Really Good Pork Tenderloin

Grilled Mustard Pork Tenderloin

I went to a baby shower for my awesome Zumba teacher yesterday. I decided to bring pork tenderloin sandwiches because who does not like pork tenderloin sandwiches? I remember going to parties in the South and there always being a tray of pork tenderloin with a basket of rolls and Jezebel sauce. I wanted to put my own spin on these sandwiches and update them a little. I rubbed mine in mustard and let sit for one day. I grilled them, sliced them, and served them with three different sauces. Remember, buns are certainly optional. My hubs was my official taste tester and he voted the Teriyaki reduction as being the best. Here is what I did.

Pork Tenderloin with Three Sauces (Serves 4) 


1 Pork Tenderloin (I used 3 loins because it was for a party)
1/4 cup of dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper
EVOO
Dinner rolls (optional)

For Sauces:

Mayonnaise
Chipotle in Adobo Peppers
Sour Cream
Mustard
Teriyaki
Orange Marmelade or Apricot Preserves
Salt/Pepper
EVOO

For Pork: 


1) Season both sides of pork tenderloin with salt/pepper
2) In a plastic baggie, mix mustard and olive oil (maybe like 2-3 Tbls of EVOO)
3) Add pork to the baggie
4) Make sure the pork is coated and then place in the refrigerator
5) Let sit 12-24 hours
6) When it is time to cook the meat, start your grill. I made a small fire because I didn't have much charcoal and did not want to make a huge fire that would burn my pork.
7) Place pork on hot side of grill when coals are ashy. If the fire is too big and the meat is smoking, cover the grill and it will calm it down a bit
8) Flip the pork when one side is browned (maybe like 4 minutes per side)
9) When both sides are browned and caramelized, put the cover on the grill so they will cook slowly
10) If cooking the pork ahead of time and reheating, pull the pork when the internal temp registers 140
11) If cooking and eating immediately, pull the pork at 155. It will continue to cook off of the grill

This pork was so good. They were smoky and tender. Maybe the best tenderloin I have ever made. The mustard tenderizes the meat. Try this recipe now. Seriously.

I made three different sauces. Sauces are simple, but fancy. They do add something to your food and make your friends and family think you worked really hard!

Chipotle Mayo


Mix one cup of store bought good quality mayonnaise with two (or 3) finely chopped chipotle peppers. Chipotle peppers come in a can and are simply pickled jalapenos. They are quite spicy so be careful. Mix together, taste and then season with salt/pepper. Simple and yummy. Serve this sauce with sandwiches or fish tacos!

Mustard Sour Cream Spread


Mix one cup of full fat sour cream (reduced fat is okay) with 1/4 cup dijon mustard and 1/4 stone ground mustard. Mix well. Taste and add salt/pepper as needed. This sauce is wonderful for beef or prime rib.

Teriyaki Reduction


This sauce is simple, but absolutely delicious. I didn't eat too much of it because there was gluten in the teriyaki sauce that I bought. Did you know that soy sauce has gluten in it? Use Tamari for gluten free soy. Anyway, I poured about 10 ounces of teriyaki sauce in a sauce pan and let it reduce, reduce, and reduce. It was thick and super salty. To decrease the saltiness, I stirred in 1 TBL of mustard, 1 TBL of orange marmalade (apricot preserves would have been awesome too!) and 1 TBL of EVOO. I stirred vigorously and it came out perfect. Use this sauce as a glaze for pork tenderloin, ribs, or chicken. 

*Remember that when glazing meats, only glaze them in the last 5-10 minutes of cooking. There is a lot of sugar in this glaze, so it will burn VERY easily. Only glaze at the end. The same is true for BBQ chicken or ribs.

Cheers!

Pan-Fried Pork Chops

So, I am a Southerner. We love fried food. I never actually eat it, but the thought of chicken-fried steak or buttermilk fried chicken certainly makes me think about when I lived in Arkansas and my mom would make chicken fried steak once a year. We would have cream gravy and mashed potatoes. Yumm-o. Since giving up carbs, I have wanted to see if I could make Southern staples without using flour or gluten. Enter Almond Flour. Now, granted this is not the same taste at using flour, but my husband and I liked these pork chops just the same. 

