Pulled Pork with Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

First things first, I need to get this off my chest ---- it’s really hard to make a pile of meat look photogenic.

There. I said it.

Moving on.

A big beautiful brioche bun, toasted, might have made this a little more fantastic looking, but we don’t do buns too often here in the sizzle & sass kitchen. A side of slaw though, I believe is, requisite. Spicy Slaw would have been great here, but I was unfortunately jalapeno-less. (It went into something awesome destined for the internets sometime next week.)

But let’s talk about the here and now. Pulled Pork and Chipotle Barbecue Sauce.

Normally I would have done this with a pork shoulder. But my mother had given me half of a 9 pound pork loin she’d bought. I needed to use it ASAP, since I’d been keeping it in the freezer at work, but then it got kicked out. And because, as previously mentioned, I’ve been desperately filling my freezer with summery goodies getting ready for my winter hibernation, I had ZERO space left for 5 pounds of pig.

So pulled pork it was! Even at the end of August when summer definitely decided to make a comeback and pulled pork meant that my oven had to be on for like five straight hours. Despite the heat it produced, it was worth it. Pulled pork is always worth it.

The barbecue sauce was one of those things where I surprised even myself. I went completely off track with it, and didn’t bank on it turning out necessarily well. Probably well enough for me and the partner in crime to eat, but not necessarily good enough to post about.

Well, if that wasn’t further from the truth. So, there are a lack of pictures of the sauce undertaking but who cares, make this sauce. I adapted it like crazy from my lovely, amazing, and best chef friend who’s blog you can read here and recipe you can find here.

I wanted to get it as clean and paleo-esque as possible. So I switched out the ketchup and the brown sugar, and ditched a few other things and adapted to what I had available, hence the chicken stock substitution. But Sean’s original recipe was a great starting point, including the fact that it has coffee in it which ties into the pulled pork recipe as well as ties into my life as a complete and total coffee addict.

For that super simple slaw pictured, I just slivered up some red and green cabbage, red onion and some bell pepper and tossed it in the dressing that I used for my Slightly Spicy Slaw.

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Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

5 pound pork loin or shoulder or butt

2 tablespoons salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon cayenne

1 teaspoon oregano

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3 to 4 smashed garlic cloves

1 cup freshly brewed black coffee (or other liquid -- I’ve done this with beer, water, orange juice -- sugary stuff burns off though and quickly, if using, make sure to keep basting and adding liquid when it cooks off)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Prep your meat as needed, remove the skin if there is any on it and then place it fat side down in your baking dish. I used my 5.5 quart dutch oven and it worked beautifully in keeping the meat covered when needed and moist. Set aside meat and prepare the spice rub.

In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne, oregano, olive oil, maple syrup, and vinegar well until fully incorporated. Rub this all over the pork, getting into all the nooks and crannies.

Throw the smashed garlic into the bottom of the pan and then pour in the coffee.

Put into the oven covered, basting occasionally for at least four hours or until a fork easily pierces the meat and looks shreddable. About 2 and half hours in you can remove the cover so that the pork will develop a nice crust. Allow the pork to rest approximately 20 minutes before shredding. I also recommend straining out the braising liquid and reserving to pour over the shredded meat.

You can toss with Chipotle Barbecue Sauce (recipe follows) or any barbecue sauce, but it has more than enough flavor to be eaten on its own..

Yield: approximately 2 quarts of meat

Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

adapted from this recipe over at Home Grown Meals

Ingredients:

splash of olive oil

1 small onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 chipotle peppers (from a can), minced

1 tablespoon of the chipotle sauce that’s in the can with the peppers

1 ½ cups chicken stock

½ can of tomato paste

1 cup freshly brewed black coffee

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons mustard

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon paprika

Directions:

The barbecue sauce takes about one hour to be ready so you can do ahead of time or to have ready with pork start about halfway through it’s total cooking time.

Get the olive oil heating in a medium sized saute pan over a medium heat and then throw in the minced onion. Cook until soft, translucent, and a touch caramelized. I like using a saute pan for this because it has more surface area and it takes less time to reduce down to a thick sauce.

While the onion cooks down, in a bowl whisk together the coffee, vinegar, syrup, mustard, oregano and paprika. Set aside.

