Tuscan-style garlic-rosemary roast pork loin with jus

From Cook's Illustrated

Serves 6 to 8. Published September 1, 2002.

The roasting time is determined in part by the shape of the roast; a long, thin roast will cook faster than a roast with a large circumference. Though not traditionally served, the ribs are rich with flavor. If you'd like to serve them or enjoy them for yourself, increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees, untie the roast and remove the loin as directed, then scrape off the excess garlic-rosemary paste from the ribs, set them on a rimmed baking sheet, and return them to the oven for about 20 minutes, until they are brown and crisp. Slice in between bones and serve.

Ingredients

Roast
2	cups kosher salt or 1 cup table salt
2 1/3	cups packed dark brown sugar (16 ounces)
10	large cloves garlic , lightly crushed and peeled
5	sprigs fresh rosemary (each about 6 inches long)
1	bone-in, center-cut, 4-pound pork rib roast , prepared according to first two illustrations below
Garlic-Rosemary Paste
8 - 10	cloves garlic , pressed through garlic press or minced to paste (1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 1/2	tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
1	teaspoon ground black pepper
1	tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/8	teaspoon kosher salt or pinch table salt
Jus
1	cup dry white wine
1	teaspoon ground black pepper
1	medium shallot , minced (about 3 tablespoons)
1 1/2	teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 3/4	cups low-sodium chicken broth
2	tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 4 pieces and softened

Instructions

1. 1. TO BRINE THE ROAST: Dissolve salt and brown sugar in 1 1/2 quarts hot tap water in large stockpot or clean bucket. Stir in garlic and rosemary; add 2 1/2 quarts cold water and submerge meat and bones in brine. Refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 3 hours. Rinse meat and ribs under cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towels.

2. 2. FOR THE GARLIC-ROSEMARY RUB: While roast brines, mix together garlic, rosemary, pepper, olive oil, and salt in small bowl to form paste; set aside.

3. 3. TO PREPARE THE ROAST: When roast is done brining, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Heat heavy-bottomed 12-inch nonreactive skillet over medium heat until hot, about 4 minutes. Place roast fat-side down in skillet and cook until well-browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer roast browned-side up to cutting board and set aside to cool. Pour off fat from skillet and add wine; increase heat to high and bring to boil, scraping skillet with wooden spoon until browned bits are loosened, about 1 minute. Set skillet with wine aside.

4. 4. Following "Adding the Paste" illustrations below, make lengthwise incision in pork loin, rub with one-third of garlic-rosemary paste, rub remaining paste on cut side of ribs, and tie meat back to ribs. Sprinkle browned side of roast with 1 teaspoon pepper and set roast rib-side down in flameproof roasting pan. Pour reserved wine and browned bits from skillet in roasting pan. Roast, basting loin with pan drippings every 20 minutes, until center of loin registers about 135 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 65 to 80 minutes. (If wine evaporates, add about 1/2 cup water to roasting pan to prevent scorching.) Transfer roast to carving board and tent loosely with foil; let stand until center of loin registers about 145 degrees on instant-read thermometer, about 15 minutes.

5. 5. While roast rests, spoon off most of fat from roasting pan and place over 2 burners at high heat. Add shallot and rosemary; using wooden spoon, scrape up browned bits and boil liquid until reduced by half and shallot has softened, about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 8 minutes. Add any accumulated pork juices and cook 1 minute longer. Off heat, whisk in butter; strain jus into gravy boat.

6. 6. Cut twine on roast and remove meat from bones. Set meat browned-side up on board and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Serve immediately, passing jus separately.

Variation: Tuscan-style garlic-rosemary roast pork loin with fennel
2 medium bulbs fennel
1 tablespoon olive oil
Table salt and ground black pepper

2. PREPARE THE FENNEL: Trim fennel bulbs of stalks and fronds; finely chop 2 teaspoons fronds. Cut each bulb lengthwise into eighths. Toss fennel with 1 tablespoon olive oil in medium bowl and season generously with salt and pepper.
3. FOR THE GARLIC-ROSEMARY RUB: While roast brines, mix together garlic, rosemary, fennel seeds, chopped fennel fronds, pepper, olive oil, and salt in small bowl to form paste; set aside.