Pan Fried Pork Chops (Serves 2)

2  1-inch pork chops (whatever cut you like. I think mine were center cut)

1  Cup Almond Flour (Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour)

1  Egg

1  Splash of cream or whole milk

1  Splash hot sauce

1/4 Tsp of dried herbs

Salt and Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1) Dry pork chops with paper towel

2) Lightly pound with a mallet to tenderize 

3) Salt and Pepper the chops; Set aside

4) Get out two bowls; one for almond meal and one for egg/milk

5) Whisk one egg in one bowl. Add hot sauce, salt/pepper

6) Pour one cup of almond flour in the second bowl for dredging

7) Put one chop in the egg. Coat both sides. Let the excess drip off

8) Then place the eggy chop in the flour. Press down and then flip, making sure that the flour is on both sides
9) Do the same thing to the other chop. Set aside for up to 15 minutes
10) Using medium heat, heat the oil in a heavy bottom skillet. Only use enough to coat the bottom
11) To test the readiness of the oil, sprinkle a tiny bit of flour into the oil. If is bubbles, it's ready
12) Place chops in the oil and cook until brown on one side (3-4 min). Remember, the chops should bubble in the oil. If they are not bubbling, the heat is too low. Additionally, don't put those chops on high heat. They will burn. Flip when browned. Cook until both sides are browned and the meat is cooked.
13) Use your meat thermometer to test the doneness of the meat. Pork should be pulled at 155-160.
14) Serve with a lemon wedge and whatever side you desire.

These were wonderful. I liked the crunchiness of the crust. In retrospect, I wish I had soaked the chops in buttermilk all day to ensure tenderness or perhaps a brine of equal parts sugar and salt in a bowl of water would have been a good idea. They were fine just the way that they were.  Cheers!

THE BEST BREAD EVER!!!!! Seriously.

No-Knead Bread ready for the oven

Bread baked to absolute perfection!

In an attempt to diversify this blog and post something other than meat, here you go. This is the best bread you will ever eat! Run, don't walk and go make this bread. It is f'in good.  Seriously, I can't bake. I am not exact or patient enough. This is a bread recipe we got from our next door neighbor. Before giving up gluten, this was just about my favorite things to eat. Give me some butter and some fresh bread and I was a happy camper.

This recipe was taken from the New York Times who took the recipe from a baker in NYC. This is called no-knead bread because seriously, this is the easiest bread you will ever bake.

Here is what I did. Remember that the options are endless. The picture is of walnut, cinnamon and raisin bread. It is perfect just plain. Add herbs or sun-dried tomatoes or olives. My neighbor added figs and walnuts. OMG!

No-Knead Bread (this is for plain bread)

3 cups of bread flour (extra for dusting)
1/4 tsp instant yeast (ours was like the super instant yeast)
1 5/8 cups of water
1 and 1/4 tsp salt
450 degree oven
5 qt or small dutch oven with lid or cast iron pot with lid

*This requires a lot of rising. So make it the night before and have it ready for the next night.

1) Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a bowl. Slowly add water to the mix. It should be shaggy and sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for 18 hours. First step....done! Dough is ready when there are bubbles on it. Make sure the dough is in a warm place. We were making bread in the wintertime, so we had to take our bread upstairs to rise because Chicago is brutal in the winter.  Since going no-carb, this bread does not enter our house. Poor hubs.

2) When the dough is bubbled, you are ready for the next step. Put some parchment on a sheet pan or cookie sheet (might be a good idea to grease the parchment). Take out the bread with rubber spatula and put on parchment. You can fold it,* but I never did...too lazy for that. I seriously just plopped it on the parchment and covered it with a towel.

*After the bread rises for 18 hours, the original recipe calls for putting the dough on a floured surface and folding it several times. My neighbor and I deem this step unnecessary. We move the dough straight from the bowl to the parchment lined cookie sheet. Whatever you decide, the dough needs to rise two more hours. Cover it with a damp kitchen towel. The first picture depicts what it should look like.

3) As oven preheats to 450, put the cast iron or dutch oven pot in the oven. This step helps make a crust on the bread. The pot will be super hot. In the meantime, cut out some parchment that fits in the bottom of the pot. It can be a guesstimate. You really can't mess this up.

4) Carefully remove the bread from the parchment and put it in pot when the oven is ready. Wear your oven mits. That pot should be hot.  COVER!!!! and put it in the oven. It does not matter if it looks sloppy. With parchment, it is a cinch to get out.

5) Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake 15-30 minutes. It will be golden brown and will make your house smell amazing.

