Carnitas & Creme Brulee
So I've been really bad lately on posting food pictures and recipes. I managed to not photo-document my process too well on some recent culinary conquests, but I'll give you what I have.
This Carnitas recipe is easy, but by easy I mean it's very simple to do. It does require some amount of work, so you'd probably have to enjoy cooking to an extent. However, the process can be spread out over 2 days, so it's really not that bad.
Pork Carnitas
6-7lb Boneless Pork Shoulder, also called a Boston Butt (mine was actually 8 lbs)
3c Water
3/4c Orange Juice
2T Tamarind Paste
1/2c Cane Syrup
2T Fresh Cumin Seeds, toasted and ground (I just used cumin out of my spice jar)
6 Garlic Cloves, minced
1T Salt
2T Olive Oil
Remove excess fat from the pork. Put the pork in a large Dutch Oven or Crock Pot and add the water. Cook it for 5-6 hours (at 325 for your Dutch oven, or just on your counter in your Crock Pot) until it falls apart when you stick a fork in it. Set it out on the counter (or in some container to keep animals from eating it) and let it cool. When it is touchable, pull it apart, into bite size pieces, removing the bone and all the extra fat and nasty parts. At this point you could put it in the fridge overnight and continue the recipe tomorrow.
Next (or in the morning) combine all the other ingredients in bowl and whisk together. The mixture should emulsify a little. Toss the meat with the marinade and place in the refrigerator for a few hours. (I just put it in the marinade before i left for work one morning, and left it all day until I was ready to cook it that night).
Reheat your oven to 375F, place the marinated pork on a baking sheet or roasting pan (I used a Pyrex dish) and put it into the oven. Allow the meat to crisp for about 30 to 45 minutes. Keep an eye on the on it as the sugar in the Cane Syrup can burn easily. I just made a point of stirring it up every 10 or 15 minutes.
Serve with whatever you like, but it's easy to just make fajitas with it, so consider tortillas, pico de gallo, sour cream, cheese, etc. When I first had this it was served with tortillas, avocado, lime wedges (to squeeze on top), and cilantro.
It's super yummy delicious.
pre cooked
post cooked
served with
Crème Brulee
Preheat your oven to 325F
10 large eggs (8 yolks, 2 whole eggs)
1 1/4c Fine Granulated Sugar
1T Good Mexican Vanilla
1T Cointreau (I used Triple Sec, and my next plan is to use Amaretto)
1q+½ pint Heavy Cream (yes that's 1 quart PLUS ½ a pint)
I substituted half and half, because it came in a half gallon container and I was making several batches. Half and half is also cheaper. But for the best quality you should stick with heavy cream. I actually used a mixture of both so there wasn't a complete sacrifice on quality. But I will go ahead and say that I got no complaints, and a fair number of compliments.
On your stovetop, heat the cream. When it comes to a boil, add the Vanilla and Cointreau (or whatever liqueur you've chosen). Remove from the heat. Put a pot of water on the stove to boil (keep reading and you'll find out why).
In a mixing bowl, put together the 8 egg yolks, 2 whole eggs, and the sugar. Whisk until the mixture begins to lighten in color, do not over beat. Slowly, add the warm cream to the egg mixture, whisking the whole time. Don't do this while the cream is still very hot or all at once or you will scramble the eggs. And that would not result in creme brulee.
Pour the delicious mixture into ramekins and place the ramekins in a baking dish. Pour boiling water (which you have, because you put that pot on the stove) half way up the side of the ramekins but not too close to the top of your baking dish. Place the whole thing in the oven for 45 minutes. Allow the Crème Brulee to cool then put them into the refrigerator for a few hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes to an hour before you want to eat them. Put spoonful of sugar on top of each, and shake it around to cover. Throw off the extra sugar. Caramelize the top with a blowtorch. I use a Propane torch, purchased from the plumbing section of a hardware store.
bright yellow eggs
slightly lighter eggs (sorta foamy too)
cooling
done (except for that one in the middle)
This Carnitas recipe is easy, but by easy I mean it's very simple to do. It does require some amount of work, so you'd probably have to enjoy cooking to an extent. However, the process can be spread out over 2 days, so it's really not that bad.
