Pork Chops with Braised Cabbage

Method

1 Cook the cabbage first. Heat the bacon fat (or butter or vegetable oil) in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté, stirring only occasionally, until the edges of the onions begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle salt over the onions as they cook. Add the sliced cabbage and toss to combine. Cook for a minute or two, then add the celery seed, caraway, and stock. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook, covered for 10 minutes.
2 After 10 minutes, remove from heat, but leave the cover on the pan. Wait another 5 minutes, then uncover the pan and mix in the mustard and vinegar. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
3 As soon as you cover the cabbage pan in step 1, heat a tablespoon of bacon fat or oil in a cast iron frying pan on medium high heat. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels. Sprinkle them with salt and lay them in the pan, working in batches if necessary as to not crowd the pan.
Tip: Place the chops in the pan so that the thickest, boniest parts are near the center of the pan where they get the most heat.
As soon as the chops are nicely browned on one side, about 2 minutes or so, flip them and sear them on the other side. If your pork chops are less than 3/4-inch thick, and you are using a cast iron pan, once the chops are seared on the second side, remove the pan from heat and let the chops sit in the hot pan until cooked through (you can use the finger test to check for the doneness of the meat). If you are not using a cast iron pan, just remove the pan from heat and cover the pan for a few minutes until the chops are done.
If your chops are thicker than 3/4-inch, and you are using a cast iron pan, remove the pan from heat and cover it, letting the chops finish cooking for about 5 minutes. If not using a cast iron pan, keep the chops covered on low heat for another 5 minutes after searing.
4 Remove the chops from the pan and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve alongside the cabbage.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons bacon fat, butter or vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, sliced 1/4-inch, about 2 cups
• 1/2 head of cabbage, sliced 1/4-inch wide slices
• Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon caraway seed
• 1/2 cup stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable) or water
• 1 Tbsp mustard, preferably Dijon
• 1 Tbsp malt or cider vinegar
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp bacon fat or high smoke point vegetable oil such as canola oil
• 4 pork chops

Pork Chops

Method

1 Pat chops dry with a paper towel, they'll brown better. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2 Heat a large, stick-free skillet on medium high heat. Lightly brown the pork chops on both sides, for a minute or two each.
3 While the chops are browning, mix the red jelly with the mustard. Once the chops are browned, reduce the heat of the pan to low. Dollop the sauce over the chops. Cover the pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the pork is just cooked through (thick cuts may take longer).
4 Remove the pork chops from the pan. Add vinegar to the pan. Increase the heat to high and boil down the sauce, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add any juices that have come out of the chops while they've been sitting back to the pan.
Serve the pork chops with the sauce spooned over them.

 

Ingredients

• 4 pork chops
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/2 cup of red currant jelly (or any red berry jelly, not jam)
• 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar or white vinegar

Polish Hunter’s Stew

Method

1 Pour hot tap water over the dried mushrooms and submerge them for 20-40 minutes, or until soft. Grind or crush the juniper berries and black peppercorns roughly; you don’t want a powder. Cut the pork shoulder into large chunks, about 2 inches. Cut the sausages into similar-sized chunks. Drain the sauerkraut and set aside. Clean off any dirt from the mushrooms and cut them into large pieces; leave small ones whole.
2 Heat the bacon fat or vegetable oil in a large lidded pot for a minute or two. Working in batches if necessary, brown the pork shoulder over medium-high heat. Do not crowd the pan. Set the browned meat aside.
3 Put the onion and fresh cabbage into the pot and sauté for a few minutes, stirring often, until the cabbage is soft. Sprinkle a little salt over them. The vegetables will give off plenty of water, and when they do, use a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. If you are making the tomato-based version, add the tomato paste here. Once the pot is clean and the cabbage and onions soft, remove from the pot and set aside with the pork shoulder.
4 Add the mushrooms and cook them without any additional oil, stirring often, until they release their water. Once they do, sprinkle a little salt on the mushrooms. When the water is nearly all gone, add back the pork shoulder, the cabbage-and-onion mixture, and then everything else except the prunes. Add the beer, if using, or the tomato sauce if you're making the tomato-based version. Stir well to combine.
5 You should not have enough liquid to submerge everything. That’s good: Bigos is a “dry” stew, and besides, the ingredients will give off more liquid as they cook. Bring everything to a simmer, cover the pot and cook gently for at least 2 hours.
6 Bigos is better the longer it cooks, but you can eat it once the ham hock falls apart. Check at 2 hours, and then every 30 minutes after that. When the hock is tender, fish it out and pull off the meat and fat from the bones Discard the bones and the fat, then chop the meat roughly and return to the pot. Add the prunes and cook until they are tender, at least 30 more minutes.
Bigos is best served simply, with rye bread and a beer. If you want a little kick, add the mustard or horseradish right before you eat it. Bigos improves with age, too, which is why this recipe makes so much: Your leftovers will be even better than the stew was on the first day.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce dried porcini or other wild mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp bacon fat or vegetable oil
• 2 pounds pork shoulder
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 head cabbage (regular, not savoy or red), chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds mixed fresh mushrooms
• 1-2 pounds kielbasa or other smoked sausage
• 1 smoked ham hock
• 1 pound fresh Polish sausage (optional)
• 1 25-ounce jar of fresh sauerkraut (we recommend Bubbies, which you may be able to find in the refrigerated section of your local supermarket)
• 1 bottle of pilsner or lager beer
• 1 Tbsp juniper berries (optional)
• 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp caraway seeds
• 2 Tbsp dried marjoram
• Salt
• 20 prunes, sliced in half (optional)
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste (optional)
• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce (optional)
• 1-2 Tbsp mustard or horseradish (optional)

