Cook of the Month
Amy Forhand, Wiregrass EC
When Amy Forehand, who works as a nurse in Dothan, gets home after a full day’s shift, the last thing she wants to do is spend a lot of time in her kitchen cooking supper. So she loves to make her easy stovetop Mongolian Pork recipe, which won her Cook of the Month honors for October. “I like it because it’s simple and takes such little time from start to finish,” she says. “It’s a low-fuss recipe. I’ll cook enough to last me the week.” She also likes to vary the ingredients and sometimes adds broccoli or bell pepper. “I probably fix it every other week, and when I have company it makes enough
for them too.” —Lenore Vickrey
Mongolian Pork
- 1 pound pork tenderloin
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger, freshly grated
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 green onions, green parts only, sliced into 2-inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, for garnish
Tex-Mex Chipotle Pulled Pork
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- 3-4 pounds boneless pork loin
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2½ teaspoons garlic, minced
- 3-4 tablespoons pickled jalapeno pepper, diced
- 3 bay leaves, broken
- 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
- 1 teaspoon course ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Cut the pork loin in half and sear on all sides. When seared, place the pork loin halves in a slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix well. Pour over the pork loin halves and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. When the pork loin is done, place on a cutting board to shred with two forks. Remove bay leaves and reserve juices, peppers and onions in a bowl. Place the shredded pork on a large, foil-lined, baking sheet. Pour 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of juices, peppers and onions over the shredded pork and mix well. Broil in oven about 5 minutes, watching not to burn. Remove from oven, stir pork and pour another 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of juices over the pork. Return to the oven and broil another 5 minutes or until crisped to your preference. Serve with your favorite sides.
Kathy Stewart, Central Alabama EC
Best Butt in Bama
- 7-9 pound Boston butt, trimmed of excess fat
- 12 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 beer or apple juice
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- BBQ sauce
- Salt, pepper and other seasoning of choice
- Marinade:
- ¾ cup Moore’s or Dale’s marinade
- ¾ cup Italian dressing
- ¾ cup vinegar
Mix marinade and set aside. Using a small paring knife, punch 12 holes in the pork butt, 6 on each side and insert garlic cloves. Strain 1 ¼ cups of marinade, reserving strained seasonings. Inject strained marinade into pork butt. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours, overnight is best. Remove pork from refrigerator one hour before cooking. Prepare grill or smoker to cook at 250 degrees. Season outside of pork with seasonings of choice. Place pork in the smoker or grill (fire on one side and pork on the other side) allow pork to cook for about 4 hours or until the internal temperature is about 140 degrees. At this point, using two long pieces of foil cross ways, place the pork on the foil, form a bowl and add the remaining marinade, onions and some beer or apple juice. Wrap pork loosely and place in a pan and return to heat source until the internal temperature is 202 degrees. Remove from the heat source and allow to rest for 1 hour. Drain liquid and shred or pull the pork and serve.
Jean G. Vick, Baldwin EMC
TP’s Applewood Smoked Pork Chile Verde
5-pound pork shoulder, boneless and tied
Spice rub, your favorite blend
Rinse shoulder and dry with paper towels. Coat with your favorite spice rub (I like to use a paprika, cumin, brown sugar mix with plenty of salt and pepper.) Let sit in the refrigerator overnight, uncovered. Pull pork shoulder out first thing next day and start your fire with whatever vessel and wood you’d like (I use an old school Weber Kettle with ½ Kingsford, ½ apple chunks, full charcoal starter.) When coal is rendered, push into one side of your grill, and add pork shoulder to side that has no direct heat. Cover with plenty of smoke coming through (I leave the lid slightly ajar with all the vents open.) Let this cook for 4 hours, restoking fire as needed. Should reach 165 degrees in the middle when fully cooked.
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- I large onion, coarsely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 10 tomatillos, husked
- 2 large tomatoes, chopped
- 4 large jalapenos, seeded
- 3 tablespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 can Modelo beer
- 3 ounces tequila
Put all the prepped veggies, salt, pepper, cumin and oregano in a large saucepan on medium heat and sauté until tender and sizzling. Add tequila and beer; stir. Add chicken stock and continue stirring for 5 minutes. Let cool a little, and with an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree into a smooth sauce. I like mine a bit more chunky, but texture is up to your preference. Meanwhile, when pork is done, let rest for an hour to cool in the refrigerator. Dice into 1-inch chunks. Add pork to simmering sauce and taste for salt. Simmer for 2 hours on low. Grab the tortillas and sour cream and ENJOY!
Thomas M. Price
Blackened Pork Rib Chops
- 2 ¾-inch thick bone-in, pork rib chops
- 1 tablespoon shortening
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- Prudhomme Blackening Rub:
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 2½ teaspoons Kosher salt, (do not use table salt)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¾ teaspoon white pepper
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
Use a mortar and pestle or fingers and palm to break down thyme, oregano and fennel before incorporating. Do not use a food processor or blender! Prepare the rub by mixing all the rub ingredients together. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and use it to coat one side of each chop then liberally sprinkle each coated chop with the rub. Gently press the rub on to the chops. Place chops, coated side down, on waxed paper and proceed to coat other sides with the melted butter and rub. Heat a large cast iron skillet or pan over high heat for 3-5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Add 1 tablespoon shortening and 1 tablespoon butter to the hot skillet then swirl it so it is completely coated. Please be careful, there will be some splattering when the chops are placed into the skillet. Place the chops on skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side. The chops are done when their internal temperatures reach 145 degrees. The cooking time will vary based on the chops’ thickness. My ¾-inch chops take 3 minutes per side. Remove chops from the skillet and serve immediately. If desired, you can drizzle some additional melted butter over the chops.
Notes: this recipe is best prepared outside because of the intense smoke that will be generated while cooking. I use a portable Cajun propane burner to prepare this recipe. Also, I vastly prefer Paul Prudhomme’s blackening rub over all others.
Louis Toth, Arab EC
The Buttered Home
Our Bacon Crusted Pork Smash Burgers are the perfect way to celebrate National Pork Month! These perfectly cooked beauties can be made on the flat top, a griddle pan or even in your cast iron skillet with lots of flavor and no fuss! They are perfect for tailgating or even a tasty burger on a Tuesday night. For more recipes like this and so much more, visit us at thebutteredhome.com.
Bacon Crusted Pork Smash Burgers
- 2 pounds ground pork
- ½ pound bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 Vidalia onion
- 6 slices sharp cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup garlic seasoning
Cook, drain and cool bacon. Crumble or process in a food processor until small. Mix ground pork with garlic southern flavor seasoning and mix well.
Portion ground pork into 1/4 cup portions and roll into balls. Each burger will have two patties. Slice onion into thin slices. Roll each pork burger ball in crumbled bacon and set aside.
Heat flat top, griddle or pan to medium-high heat. Place two pork balls on and allow to sit a bit until fat starts to render. Use a clean sheet of parchment and place on top of a ball, press with a burger press or heavy spatula until thin. Do for both burger patties. Cook for one minute on that side.
Top one of the patties with a handful of sliced onions and flip both burgers. Allow to cook for one or two minutes more. Top the ungarnished burger with cheese and allow it to sit until cheese starts to melt. Place the patty with onion on top of the cheese patty and remove from heat. Allow to rest 1 to 3 minutes. Garnish and serve.