Pork Carnitas
6-7lb Boneless Pork Shoulder, also called a Boston Butt (mine was actually 8 lbs)
3c Water
3/4c Orange Juice
2T Tamarind Paste
1/2c Cane Syrup
2T Fresh Cumin Seeds, toasted and ground (I just used cumin out of my spice jar)
6 Garlic Cloves, minced
1T Salt
2T Olive Oil
Remove excess fat from the pork. Put the pork in a large Dutch Oven or Crock Pot and add the water. Cook it for 5-6 hours (at 325 for your Dutch oven, or just on your counter in your Crock Pot) until it falls apart when you stick a fork in it. Set it out on the counter (or in some container to keep animals from eating it) and let it cool. When it is touchable, pull it apart, into bite size pieces, removing the bone and all the extra fat and nasty parts. At this point you could put it in the fridge overnight and continue the recipe tomorrow.
Next (or in the morning) combine all the other ingredients in bowl and whisk together. The mixture should emulsify a little. Toss the meat with the marinade and place in the refrigerator for a few hours. (I just put it in the marinade before i left for work one morning, and left it all day until I was ready to cook it that night).
Reheat your oven to 375F, place the marinated pork on a baking sheet or roasting pan (I used a Pyrex dish) and put it into the oven. Allow the meat to crisp for about 30 to 45 minutes. Keep an eye on the on it as the sugar in the Cane Syrup can burn easily. I just made a point of stirring it up every 10 or 15 minutes.
Serve with whatever you like, but it's easy to just make fajitas with it, so consider tortillas, pico de gallo, sour cream, cheese, etc. When I first had this it was served with tortillas, avocado, lime wedges (to squeeze on top), and cilantro.
It's super yummy delicious.
pre cooked
post cooked
served with
Crème Brulee
Preheat your oven to 325F
10 large eggs (8 yolks, 2 whole eggs)
1 1/4c Fine Granulated Sugar
1T Good Mexican Vanilla
1T Cointreau (I used Triple Sec, and my next plan is to use Amaretto)
1q+½ pint Heavy Cream (yes that's 1 quart PLUS ½ a pint)
I substituted half and half, because it came in a half gallon container and I was making several batches. Half and half is also cheaper. But for the best quality you should stick with heavy cream. I actually used a mixture of both so there wasn't a complete sacrifice on quality. But I will go ahead and say that I got no complaints, and a fair number of compliments.
On your stovetop, heat the cream. When it comes to a boil, add the Vanilla and Cointreau (or whatever liqueur you've chosen). Remove from the heat. Put a pot of water on the stove to boil (keep reading and you'll find out why).
In a mixing bowl, put together the 8 egg yolks, 2 whole eggs, and the sugar. Whisk until the mixture begins to lighten in color, do not over beat. Slowly, add the warm cream to the egg mixture, whisking the whole time. Don't do this while the cream is still very hot or all at once or you will scramble the eggs. And that would not result in creme brulee.
Pour the delicious mixture into ramekins and place the ramekins in a baking dish. Pour boiling water (which you have, because you put that pot on the stove) half way up the side of the ramekins but not too close to the top of your baking dish. Place the whole thing in the oven for 45 minutes. Allow the Crème Brulee to cool then put them into the refrigerator for a few hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes to an hour before you want to eat them. Put spoonful of sugar on top of each, and shake it around to cover. Throw off the extra sugar. Caramelize the top with a blowtorch. I use a Propane torch, purchased from the plumbing section of a hardware store.
bright yellow eggs
slightly lighter eggs (sorta foamy too)
cooling
done (except for that one in the middle)