Paleo Good Fats: Rendering Lard

I know it's hard not to think lard ass when you read this post, but hold your eye rolls, this will not make your ass fatter (unless you sit on it 23 hours a day).  Lard used to be the go-to fat for most home cooks, how many grandmother's used coconut oil?  But it fell out of vogue during the microwave heyday and was replaced by some unsavory counterparts, can we say Crisco?  If you can find lard in the store, it's usually hydrogenated and pumped with preservatives, so do yourself a favor and make some yourself.

Still not convinced?  Lard is high in Vitamin D and just behind olive oil in monounsaturated fats (or MUFAs, which I have trouble saying without laughing), and tolerates high heat when cooking with it.   Monounsaturated fats are the 'good fats', and including them in your diet (according to the Mayo Clinic) improves "blood cholesterol levels, which can decrease your risk of heart disease.  Research also shows thats MUFAs may benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control, which can be helpful if you have Type 2 diabetes".

I got my pork fat from my Cook Pigs Ranch visit.  But you may be able to find it in specialty markets, or if you have a butcher they may carry it or can order it for you.  My suggestion, find a farmer.  They probably have tons.  

Out & About: Cook Pigs Ranch

The picturesque drive up the mountain to Julian is two lanes most of the way, but as you start to climb up into the forest, past the pie places, egg stands, apple trees, and cider mill*, you almost forget you're in Southern California.  Julian is northeast of San Diego, nestled in the Cleveland National Forest and home to the new Cook Pigs Ranch.

Paleo Pork Chop with Chipotle Blueberry Glaze

I came home with some major pig loot after my visit to Cook Pigs Ranch, and since I have a small freezer, I got right to work eating some of that delicious heritage pork. If you have a great piece of meat, I always recommend going easy on the sauce - if not forgoing it altogether. My husband and I shared this GIANT bone-in pork chop and had a ton of the sauce left over, so this recipe can easily work for up to 6 pork chops. 

 

Gluten Free Pork Tacos with Kale & Citrus Drizzle

It was taco Tuesday and I was craving tacos, the real kind, not the slippery lettuce wrapped kind, so I bought some tortillas from our favorite neighborhood Mexican market.  If you live in the Costa Mesa/Newport area and haven't checked our El Toro Bravo on W 19th,  do yourself a favor and check them out.

This is sort of a take on El Pastor with the little hint of pineapple mixed with a little heat. If you skipped the corn tortillas these would be paleo.

Paleo Asian Pork Lettuce Wraps

These are super tasty but not something you want to eat on a first date (if you know what I mean).  I tried to eat them as daintily as possible, imagining myself at Downton Abbey for tea with Grandmama, but I just ended up slurping a lot next to my husband with chili sauce running down my arm.  Thankfully I'm married and he's stuck with me.

If you have an Asian market nearby, I urge you to go explore!  They have some amazing spices and sauces, fish and produce.  I also like to buy at least 1 thing that I cannot identify and try it.  Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose.  If you don't have an Asian market, I tried to include links.

Paleo Spicy Pork Tacos

Taco Tuesday is a big deal to Southern Californians, and I bet if you survey any random local they could list a dozen places that have a taco tuesday, and then let you know which is their favorite and why.   Here is a recipe that will allow you to host your very own taco Tuesday at home, and keep you away from those dangerous flour tortillas. 

I'm lucky enough to live close to an awesome Mexican market (shout out to El Toro Bravo) and I buy my spices from them in bags.  If you can't find the ground annato, just add a little more chili powder. 

1 lb ground pork

1 small jalapeno, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 bell pepper, diced (I used yellow, but any color will do)

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp dried ground chili pepper

1 tsp dried ground annato pepper

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 cup water

2 tsp Tapatio

Butter lettuce leaves

Diced red cabbage

In a large pan heat the oilve oil and add onions, garlic and jalapenos.  Cook until onions are translucent. Add bell peppers and stir, then add pork and brown.  Add tomatoes, water and spices, and simmer for 10-15 minutes until most of the water has reduced.  Stir in Tapatio.  Serve in a butter lettuce leaf and top with some cooling cabbage.  