Add the garlic and chipotles to the pan with the onions. Stir in until fragrant and then add the chicken stock, tomato paste and stir to incorporate. Let this mixture cook until it’s thickened slightly, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the coffee-vinegar mix to the pan and stir to combine. Let the sauce come to a boil then turn down heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Sauce will take about 30 to 45 minutes to reduce down and come to desired consistency.

Optional move here at the end: I blitzed mine with a hand blender so it would be super smooth. You can do this, or let it cool a bit and do it with a regular blender. It's also not that chunky at all depending on how small you cut your onions and garlic. Choice is yours, my friends.

Yield: approximately 2 cups

Eggplant Parmesan

Man, this recipe seems like a to-do all typed out. I guess anything with multiple cooking steps is going to look a little crazy. Re-inventing the wheel with this one? No, not really. But when you have eggplants, what’s better to do with them than make eggplant parm? Probably many things, but flow with me here.

Truth be told, I am not the biggest eggplant fan. I think it might be it’s skin? At times I find it plasticky. I do best when it’s sliced super thin or cubed into the tiniest of squares that will melt into a sauce. And I am sure I am not alone in the belief that the act of frying makes all things edible.

One change I made here was just to sub out the usual bread crumbs for a mix of almond meal and grated parmesan. Works like a charm. I also find my latest presentation to be just the prettiest. I realize though, that most people probably don’t have a giant circular pan like that. In the instructions I give a few suggestions as to how else you can bake the eggplant.

I’ve done this several times and I’ve almost always had the perfect amount of egg and breading to eggplant slices. But if for some reason you end up with extra eggplant slices, I would just roast them up with a little olive oil and salt and pepper when you throw the parm in the oven.

If you end up with extra breading, since it’s not like it’s getting contaminated by meat or something, just freeze it up to use at a later time. Er, well I guess some egg might get all up in there, but I would probably still freeze it. It works great for chicken parm. Although I did find it a bit heavy for squash blossoms when I was experimenting with them. But usually this is my go-to breading for everything.

Last time I had a bit extra, I had a green tomato hanging out on the counter.

I’m sure you can put together what happened next.

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Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

2 medium to large eggplants

salt (for sweating)

2 large eggs

1 cup almond flour

1 cup grated parmesan

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped (or a good pinch of dried)

salt and pepper to taste

approximately ¼ cup olive oil for frying

2 cups of tomato sauce, either Fresh Sauce or a good homemade or jarred red sauce.

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced thin or 1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Using a mandoline or a knife, slice the eggplant into thin ¼ inch disks.

Lay out disks on a flat surface like a cutting board or sheet pan and lightly salt the eggplant. Let sit and sweat for approximately 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare your “breading” station. In a large bowl beat two large eggs together. In a large plate or baking dish combine the almond flour, parmesan, parsley, and salt and pepper.

After 30 minutes, using a paper towel, dry the “sweat” off the eggplant slices and place slices in the bowl with the beaten eggs. Swish around eggplant to cover all slices with egg.

I find it easiest to “bread” all the slices before frying instead of trying to multitask breading and frying at the same time. Something always gets backed up.

One by one take each egg soaked slice and dip each side into the almond flour-parmesan “breading” and lay them down on a flat surface to wait to be fried up.

Once all the slices are breaded, heat about half of the olive oil in a medium to large saute pan over a medium heat. While this is heating, prepare a plate with paper towels to place finished fried slices onto.

When the oil is hot enough (you can dip the end of a wooden spoon into the oil and see if it sizzles) place as many eggplant slices that will fit, into the pan. Fry until golden on the first side and do the same with the second side. Take off heat and place on paper toweled plate to drain. Do this with all the slices. About halfway through frying I like to start with some fresh oil since the almond flour has a tendency to fall off a little more and burn up pretty quick. So I pour off the hot oil into a heat safe container to cool a bit before throwing out and then I carefully wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Then I pour in the remaining olive oil and bring it up to heat and keep on frying.

Once all your eggplant is fried turn on the oven to 350 degrees.

Grab the eggplant, two cups of sauce, and mozzarella cheese.

Depending on the type of baking pan you have available begin layering the eggplant in a way that makes the most sense to you.

As you can see in the pictures, I have a 1-inch deep circular roasting pan, so I overlapped mine in circles, starting with a splash of sauce on the bottom of the pan and then layering the slices one by one around, adding the rest of the sauce and then covering in cheese. If you only have a flat pan, or baking dish you could do all the slices in one layer, with spoonful of sauce on top of each slice and then a piece of cheese on top of that. Or you could layer them up in a baking dish like a lasagna! Whatever works. Just get that sauce and cheese on there!