Pineapple Glazed Ham Balls

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2 Put the bacon and ham into a food processor and pulse briefly 3-4 times to chop fine. Do not purée. Place the mixture in a large bowl with the remaining meatball ingredients and mix well to combine. Using your hands, form meatballs anywhere from 1-inch to 2-inches in diameter. The smaller diameter meatballs will make for easier eating if you are making them for an appetizer for a party. Larger meatballs will work well for a main course.
3 Arrange the meatballs in a casserole pan and put in the oven for about 1 hour for 2-inch diameter meatballs, or 30-40 minutes for 1-inch diameter meatballs.These meatballs are pretty forgiving, but look for an internal temperature of about 165° or so.
4 Make the glaze when you put the meatballs in the oven. Mix all the ingredients except the corn starch in a small pot and bring to a boil. Whisk in the corn starch and simmer 1-2 minutes.
5 Baste the meatballs once they have cooked for 20 minutes, then again at 40 minutes for larger meatballs or at 10 minutes and 20 minutes if you are making small meatballs, and then again at 5 minutes before they're done. 

Ingredients

Meatballs:

• 1/4 pound bacon, diced
• 1 pound ham, diced
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tbsp pineapple juice

Glaze:

• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp ketchup
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
• 1 teaspoon corn starch mixed with 2 Tbsp cold water

Memphis-Style Pork Ribs

Method

1 Mix all the dry ingredients together. Rub them all over the ribs and, if you have time, set them in the fridge overnight.
2 Get your grill or smoker going. You want pretty low heat, about 200-220°F if you can measure it. Make sure you have a spot to put the ribs that is not directly over the heat source. Lay the ribs down. They should not sizzle. If they do, cool the grill down until the ribs no longer sizzle when placed down. Cover the grill or smoker and walk away for an hour.
3 Every hour or so after that, turn and rotate the ribs so they cook evenly. You should not have to baste them if you do this: The fat in the ribs will do the basting for you. Depending on how hot your set-up is and at what stage of doneness you like your ribs, they will be done in 4-8 hours.

 Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sweet paprika
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons cayenne
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 St. Louis-cut or spare rib racks

Meatballs with Ricotta in Tomato Sauce

Method

1 In a large bowl, add the pork, Italian sausage, prosciutto or pancetta, bread cubes, parsley, oregano, fennel, red pepper flakes, and salt. Use your hands to mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Do not over-work.
2 Whisk the beaten eggs and ricotta together in a separate bowl until there are no more large clumps of ricotta. Pour into the bowl of the meat mixture. Mix with your hands until just incorporated. Again, do not over-mix.
If you want, to test seasoning, you can take a small bit of the mix, form into a patty, and heat in a small skillet on the stovetop until cooked through. Depending on how this test patty tastes to you, add more herbs, chili, or salt to taste to the meat mixture. Keep meat mixture in refrigerator while doing this.
3 Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat the bottom of a large roasting pan with olive oil. Form meatballs in your hand, about 1 1/2-inches in diameter, using about 3 Tbsp of the mixture to form each meatball. Arrange in pan so there is some space between them. If too crowded they will steam and not brown.
4 Roast meatballs in the oven for about 30 minutes, turning the meatballs after about 20 minutes, until the meatballs are beginning to brown.
5 Remove pan from oven. Use a metal spatula to dislodge meatballs from being stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the crushed tomatoes to the pan. Carefully cover the pan with aluminum foil (carefully because the pan is still hot!) Return the pan to the oven. Lower the heat to 300°F. Cook for an additional hour to 1 1/2 hours.
Sprinkle basil into sauce before serving.
Makes about 24 meatballs. Top with grated Parmesan.

Ingredients

• 10 ounces ground pork shoulder
• 10 ounces sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
• 2 ounces prosciutto or pancetta, minced (helps to put in freezer for 15 min first, before mincing, will make it easier to cut)
• 4 cups cubed white bread, crusts removed first.
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 2/3 cup ricotta cheese
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• Olive oil
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (high quality, either San Marzano or Muir Glen)
• 1/4 cup chiffonaded* fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Italian Sausages with Ratatouille

Method

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Using a large oven-proof pan over medium-high heat, sauté onions in olive oil until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and reduce heat to low.
2 While the onions and garlic are cooking over low heat, put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a another large skillet over high heat. As soon as the pan gets hot, add enough zucchini cubes to form a layer on the bottom of the pan. Cook over high heat, stirring, until zucchini is lightly browned on all sides. Remove zucchini cubes, and add them to pan with the onions.
3 Repeat process until all of the zucchini cubes have been cooked. Continue with the bell peppers, then the eggplant cubes, adding the browned vegetables to the onion pan as soon as they are cooked. Add more olive oil as needed.
4 Add the tomatoes (and their juice) to your large oven-proof pan with the rest of the vegetables, along with salt, black pepper, red pepper, thyme, rosemary and 1/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil. Nestle the sausages in the pan.
5 Transfer to the oven and cook, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the sausages are cooked through.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 medium chopped onion, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 pound of zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 small eggplant, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice (1 lb or less)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 pound of fresh tomatoes, skinned and chopped (or 1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3/4 pound of sweet or old fashioned Italian sausages (you can use hot, but if you do, don't add the red pepper flakes)
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 1 sprig of rosemary