Paleo Porc au Lait

This is a classic french dish, and it can make any weeknight dinner seem decadent.  It's rich, so a 3-4 lb pork butt (also called a pork shoulder) can feed 5 people if they're average eaters.  I adapted this recipe from the Les Halles Cookbook, and if there's one thing about French cooking I love it's the sauces.  It's a simple way to give your dishes some depth, and fairly easy to paleo-cize.

3lb pork butt

3 tbs olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 carrot, finely diced

1 garlic clove, finely diced

1 tsp coconut flour

2 cups unsweetend coconut milk (I like the SoDelicous brand)

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven, season the pork with salt and pepper and brown on all sides.  Remove from pan and set aside. Add onion, carrot and garlic and saute for about 10 minutes.  Add the flour and stir to coat, then add the milk.  Tie the bay leaf, thyme and rosemary together using butchers twine (it will make it mu easier to retrieve later) and toss it in.  Bring to a boil, return the pork to the dutch oven and simmer for 1 hour.

Remove the pork, discard the herbs, and puree what's left in the pot.  Serve sliced pork with sauce!

Paleo Meat Cupcakes - Turkey & Pork Cupcakes with Jalapeno Butternut Squash Icing

Who says the cupcake craze has to be limited to flour and sugar laden sweets? (Also, I heard that BBQ is the new burgers, which were the new cupcakes, before they were the new frozen yogurt - finally a food trend I can really get behind).  These little guys pack a fragrant punch with all of the herbs, so try to use fresh if possible, and the sweet heat from the 'frosting' really brings that out. 

These turned out to be really tasty and fun, and if you leave the frosting off they freeze well. 

For the cupcakes:

1 lb ground turkey

1 lb ground pork sausage

1 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tbs fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped

1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup almond meal

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

Preheat oven to 400 and spray a muffin tin with olive oil, or grease with coconut oil. Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl (using your hands works the best) and place meat mixture in to a muffin tin.  You can fill up the cups to the brim as the meat won't expand out and up.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes until cooked thoroughly. 

For the "icing":

1 small butternut squash

1 tbs coconut oil

2 tbs pickled jalapenos (plus extras for garnish)

Cut squash in half and remove seeds.  Wrap each 1/2 in foil and bake until tender.   Scoop out the roasted flesh and pulse in a food processor with the coconut oil (easier to work with if you warm it up) and jalapenos until you have a smooth paste.  Frost away! 

Paleo Cuban Pork Hash

I love my food magazines, but it's rare that I come across recipes that are paleo right from those gorgeous glossy pages, so I put on one of my cute Anthro aprons, crank some music and pretend I'm someone important from a test kitchen.  I really enjoy tweaking and playing with recipes because I feel like the paleo diet (more like lifestyle) can open up so many doors when it comes to health and happiness, that I want to share it with everyone I know - foodies included.  We have friends over for dinner and they'd never know it was a 'paleo' meal.  That is why I spend my time in the kitchen!  On that note - any suggestions for recipes that need to be paleo-cized?? 

This hash recipe is from Saveur Magazine and is definitely something I will be making on the regular.  It's flavorful, hearty, good at any time of day, it's even good cold.  If you can't find ground pork, it might even be good with some leftover pot roast. 

Heat a couple tbs of canola oil in a large saucepan and add 1 cinnamon stick, 1 onion/1 bell pepper/1/2 of 1 small butternut squash all finely diced.  Saute until onions are translucent, then add a couple minced garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tbs dried cilantro, 1 tsp ground cloves and cook for a couple more minutes.  Add 1 1/2 lbs of ground pork and brown.

Add a dash of salt and pepper, 1 16oz can or jar of diced tomatoes with the liquid, 3/4 c raisins, 3/4 pimento stuffed olives (halved) and cook 15-20 minutes until most of the liquid is gone.  Mix in 3/4 c slivered almonds and 2 tbs apple cider vinegar.