Variation: Tuscan-style garlic-rosemary roast pork loin with roasted potatoes

3/4	cup dry white wine
2	pounds medium red potatoes , 2 1/2-inch diameter, (about 14 potatoes total), quartered
2	tablespoons olive oil
	Table salt and ground black pepper

5. When pork has roasted 15 minutes, toss potatoes with olive oil in medium bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Baste pork. After pork has roasted 30 minutes, add potatoes to roasting pan; stir to coat potatoes with pan juices. Continue to roast pork (basting every 20 minutes) until center of loin registers about 135 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 65 to 80 minutes. (If wine evaporates, add about 1/2 cup water to roasting pan to prevent scorching.) Transfer roast to carving board and tent loosely with foil; let stand until center of loin registers about 145 degrees on instant-read thermometer, about 15 minutes. Turn potato pieces with wide metal spatula and spread them in even layer. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees and return potatoes to oven; continue to roast until tender and browned, 5 to 15 minutes longer.

Preparing the Roast and Adding the Paste

Position roast so bones are perpendicular to cutting board. Starting from far end and working toward you make series of small, easy strokes with boning knife.

Gradually cut along curved rib bones down to backbone until meat is free of bones.

Adding the Paste #1: With fat side of roast down, slice through center of entire length of meat, stopping 1 inch shy of edge. Spread meat flat.

Adding the Paste #2: Rub one-third of rosemary mixture in even layer on one side of cut, leaving 1/2 inch on each end bare.

Adding the Paste #3: Spread remaining rosemary mixture evenly along bones from where meat was cut, leaving 1/2 inch on each end bare.

Adding the Paste #4: Fold meat back together and tie meat on bones exactly from where it was cut with 7 individual lengths of twine.

Mexican pulled pork (carnitas)

From Cook's Illustrated

Serves 6. Published May 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.

We like serving carnitas spooned into tacos, but you can also use it as a filling for tamales, enchiladas, and burritos.

Ingredients

Pork
1	(3 1/2-to 4-pound) boneless pork butt , fat cap trimmed to 1/8 inch thick, cut into 2-inch chunks
	Table salt and ground black pepper
1	teaspoon ground cumin
1	small onion , peeled and halved
2	bay leaves
1	teaspoon dried oregano
2	tablespoons juice from 1 lime
2	cups water
1	medium orange , halved
Tortillas and Garnishes
18	(6-inch) corn tortillas , warmed
	Lime wedges
	Minced white or red onion
	Fresh cilantro leaves
	Thinly sliced radishes
	Sour cream

Instructions

1. 1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine pork, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, cumin, onion, bay leaves, oregano, lime juice, and water in large Dutch oven (liquid should just barely cover meat). Juice orange into medium bowl and remove any seeds (you should have about 1/3 cup juice). Add juice and spent orange halves to pot. Bring mixture to simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover pot and transfer to oven; cook until meat is soft and falls apart when prodded with fork, about 2 hours, flipping pieces of meat once during cooking.

2. 2. Remove pot from oven and turn oven to broil. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to bowl; remove orange halves, onion, and bay leaves from cooking liquid and discard (do not skim fat from liquid). Place pot over high heat (use caution, as handles will be very hot) and simmer liquid, stirring frequently, until thick and syrupy (heatsafe spatula should leave wide trail when dragged through glaze), 8 to 12 minutes. You should have about 1 cup reduced liquid.

3. 3. Using 2 forks, pull each piece of pork in half. Fold in reduced liquid; season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread pork in even layer on wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet or on broiler pan (meat should cover almost entire surface of rack or broiler pan). Place baking sheet on lower-middle rack and broil until top of meat is well browned (but not charred) and edges are slightly crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, flip pieces of meat and continue to broil until top is well browned and edges are slightly crisp, 5 to 8 minutes longer. Serve immediately with warm tortillas and garnishes.

Don't Cut the Fat Leaving a 1/8-inch layer of fat on the pork is critical to imparting the best flavor and texture to the final dish. Overtrimming the meat will lead to dry, bland carnitas.

