Memorial 'All Things Pork' Day

With Memorial Day weekend coming up, I am hoping to spend my time outside at the BBQ.

I love food, love to be outside, love to grill. I can show off my patio or garden, invite friends, feed numerous amounts of people cheaply, and just enjoy our weather and a cold beverage. Grilling is an easy way to bring the ‘wow, this is good’ factor to your food. It is—by far—one of my favorite things to do in the summer, besides set off treasure hunting around town at the many yard sales. In fact, I found my grill at one such yard sale, where I paid a minimal price for a great gadget, complete with a tank of propane gas.

Since there has been a large sale on grill-worthy meat lately, I hope you all take advantage of our great weather and a three-day weekend. I picked up a bunch of pork ribs and after my Memorial ‘All Things Pork’ Day, I am going to experiment with some of these recipes so I can have scrumptious lunches for the duration of the week. If pork is your choice, check out my recipes for this blog. If it is chicken, see the great recipes in last week's blog on Planning A Week of Food. And if it is steak, shoot me some recipes for next week!

Spices and Sauces

For my day of grilling pork, I am doing pork ribs, pork chops, a tenderloin, and two packages that were in my cousins freezer labeled 'pork'. I am going to dry rub them with spice and throw them on the grill 'til they are done.

Cajun Spices

3 tablespoons sweet paprika

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves

2 tablespoons dried sweet basil

1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon white pepper

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon salt

Dash chili powder

Dash cumin powder

Mix dry ingredients together using a fork or place them in a jar, cover & shake until they are mixed thoroughly. Store in tightly covered container.makes about 1/2 cup

Blackberry Barbecue Sauce

This makes about 8 servings and add a subtlely sweet flavor to the pork. Recipe from The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creale Cuisine by John Folse

1/2 cup blackberry preserves

1 1/2 cup ketchum

1/8 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cane syrup (Louisiana cane syrup is the best)

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon mustard powder

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 cup fresh blackberries

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well. Brush sauce over grilled pork tenderloin, pork chops or ribs when they are almost cooked.

 

After my pork is cooked, I usually pull off all the meat and shred it. I do this using two forks and just tearing the meat apart. One EASY thing to do is to top the meat with BBQ sauce and enjoy a sando. But here are two different options:

BBQ Pork Pizza

2/3 cup barbecue sauce

1 prepared pizza dough (i like the Pillsbury ones that you can roll-out and prebake)

3/4 cup shredded Gouda

1 cup shredded mozzarella

3/4 cup Parmesan

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/4-1/2 pound shredded pork

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a small bowl, toss pork with 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce. Set aside. On a floured surface, roll out dough and place on a greased sheet pan. Shape to fill the sheet pan, about a 15 by 10-inch rectangle. Spread remaining barbecue sauce evenly over pizza dough. Sprinkle Gouda, mozzarella, Parmesan, onions, pepper  and pork over top. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and cut into pieces.

Pork Fajitas with Mango Black Bean Salsa

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon salt or spices

1/4-1/2 pound of your leftover pork (can be sliced, shredded, etc)

6 scallions, trimmed

Flour tortillas, at least 6

Mango Black Bean Salsa

1 large mango, chopped

1/2 red onion, diced

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and diced

dash of jalepeno juice

juice of one lime

1/2 teaspoon cajun spices (or salt)

For the salsa: Combine all ingredients in a meduim bowl. Stir well, cover and refrigerate until ready to use

For the fajitas: Whisk together lime juice, cilantro, garlic, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and salt. Place pork in baking dish and pour lime dressing over pork. Cover and let sit for 15-20 minutes while making salsa. Heat up a saute' pan and grill scallions until crisp. Remove pork from dressing and add to pan to heat. Divide pork and scallions among tortillas. Top with salsa. Serve.

Y'all have a great Memorial Day weekend. There is so much going on around town. Enjoy!