Note: if you want to add things to your dough, add it before you have added the water. Mix it well with the dry ingredients. Don't overmix after the water has been added. This is true of all baked goods. You will have to play around with it. The recipe above is for plain bread. If adding ingredients like raisins or dried fruits, you may need to change around how much water you add. Dried fruits soak up liquid. Regardless of the ingredients you add, the dough should be sticky and thick. As always, altitude affects baking. We are on flat land, so mountain bakers will likely have to play around with it.

Enjoy this recipe for me. I would totally eat bread if this was placed in front of me. Call me weak, but this bread will change your life. Thanks to my Polish neighbor for turning me on to this one. They have not bought bread in 2.5 years. Cheers.

Heaven on a Plate

Marinated Wings before Grilling

I am now finding myself obsessed with chicken wings. I don't know why this is the case. My Whole Paycheck has organic and free-range chicken wings that are amazing. This week, I bought two different packages including the drumsticks and the wings. They were DELISH! The morning before I cooked them, I seasoned them up with homemade blackening seasoning, which was a mix of paprika, pepper, salt, cayenne, and garlic and onion powder. The recipe for this rub can be found on the blackened pork chop post.  I put them in a baggie with the seasoning and some EVOO and threw them on the grill that night. My hubs and I enjoyed them immensely, putting our arms on the table and chewing the meat off of the bone. This is not a meal for dainty eaters or for those that don't like bone-in chicken.  

Blackened Chicken Wings and Drumsticks (Serves 4) 

2 packages of wings (around 3 pounds)

2 TBL of blackening rub or your favorite rub (if your rub has salt, be careful how much you add)

Olive Oil

1 big baggie or bowl for marinating

1) Start up your grill with your coals on one side. I used a lot of charcoal because I had a lot of chicken

2) When it is ready, spread the charcoal out around the entire grill

3) Put chicken on the grill 

4) Cover your grill if it is super hot (don't let that chicken burn)

5) Flip the chicken when a nice crust has formed. You want crispy skin on all pieces

6) Be mindful that chicken wings cook faster than small drummies

7) Cook until the juices are no longer run pink. Cut one open if you have doubts

8) Let the chicken rest for five minutes while you get everything else ready

9) Serve them family style. Mine were so good with all that crispy skin

Don't be scared to cook these cheaper and less desirable pieces of meat. Chicken breasts are super expensive and honestly don't have enough fat for my taste. 

3 More Ideas

These wings can be coated with anything. 1) If you like BBQ wings, brush your favorite sauce on the wings at the last minute because the sauce will burn (maybe like 2 minutes before they are done).  2) If you want grilled buffalo wings, mix up butter and hot sauce and then coat the wings with the sauce after they are grilled. Maybe about one cup of hot sauce and 3 TBL of butter. Serve with bleu cheese. 3) For an Asian flare, grill as described and serve with a dipping sauce. Mix 1/4 cup soy sauce or gluten free Tamari, 1 Tsp of brown sugar, a splash of sriracha sauce and 1/2 tsp fresh ginger. Garnish with cilantro leaves and lime wedges. Remember to always taste your food. If it does not taste good to you, change it up. Be kitchen adventurers!

Plate of Perfectly Cooked Blackened Wings

Easy Sausage and Cabbage Bake

This recipe was taken from Mark Sisson, who wrote the Primal Cookbook. It is a Paleo friendly meal, but could be served with potatoes on the side. I like the idea of cooking things in one pot and this one is super easy for busy home cooks. We ate ours with mustard and giardinara, which is spicy pickled vegetables packed in oil. My hubs can not eat any sort of sausage without giardinara. I am somewhat addicted to it too. I think I may need to come up my own recipe using olive oil instead of the commonly used canola oil.

Sausage and Cabbage (serves 4)


1) Preheat oven to 375.
2) Thinly slice green cabbage
3) Thinly slice pork kielbasa. Ours was nitrite free. If using turkey, add more fat to the recipe.
4) Scatter cabbage in a baking dish
5) Place sausage on top of cabbage in one even layer
6) Dollop bacon grease or butter on top of the sausage
7) Salt and Pepper the entire thing
8) Cover the casserole and put in oven for 30 minutes
9) Remove foil and cook for 10 more minutes
10) Serve with mustard or hot pickled vegetables (whatever you like!)