South vs. South of the Border Southern-style barbecued pulled pork (at left) is cooked outdoors in a smoker to create uniformly tender meat that’s served drenched in barbecue sauce. The pork in our carnitas recipe is cooked in the oven and features a soft interior and a crisp, caramelized exterior complemented by garnishes, not sauce.

Three Steps to Indoor Pulled Pork

1. OVEN-BRAISE
For fall-apart tender meat, oven-braise the pork at a low temperature in a covered Dutch oven for about two hours.

2. REDUCE
Remove the pork and reduce the braising liquid to a glaze thick enough for a spatula to leave a trail when pulled through it.

3. BROIL
Toss the pork with the glaze and broil it on the lower-middle rack in the oven to yield well-browned meat with crisp edges.

Cochinita or puerco pibil

I've edited this for clarity's sake.

From I Can Write!

5 tbsp annatto, whole
2 tsp cumin, whole
8 allspice, whole
1/2 tsp cloves, whole
1 tbsp black pepper, whole
2 habanero peppers
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tbsp salt
8 cloves garlic, minced
5 lemons, juiced
splash of tequila
5 lbs pork butt
banana leaves

Directions:

1. Make achiote paste by grinding annato, cumin, allspice, cloves, and black pepper in a clean coffee grinder.

2. De-vein and de-seed the habanero pepper, and dice.

3. Put achiote paste, habanero, orange juice, white vinegar, salt, garlic, lemon juice, and tequila in a blender, and blend until you have a smooth paste.

4. Cut the pork into 2 inch pieces, and let marinate for 4-24 hours in the achiote mixture in a large bowl or freezer bag.

5. Line a 13x9x2 pan with banana leaves (or foil if you cannot find any, although the flavour won't be the same), pour in the pork-achiote mixture, and cover with banana leaves. Seal with a lid or more foil.

6. Bake at 325'F for 4 hours, until the pork is fall-apart tender. Serve over white or Spanish rice.

Roast fresh ham

From Cook's Illustrated

Serves 8 to 10.

If you don't have room in your refrigerator, you can brine the ham in a large insulated cooler or a small plastic garbage can; add five or six freezer packs to the brine to keep it well cooled.

Ingredients

Roast
1	fresh half ham bone-in with skin, 6 to 8 pounds, preferably shank end, rinsed
Brine
4	cups kosher salt or 2 cups table salt
3	cups packed brown sugar (dark or light)
2	heads garlic , cloves separated, lightly crushed and peeled
10	bay leaves
1/2	cup whole black peppercorns , crushed
Garlic and Herb Rub
1	cup fresh sage leaves from 1 large bunch, packed lightly
1/2	cup fresh parsley leaves from 1 bunch
8	medium cloves garlic , peeled
1	tablespoon kosher salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1/2	tablespoon ground black pepper
1/4	cup olive oil
Glaze
1	glaze (see related recipes)

Instructions

1. 1. Following illustration below, carefully slice through skin and fat with serrated knife, making 1-inch diamond pattern. Be careful not to cut into meat.

2. 2. In large (about 16-quart) bucket or stockpot, dissolve salt and brown sugar in 1 gallon hot tap water. Add garlic, bay leaves, black pepper, and 1 gallon cold water. Submerge ham in brine and refrigerate 8 to 24 hours.

3. 3. Set large disposable roasting pan on baking sheet for extra support; place flat wire rack in roasting pan. Remove ham from brine; rinse under cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Place ham, wide cut-side down, on rack. (If using sirloin end, place ham skin-side up.) Let ham stand, uncovered, at room temperature 1 hour.

4. 4. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 500 degrees. In workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade, process sage, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, and oil until mixture forms smooth paste, about 30 seconds. Rub all sides of ham with paste.

5. 5. Roast ham at 500 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to roast, brushing ham with glaze every 45 minutes, until center of ham registers 145 to 150 degrees on instant-read thermometer (see illustration below for thermometer placement), about 2 1/2 hours longer. Tent ham loosely with foil and let stand until center of ham registers 155 to 160 degrees on thermometer, 30 to 40 minutes. Carve, following instructions below, and serve.

