Meaty Monday: Far East Five Spice Pork in the Crock

All of a sudden, its gone from too hot and humid to strangely cool and Fall-like in a matter of hours. I actually had to wear a robe and slippers this morning, instead of a pair of disreputable-looking shorts and flip flops. Too cool in the house. Which is good news for this delicious into-the-slow-cooker dinner.

I went foraging in my freezer yesterday and thawed a pair of small, 2 pound each pork sirloin tip roasts that would be perfect in an all day hot bath of soy, five-spice powder and other tasty Asian ingredients. Would also work well with 4 pounds of boneless pork shoulder. Took exactly 5 minutes to cut the meat and put all the ingredients into the slow cooker this morning. All the ingredient come out of jars. I highly recommend keeping things like minced garlic, ginger and asian chili paste in jars on your fridge door for morning when you need to prep and don't have time to chop, chop, chop.

This would have been nice with some quick rice to sop up the juice, along with the spinach I served with it. But since we rarely eat grains, it was a no rice night. The famous low-carb cauliflower rice would work well too. It was still a wonderful thing, tender, falling apart pork full of anise-y, sweet spice, and ginger tang, with the juices drizzled over steamed spinach. The sliced scallion garnish is a nice pop of fresh onion on top, too.

Far East Five Spice Pork in the Crock is ready when you walk in the door.

Note: Pork shoulder is rather fatty, so trim any big bits of fat off when you slice the meat before placing in the pot. Sirloin or loin is leaner and won't need a trim. Leftovers reheat beautifully in the juices.

Pork sirloin tip roast; the front roast has been cut into 4 pieces.

Far East Five Spice Pork in the Crock

Serves 6 to 8

1/4 cup gluten free tamari soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
2 tablespoons of honey or equivalent liquid stevia
1 tablespoon minced garlic (jarred)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (jarred)
1 teaspoon Chinese chili garlic paste (jarred)
4 lb. pork sirloin tip, or lean pork shoulder cut in 8 thick 3" by 6" slices
finely sliced scallion for garnish

1. Place up to the pork into a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker crock. Mix well. Add the pork and turn to coat with the soy mixture.

2. Cover and set the crock to LOW and cook for 9 hours. Shred the meat to serve with a healthy drizzle of the cooking juice and a sprinkle of finely sliced scallion.

Dinner is served...on a waiting white plate...

Meaty Monday: Five Spice Brined Chicken with Honey Lime Soy Glaze

I have eaten too much this weekend. BBQ food, desserts, and some grazing, since its just been too hot to eat. Monday, for me, is the day I have to rein it all in, but by the time I get home, starvation is nearly setting in and I need to have something in the works that will be good and satisfying. Without turning dinner into an eating free-for-all. By tossing some chicken parts into this Asian-flavored brine before you head off to work, you can have a good chicken dinner on the table in well less than an hour. Your ace in the hole is a Chinese 5-spice powder. It packs a flavor punch with just about no work on your part. You can even make the brine before you've had your morning coffee. It's that simple. The light honey glaze amps up the flavor, but isn't thick or gloppy.  It'll be delicious, nutritious, and  your tastebuds will think you're blowing your diet. But you haven't. Yet. As long as you can skip dessert... Oh, and as per usual, these leftovers are divine!

Note: I highly recommend bone-in, skin on chicken parts for this dish, and then just removing the skin before glazing the chicken at the end. Keeping the skin on while baking will help keep the meat moist and juicy. If you can afford the extra calories, then just leave the skin in place; it add a lot of flavor to the finished dish. Also, if the only chicken breasts you can find with the skin and bone, are large, just cut them in half, straight across the middle with a poultry shears, a sturdy chef's knife or kitchen scissors.

 Five Spice Brined Chicken with Honey Lime Soy Glaze,
but the half lime went in my tea...oops!