This was a winner. The cabbage was cooked perfectly and honestly, there is no better combination than cabbage and sausage. I actually assembled mine the day before so when I got home, I could immediately put the casserole dish in the oven. Enjoy!

Cowboy Ribeyes

Man oh man, do I love meat...my sister and I cooked a 2.5 pound bone-in ribeye (or cowboy ribeye). It was massive and probably would have cost close to 100 dollars in a steak house. It was so gorgeous. We decided to cook it a little differently than I normally do. Now, I am a tried and true believer in grilling steaks. My husband really can't eat a steak any other way. My sis wanted to prepare it "au poivre" style which really means that course ground pepper is pressed firmly into the steak. When the steak is done, you make a pan sauce with heavy cream and cognac. Traditionally, this preparation is for leaner pieces of meat because the sauce is super rich. But, being good southern girls and die hard meat eaters, we decided that we might as well put this decadent sauce on top of a huge ribeye. Damn, it was f'in good! Here is what we did.

Cowboy Ribeyes "au Poivre" (serves two serious meat eaters with leftovers or a normal family of 4)

1 2-2.5 pound bone-in ribeye (we shopped at whole paycheck for this steak)
2 tbls of peppercorns pounded with a mallet
1-2 tbls of course kosher or sea salt
3 sprigs of Thyme
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup cognac for deglazing
Shallot or finely diced onion
1 garlic clove
Butter
Olive Oil

1) Smash peppercorns with a mallet in a baggie. Mix salt and pepper together and put on a plate. Firmly press steak on both sides into the salt and pepper mixture. It is a lot of both, but this steak is huge so you want to flavor it. Let sit for several hours to penetrate the meat.

2) Melt butter and olive oil in the pan. Get the pan smokin' hot. We used a ceramic Le Creuset pan, but castiron would have been preferable.

3) Put steak in hot pan. Sear the fire out of it. DO NOT TOUCH IT! Let it cook for five-seven minutes and then take a peak at the steak. You will likely need to turn the heat down to medium after the initial sear.

4) After 5 minutes, dump out browned oil (ours was butter and it looked black so we got rid of it and added more fat). Then replace some oil and flip steak. Let cook for five minutes.

5) Sear the sides of the meat where all that luxurious fat is. It makes a difference. My sis took tongs and pressed the steak on each side into the pan. It sizzled a lot, but really cooked the fat well.

6) Depending on how you like your steak, you can finish this steak in a 350 oven. Using a meat thermometer, take the meat out when it is five degrees below the desired temperature. There is carry over cooking. We opted against finishing in the oven.  We continued to flip the steak, but turned our heat down. The second side had the MOST AMAZING CRUST I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!!

7) Once steak is done, tent it with fool on a plate. Turn down heat and add onion and garlic. Saute quickly. Remove the pan from the heat and then add the cognac. Light it on fire with a lighter. It will blaze, but it really helps cook off the alcohol. Put it back on the heat and stir.

8) Add cream and thyme. Let reduce and thicken. This sauce is soooo freakin good. It can be used on any meats really.

9) Slice meat after 10 minutes of resting. Be careful to cut around the bone. Save the bone for stock!

2.5 pound bone-in ribeye

Peppercorn encrusted steak cooking on first side

Perfectly cooked steak resting (look at that crust!)

Sliced ribeye cooked rare

10) Spoon sauce over the meat. It only needs a little bit.

11) Serve with desired sides, such as a green salad or roasted asparagus. We served ours with roasted yellow beets and a spanish red wine called Tres Picos. Cheers!

Colorful Eating

Arkansas tomatoes, fresh fried egg, bacon, avocado and mixed vegetables

I think that we eat with our eyes first. My obsession with food is often viewed as strange by those in my life. Just because it is breakfast doesn't mean that food should not be pretty and taste good....there is a t-shirt posted by a paleo blog that reads "I don't Eat Crap!" This is my philosophy. I posted this picture because of the colors. It was absolutely delicious. I have been eating veggies for breakfast because they add bulk to my protein. Since changing diets, I have been eating more vegetables than I have ever eaten. It is a good thing.

An easy thing to do for breakfast is to heat up last night's vegetables or add some fresh vegetables and cook them in the fat from the egg and bacon. Always season every layer and pay attention to the way the food looks on your plate. If I am bored, I will eat things I shouldn't. If the plate is pretty and interesting, I am much happier.