Feasting on Pork... The Ubiquitous Pig

Years ago, my husband's niece Maggie decided to roast a whole pig. With a little help from friends, family and Budweiser, she slathered the swine in Mojo Criollo, a fragrant Spanish marinade and spent the night basting the little porker to its succulent best. Those of us lucky enough to be there when she took
him off the coals, feasted divinely. My husband, Nick's, father was in the hospital after having knee replacements, so we took him what Nick considered to be the best part of the pig, the head. He loved it!


Don't have an entire night, a whole pig and lots of help? You can still feast on pork. I like all kinds of pork and have had my days with ribs or Boston Butt cooked low and slow for hours. Most of the time, I don't have hours and hours and you don't either. Enter the pork loin. I buy it whole from Costco and cut it into pieces of varying sizes for my varying number of people who may show up for dinner and freeze it. For example...

Sauteed pork for 2
I took out 1 piece of pork for 2 and cut it in half. Place each half in a plastic baggie and pound to a nice even thickness. Salt and pepper and saute for about 2 minutes a side until nicely browned. Remove pork from pan and deglaze with wine, add capers, chopped parsley and a splash of lemon. Reduce sauce and pour over pork. Drizzle with a little fragrant olive oil. Artfully arrange pork over smashed potatoes with buttermilk.

Smashed potatoes with buttermilk
No big deal to make!
Simmer potatoes until tender.
Drain and add a little butter salt and pepper. Mash with hand masher in the pan. Add buttermilk.Yum

Grilled pork... Brined Swine
Most of the time, we cook pork loin, and every other meat, on the grill. My latest discovery is that brining makes most meat except beef, and poultry taste better, more tender and more juicy. A simple rule of thumb is 1/4 cup of salt to 1 quart of water. Brine chops for 1/2 to 1 hour, roasts 2-4 hours.
Rinse off brine, wipe dry and cook.
Generally we don't put heavy marinade or basting sauces on any meat.

Grilled Boneless Pork Chops
Cut the pork loin to pieces about 1 inch thick. Brown on the hot part of the grill, finish with the lid closed over a very low or no flame. Don't overcook! Pork tastes best when it is just done or even a little pink. Take it off the grill and let it rest. While the pork is resting, I often grill vegetables.
For example...

Grilled fruit and vegetables
Zucchini
eggplant
red onion
Apples
Cut veges into slices, salt and put on grill until you see niche grill marks.
Take off grill and toss in dressing

Dressing
1 part vinegar or lemon juice, to 3 parts extra virgin olive oil. Whisk and add herbs to taste... basil, thyme, sage, rosemary, garlic, whatever you like.

Of course you can grill any vegetables and many fruits. Add a salad and some bread and you have dinner.