consistent low temperatures.  I just put the ripening cheese in a container on the back porch.  Most of the time it has been absolutely perfect.  However it is getting warmer and the camembert I made yesterday will need a different ripening location...

Making bacon part 2

Yum.

It is pretty good.  Actually, it is delicious!

I find packaging up homemade food so satisfying!  It looks so good. I got four packs of bacon slices, one pack of bacon 'bits' (due to my somewhat amateur cutting) a bag of bacon bones and a slab of bacon fat (which I wouldn't normally keep, but I have a recipe I'm curious to try that requires this so kept it).

Economics wise this bacon is a pretty good deal.  The pork shoulder was on discount - half off.  It cost $13.  The bacon wet cure cost $10 for the bag - and I used a quarter of it.  It took two days of sitting in the fridge to be ready, and then took about 25 minutes to cut up.  Not bad.  I don't have any paper thin slices (partially as a result of my cutting skills - and the fact that I don't have a slicing machine) but in terms of throwing some bacon in a dish or making a delicious BLT we are set for a long time.

I'm cooking up the first batch now in a Coq au Vin.  The house smells awesome.  And in a related fun fact, if you have put all of your matches in emergency storage bins out in the shed, by the time that you get them out to light the brandy the alcohol has given up and died!

Pork, ricotta and basil ravioli in sage butter

My house still smells amazing.

You may be familiar with my previous mentioned cheese madness.  Today I made two different batches of ricotta to see at which temperature I like to stop cooking my version.  Turns out I like it just before reaching the temperature that is mentioned in most recipes.  Or it may be that my thermometer was out.  Anyway, I had a lot of ricotta and needed to use it.

I also had some good quality pork mince and heaps of basil so decided to get creating.  I still have my friend's pasta maker so decided to make up heaps of pasta (100g tipo 00 flour/ semolina to an egg) using the breadmaker dough function.

This made about 24 large ravioli, there was a small bit of meat mixture left over so I turned them into rissoles for the girls.

Pork, ricotta and basil ravioli

400g good quality pork mince (I got mine at Woolworths)
200g ricotta
Large handful chopped fresh basil
Salt and Pepper

Mix the above ingredients together, be generous with the pepper.  Make some fresh pasta, and create ravioli using this meat mixture.  Cook in a huge pot of salted water for about eight minutes.

At this point I added some spinach to the water to add a vege component to the meal!

Sage Butter

Big handful of fresh sage
Bigh handful of pinenuts
50g butter

Very gently melt the butter and add the sage.  Leave on a low heat for about ten minutes, add pinenuts.  Once the ravioli is cooked, drain well and add to the frypan.  Mix around to make sure the ravioli (and spinach if using) are well coated and season.

Progesterone poisioning pork/ Crumbed pork with rhubarb ginger jam

My husband is a bit addicted to Leuven restaurant here in Wellington.  It is a Belgium 'beer garden' kind of place, that serves copious amounts of steamed mussels.  We are not really into beer or even mussels, but there are heaps of other lovely dishes, and since the menu doesn't seem to change we pretty much know what we are going to have before we get there.

My favourite for a long time has been a crumbed pork chop on mashed potato with apple.  Unfortunatly last time I ate it was while I was pregnant and had a rather omnipresent nausea coupled with the odd power chuck.  I ate my meal, felt ill, went outside to take the air - then had to decide whether to vomit in the toilet or in the gutter.  I ran inside and vomited copiously in the sink.  I cleaned up as best I could (while my sister in law checked up on me) and then had to shamefacedly go and let the rather taken aback staff know that I had been ill in the sink and some bleach was required.  While I doubt I'm the first person to vomit there, I bet you I'm probably one of the few who has done it during the early dinner service.

Anyway, recently we were given some delicious rhubarb and ginger jam made by a good friend (Giffy whose comments show up here sometimes).  I decided to make my homage to that delicious meal.  It will be a while before we go back.

Progesterone poisioning pork

Pork chops (large ones, one per person)
Panko crumbs
Fresh parsley
One apple
Quarter red cabbage
1/4 cup orange juice
One leek
Butter and oil.
Four potatoes
Milk
Delicious rhubarb and ginger jam to serve

Finely dice the parsley, add to the panko crumbs then crumb the pork chops.  Fry in a saucepan, then remove to a rack on an oven tray and finish off in the oven.  While baking in the oven, core and quarter the apple and place on the oven rack to bake. Finely chop the red cabbage and slowly fry in a saucepan, using the orange juice as a braising liquid.  Cook until soft and well reduced in size.  Boil potatoes for mashed potato (I keep the skin on because it is going to be a chunky mash).  Drain and leave to cool.  Reuse pot and cook the leek in a little butter until wilted.  Put the potato back in, mash and add milk as required to achieve desired smoothness).

To serve.  Put a blob of mash in the middle of the plate, top with the cabbage then the pork chop.  Put the apple and delicious jam on the side.  Yum!