The Japanese burger

From Washingtonian.com

How To Build a Better Burger, part 8

The Japanese Burger

By Kaz Okochi of Kaz Sushi Bistro

1/4 pound tofu
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped scallions
2 tablespoons miso paste
1 egg 1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 iceberg-lettuce leaves
1/4 cup Japanese mayonnaise
4 teaspoons grated horseradish
4 sesame buns

In a shallow pan, set the tofu between 2 paper towels. Weight it down with a can or bottle for 30 minutes. Let the water drain, chop the tofu, and set aside.

In a bowl, combine the beef, pork, tofu, shiitakes, scallions, miso, egg, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and mix well. Divide the mixture into 4 patties.

In another bowl, combine the soy sauce, mirin, garlic, and ginger. Set aside.

Set a pan over medium-high heat and pour in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Cook each burger for 1 to 2 minutes, until brown on each side, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan with foil and cook 4 minutes more. Puncture patty to test if it’s done; its juices should be clear. Remove the burgers from the pan and drain the oil. Return the patties to the pan, raise the heat to medium and add the soy-sauce mixture. Keep the pan moving to prevent the sauce from burning and flip the burgers while the sauce thickens. The burgers are done when they have a thick, shiny coating of sauce. Serve on a toasted bun with lettuce, mayonnaise, and horseradish.

The decadent burger

From Washingtonian.com

How To Build a Better Burger, part 2

The Decadent Burger

By Fabio Trabocchi of Maestro

Headcheese terrine:

1 pig head (about 6 pounds)
3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 small onion, skin removed
1 celery heart
1 rosemary sprig
3 garlic cloves
3 bay leaves
3 tablespoons rock salt
2 tablespoons crushed white peppercorns
5 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons Osetra caviar (for topping)

Set the pig’s head under cold, running water for 6 hours. Cover the head in a stockpot with salted water, ice, and the white-wine vinegar. Refrigerate overnight.

Drain the water from the stockpot and set it aside. Set the head under cold running water as you prepare the rest of the ingredients or about 1 hour.

Place the head and reserved water in a pot just big enough to hold it. Set the pot over medium-low heat. Skimming the surface frequently, simmer for 20 minutes, until water is slightly cloudy. Add the onion, celery, rosemary, garlic, bay leaves, rock salt, and white pepper.

Simmer very slowly for 8 hours, skimming occasionally and making sure the water stays above the head.

When the head is cooked (its flesh falls off the bone), remove the pot from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Drain the liquid and place the head on a sheet pan. Pull all the meat from the bone and set aside.

Pull flat a piece of plastic wrap 1 foot by 2 feet across a countertop. Arrange the pieces of meat along the side of the plastic closest to you. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Pull the edge of the plastic over the meat and roll into a tightly packed cylinder until all the plastic is used. Tie each end of the cylinder with kitchen string. Refrigerate overnight.

Cut the terrine into 1/2-inch slices and drizzle with olive oil. Let the slices rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Split a bun and toast lightly. Place 2 tablespoons of potato salad (recipe follows) on the bottom of the bun, then top with a slice of headcheese terrine. Finish with a quenelle of Osetra caviar. Serve immediately.

Potato salad:

3 cups canola oil
11/2 pounds small red-skin potatoes, diced
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 bunch of dill, leaves only
4 egg yolks
1/2 small shallot
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
2 eggs, hard-boiled and diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Place 2 cups of canola oil in a sautee pan over high heat. Heat the oil to 350 degrees temperature. Working in small batches, shallow fry the potatoes until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes each batch. Drain the potatoes on a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.

Set a sautee pan over low heat and render the fat from the bacon. Once the bacon is crispy, discard it and add the diced onion to the fat. Sauteethe onion until soft and translucent. Strain, cool, and set aside.

In a food processor, puree the dill, egg yolks, shallot, half of the lemon juice, and the white-wine vinegar until smooth. While the processor is running, slowly add the remaining cup of canola oil. Once the mixture is blended into a smooth green mayonnaise, season to taste.

In a bowl, fold together the potatoes, sauteed onions, diced egg, and vinaigrette. Season to taste.