Five Spice Brined Chicken with Honey Lime Soy Glaze
4 servings

For the brine:
8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs or small chicken breasts
5 cups water
4 Tablespoons Morton's Kosher Salt
2 Tablespoons Chinese Five Spice Powder
2 Tablespoons sugar

For the glaze:
1/3 cup mild honey
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
juice of 1/2 small lime
4 Tablespoons gluten free Tamari soy sauce
1 teaspoon powdered ginger

Garnish:
The other half of the lime in small wedges

1. Place the chicken in a large zip top bag. Mix the brine ingredients, stirring until the salt is dissolved, and then pour it over the chicken in the bag. Place the bag in a dish in case it leaks, and then into the fridge for 8 to 12 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Remove the chicken from the brine and place, skin side up in a shallow metal roasting pan, and bake about 40 to 45 minutes until the temperature of the thigh meat is 160ºF. Mix the glaze ingredients and set aside.

3. Remove the pan from the oven, turn each chicken piece bottom up, and brush with about half of the glaze. Turn the oven to broil and broil the chicken for a minute or two until the glaze begins to bubble. Carefully turn the chicken, and remove the skin if you wish, or leave in place and then brush with the remaining glaze. Broil until browned and bubbly, about 2-3 minutes longer.  Serve garnished with Lime if desired.

Un-Decorating Day Dinner: Dijon, Soy & Molasses Roast Pork Tenderloin

Today I am cooking challenged. I don't feel like it as I've been dragging loads of Christmas decorations to our basement storage area. Except for the tree and mantel, and a few outdoor items, it's all put away. I've put away as many decorations as I can without dredging up the ire of my Italian ancestors who swore you had to leave the tree up until the Wise Men arrived at the Manger. Or you'd have bad luck for the rest of the year. While I don't believe, I'm also not taking any chances. I kind of like the tree up for a bit, too, since my retail hours don't give me much time to admire it during the brunt of the season. 

It's so much fun to put the stuff up, and such a pain to put it all away.  Un-decorating wears me out. I'm tired, and I want a good, quick meal, with enough leftovers for another lunch or dinner later in the week. Wasn't even thinking about dinner. Hmmm.

I found some nice, locally raised pork tenderloins at the market on Friday, and was planning to freeze them all, but I think a couple of them will fit the bill for tonight's dinner. A coating of mustard, molasses and soy sauce will do the trick and add a ton of flavor without having to plan ahead with a marinade or a brine. Cause I didn't really plan ahead. Some sautéed spinach, and whatever starchy thing is living in the freezer will round out the meal in a good way. A satisfying, quick meal. So I can still vacuum up little bits of artificial pine needles that trail from the living room to the basement stairs, the remnants of my un-decorating adventure.

Dijon, Soy & Molasses Roast Pork Tenderloin

Dijon, Soy & Molasses Roast Pork Tenderloin

Blackstrap molasses is the big, strong grandaddy of regular unsulphered molasses. If you can't find it or don't have it, use the regular stuff you have, but it adds a huge flavor without being too sweet, or adding too much sugar. Minced ginger and garlic in jars have the right texture to make a really smooth paste to smear over the tenderloins and are fast to use when you really want to eat something good without too much work.

Ingredients:

2 Pork tenderloins, each about 1-1/4 pounds

For the "schmear":
2 T Dijon mustard
1 T Tamari soy sauce
1 T Blackstrap molasses
1 T minced ginger from a jar
1 T minced garlic from a jar
2T granular erythritol, xylitol or sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Place a shallow rack in a 9" x 13" pan.

2. Mix all the schmear ingredients in a largish mixing bowl. Dry the pork tenderloins with paper towels, and roll them in the soy mixture.

3. Place side by side on the rack, in the pan, not touching, and place in the preheated oven and cook until the temperature in the thickest part is 145ºF for juicy, slightly pink meat, or cook to 150ºF for just a bit of pink in the center after resting. 25 to 35 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cover loosely for 5-8 minutes with foil to rest. Slice in 1/2" pieces to serve.

Serves 6.