Bake the eggplant parm for about 40 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.

Serves 8

Leek Frittata

When I have no idea what to do with something or have too much of something I always turn to a frittata.

I had three huge leeks from my CSA that I had a.) no idea what to do with and b.) had too many eggs because I get a dozen a week from the CSA as well.

Boom. Done. Frittata.

Frittatas freeze really well so I’ll cut it up and throw it into plastic bags and chuck it into the freezer. Makes for a quick and easy meal when you don’t feel like cooking or have no time to pack a lunch for work. My issue is usually the latter. Love my everyday morning scramble, keeps me on my toes.

I’ve learned my lesson with the broiler one too many a time, as evidenced here. So unless I am literally sitting next to my oven (well, er, laying down, because my broiler is at the bottom, which only makes things more ridiculous) and watching the food broil, it’s always too late. So while this method I use here for the frittata takes longer, it’s completely fool proof. Me being the fool.

P.s. Easy trick for cleaning your leeks, that I think I learned from like Rachel Ray or something, prep up your leeks and then place them in a bowl full of water and sorta swish ‘em around. Let them sit for a few minutes. All the sand and grit will sink down to the bottom of the bowl. See above. Scoop out your leeks and dry.

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Leek Frittata

Ingredients:

3 pieces uncured/nitrite-nitrate free canadian bacon (approximately 1 cup of cooked meat -- diced bacon or ham could work here flawlessly)

1 tablespoon of grassfed butter (plus a bit extra if needed)

3 leeks, white and pale green parts only, washed thoroughly, halved and sliced

7 eggs

¼ cup grassfed heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

⅓ cup shredded white cheddar cheese + extra for sprinkling on top if desired

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, fry up the three pieces of canadian bacon until golden and crisp. Take cooked meat and dice. Set aside.

Using rendered fat from the bacon, saute the leeks over a medium heat. If it doesn’t seem like there’s enough fat, use an extra bit of butter or other cooking fat. Cook leeks until they are soft and start to develop some caramelization.

While the leeks are cooking, beat together the eggs, heavy cream, and the salt and pepper. Add in the diced bacon and shredded cheddar and stir.

When the leeks are ready, remove them from the skillet and place in a separate bowl from the eggs to allow to cool just slightly. Meanwhile, turn the heat off of the skillet but add 1 tablespoon of butter right away to the hot pan so it begins to melt. Swirl the melted butter around to coat the entire pan.

Add the leeks to the egg mixture and stir to incorporate.

Add the mix to the butter coated skillet, sprinkle extra cheddar on top if desired, and throw into the oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until frittata is puffed and starting to turn golden brown.

Serves 6

Stuffed Zucchini

Do you have zucchinis around that are the size of a limb or a small child? Are you overwhelmed, maybe not in size but in quantity? It’s about that time of year where the zukes start taking over the garden. You go down there, and WHOA! Monster zucchinis everywhere! I swear they weren’t that big the last time I was down here! What my mother would do with these giants was stuff them silly and cover them in melted cheese and call it dinner. I have fond, fond memories of zukes the size of me. I’m currently no where near a garden and I’m still overwhelmed with zucchini. My CSA is hurling them at me and a co-worker brought me in one, that I swear to you, was the size of my leg.

So it was about time for me to whip this childhood classic out. This isn’t quite my mom’s recipe, but it was one of those summer comfort foods I had to figure out how to recreate. Her's involves stovetop brand stuffing, which is, SO good. But I wanted to up the protein and avoid the grains. So this version uses ground beef, a ton of vegetables, and some of the seed pulp that you scoop out at the beginning of the process.

I’ve played around with other meats too, like Italian sausage and chorizo and thrown in different veggies. The kale ended up in here just because I had some hanging out in the crisper. This is one of those recipes that has endless ways you can change it up - meat, spice, or veg-wise. Get creative. I don’t think it could taste bad! Use what you got!

I like to serve mine with a fresh tomato salad on the side and maybe even a little sour cream if I’m feeling saucy.

Don’t hate on the one tablespoon of tomato paste, I know, annoying, but it really adds body. Here’s what I do when I only use a little bit from the can: scoop it out onto a square of saran wrap and fold it up into a little square. Then throw into the freezer. Next time you need some tomato paste just hack off a bit from your frozen square.