Herbed Pork Chops

As I cut into a piece of pork flecked with fresh herbs, almonds and salt, the outside cracked and split to reveal a perfectly cooked juicy piece of the other white meat.  Pork cutlets cook fast and have fantastic flavor/texture, and I always loved the recipes that have a crunchy breaded coating. This recipe satisfies my love for both textures, as well as using a bunch of fresh herbs for flavor. 

While this recipe is gluten free, it isn't paleo since I used rice flour, but I'm working on a paleo version that still gives you a crunchy outside coating while keeping your pork juicy inside.

Trim fat and pound pork chops to tenderize a bit.  Salt and pepper, then dip in rice flour, egg, and "breadcrumb" mixture (crushed almonds, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, fresh Italian parsley, garlic powder) coating both sides. Heat about 1/2 inch olive oil in a pan - get it hot but not smoking - and fry pork, about 4-5 minutes each side.

You can really use whatever fresh herbs you may have on hand, feel free to experiment.  If you're using dried herbs, be sure to use less than you would fresh as the flavor can be a little intense. 

Paris, Pork Chops & House Guests

I love everything about food.  Learning about, shopping for it, experimenting with it, peeling it, chopping it, braising it....you get the idea.  I love the textures, tastes, smells, colors - my very own nightly "Moveable Feast, minus the fact I'm not slurping delicious metallic oysters with extremely creative people in 1920's Paris, but I digress.  Of all the reasons to be connected to your food, I think human interaction is one of the most satisfying.  Food brings people together in a way that caters to our basic need to sustain life, and most of the time if you have good friends and good food in a room, you'll have a memorable time.   I cooked this recipe from the Les Halles cookbook (with a few modifications of course) for my friend who was visiting from New York City, and I hope she flew back the East coast with fond memories of our shared meals and catching up on old times.

The original recipe "Palette de porc a la biere" is from Les Halles, which is a phenomenal cookbook (and I'm not saying this just because I have a huge crush on Anthony Bourdain) for classic French bistro fare, but it's also a great place to get tips and tricks to improve your technique. 

Season pork (the recipe calls for a 4lb shoulder, but I used pork loin chops I already had in the fridge) with salt and pepper.  Heat a couple tbs olive oil and 1 tbs butter in dutch oven.  Once it's hot, sear both sides of your pork until sides are brown.  Remove from pan.  Add some fresh oil to the pan, and cook 2 small chopped carrots, 1 small diced onion, and 4 garlic cloves until soft.  

Stir in 1/4 cup of cider vinegar and 12 oz beer, scraping the bits off the bottom of the pan, and cook until the liquid is reduced well past half.  Add 1 cup chicken broth, bring to a boil, and return the pork to the pot.  Cook covered on low for 2 hours (for a large shoulder) or about 20 minutes (for loin chops).

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, remove finished pork from the pot and brush with 2 tbs mustard.  Then press flaxseed meal (or finely ground walnuts) into mustard covered pork.  Place in the oven until tops are browned.  While that is on the oven, reduce the liquid/veggies in the pot and whisk in 1 tbs mustard.  

Serve pork with sauce, grilled apples, and mashed turnips. 

Pork with Blueberry Wine Sauce

I have a TON of blueberries right now, and usually I just snack on them but I was reading about a blueberry reduction (usually you see these on beef or lamb) and saw some delicious pork chops so I thought I'd try it out. This dish is tangy and quick!

This is a one pan meal (aka, less dishes to wash), and relatively healthy. You can always broil the pork if you prefer, but the sauce will be a little less robust. I used a pretty bold cab, and if I made this again I'd probably use something sweeter. This could be a good way to use up those fruit bombs they call Merlot that your friends bring over for dinner parties....

What you'll need:

• olive oil
• 2 pork chops
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 cup blueberries

Instructions:

• Place a drizzle of olive oil in skillet and heat until almost smoking
• salt and pepper pork chops (both sides) and place in pan, you should hear a sizzle
• cook until done, the internal temperature should be about 145 degrees for medium
• remove chops and place on a plate
• in the same pan, add minced garlic and sautee for a minute
• add wine to deglaze pan, scraping up the bits
• let wine reduce to about half and add blueberries, let simmer for 3-4 minutes
• pour sauce over pork chops and serve!