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Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:

1 large zucchini (or 4 small-medium ones) halved, with seeds scooped out (reserve 1 cup of seed pulp)

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 Italian pepper, diced

1 cup shredded kale

1 cup of reserved zucchini seed pulp (from above)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon chili powder

salt and pepper

1 cup quartered baby tomatoes (or diced regular tomatoes)

Optional: cheese for melting (a hard pecorino or parmesan would work ((what I did)) but so would a cheddar or mozzarella – the theme of this recipe is pretty much anything goes)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Take your scooped out zucchini halves and place them on a sheet pan or in a baking dish. Lightly salt them. Pour about 3 cups of water in the bottom of your baking pan, there should be about an inch of water in the pan around the squash. (This can be easier to do when the pan is already inside of the oven.) Bake squash in oven for about 30 minutes or until squash is tender when pierced with a fork.

While the zucchini is baking, brown your ground beef. When the meat is browned, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate. Using the rendered fat from the meat, begin to sauté your onions and peppers over a medium heat. When the onions and peppers have softened, throw in your kale, and reserved seed pulp. Wait until your kale has wilted and then add back in your browned meat. At this point also add in your tomato paste, oregano, cumin, paprika, and chili powder. Stir everything together to combine well and then salt and pepper to taste. Let cook and meld together for about 5 minutes. Lastly add in your tomatoes and cook just until wrinkly.

Now it’s time to fill those oven tender squash. If you’re melting cheese on top, feel free to use the same pan - most of the water has probably evaporated but if not, move the zucchini off and pour out lingering water and then lay squash back down. Fill each half equally with your meat-veg mix and then sprinkle your cheese on top, if using. Throw back into oven until cheese is golden and bubbly.

If you’re not using the cheese then stuff your squash and serve!

Kale, Garlic scape, and Feta Frittata

Wait! Don’t go! 

I know that is the most burnt, unappealing looking frittata ever but don’t lose hope in me yet! I’m just easily distracted.

Here’s what you’re gonna do when you make this --- you’re gonna take it out about 5 mins earlier than I did, and you won’t be disappointed. As a general rule, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on anything that’s under the broiler. Noob move here. What I wouldn’t give to have a window in my oven door. But seriously, underneath that blackened exterior was the most luscious, well flavored eggy concotion I’ve ever thrown together.

I mean the moment I saw I had burnt the thing beyond saving, I was like, well there goes posting that. But I was also half starved and needed lunch, so I decided to see if it was still edible. And my goodness, yes it was! The flavor! The yum! The ahhh - I have to tell everyone about this! Screw the top!

So are garlic scapes still a thing? Real talk, I made this frittata a bit ago when I had a pound of them from my farm share.  I’m not so sure they are still available but if they are, find ‘em and do it! My CSA gave me so many that they went into EVERYTHING and it was the best. Assuming they are long gone from farmstand, garlic would be just fine here, I’d say 1 clove minced should do the trick

Obviously I could have redone this attempt. But sometimes there’s something endearing about a total screw up...yea? Life’s beauty is in the imperfections, right????

(I’m just tryin’ to make myself feel better about burning my frittata.)

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Kale, garlic scape, and feta frittata

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter (or other cooking fat)

1 bunch kale, destemmed and torn into bite size pieces (I used lacinato)

½ medium size onion, sliced

3 garlic scapes, diced (or 1 clove of garlic minced)

pinch of red pepper flake (if desired)

6 eggs beaten

½ cup grassfed heavy cream

salt & pepper

⅓ cup feta cheese

sprinkle of shredded pecorino or parmesan (optional)

Directions:

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add kale, onion, garlic scapes, and red pepper flake to pan. Cook until onions are transculent and kale is soft and wilted.

While veggies are cooking down, beat 6 eggs with heavy cream, salt and pepper. Once fully beaten, stir feta in.

Add in second tablespoon of butter and allow to melt into vegetables. Pour eggs over the sauteed vegetables and stir in quickly to incorporate. Now leave to set over medium heat for approximately 10 minutes. Turn on your broiler. Right before placing under broiler sprinkle a bit of shredded pecorino or parmesan, if desired. Broil for approximately 10 minutes, but keep a watchful eye, remove once top of frittata is puffy and becomes a delightful golden brown.