Pork On Your Fork: Baked Ham with Mojo Sauce

Times

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours

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Ingredients

1 bone-in ham, ready-to-eat (about 14-16 pounds)
4 cups Mojo Sauce
16 cloves
2-4 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cups dry white wine

Mojo Sauce:

16 cloves garlic , thinly sliced lengthwise
1 cup onion, finely slivered
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups fresh orange juice, (from 3 or 4 oranges)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice, (from 2 or 3 limes)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Papaya Salsa:

2 ripe papayas, (about 1 pound each)
2 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 tablespoon jalapeno chile, seeded and finely chopped
1/3 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, OR flat-leaf parsley
Zest of 2 limes, grated
1/3 cup fresh lime juice

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Cooking Directions

Prepare Mojo Sauce ahead of time. Set aside 2 cups of the sauce for serving.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place ham in shallow roasting pan; score a diamond pattern about 1/8-inch thick into the upper surface of the ham. Insert a clove at the crossed points of the diamonds.

Brush the ham with the mustard and sprinkle it with the brown sugar. Pour 1 cup of the Mojo Sauce over the top. Bake in the center of the heated oven for 2 hours or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest portion (not touching bone) registers 140°F (about 15-18 minutes per pound), basting every 20-30 minutes, alternating with 1/4 cup each white wine and remaining Mojo Sauce.

Transfer ham to platter. Let stand 15 minutes; slice and serve with the reserved 2 cups of Mojo Sauce and Papaya Salsa.

Serves 30.

Mojo Sauce:
In a medium bowl, combine garlic, onion, cumin, and salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the onion mixture and cook, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the orange juice, lime juice and vinegar and cook another 5 minutes for the flavors to blend. Cool to room temperature.
Makes 4 cups.

Papaya Salsa:
Peel and seed the papaya and cut it into 1/4-inch dice. Place in a medium-size bowl. Gently fold the tomatoes, jalapeño, red onion, cilantro and lime zest into the papaya. Toss in the lime juice. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use, no longer than 4 hours.
Makes about 4 cups.

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Serving Suggestions

Shake up the traditional holiday menu. Experiment with your ham this holiday by adding a twist to your traditional recipe.

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Nutrition

Calories: 420 calories
Protein: 29 grams
Fat: 29 grams
Sodium: 1580 milligrams
Cholesterol: 80 milligrams
Saturated Fat: 9 grams
Carbohydrates: 10 grams
Fiber: 1 grams

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Random Safety Tip:

Do not use the same surface for cutting uncooked meat and vegetables. Use different cutting board for uncooked meat.

www.porkbeinspired.com

Wordless Wednesday: 7.25.12

Pork On Your Fork: Pulled Pork Tostadas with Slaw and Chipotle Cream

Times

Prep Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients

1 pound cooked pulled pork , * warm or room temperature
3 or 4 limes
2 tablespoons canola oil, or other neutral-flavored oil
8 cups shredded cabbage, or 1 10-ounce bag coleslaw mix
3/4 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
Salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 chipotle chile from a can of chipotle chile in adobe sauce, seeded and finely minced
6 8-inch Tostadas, (flat, crisped corn tortillas)
2 tomatoes, diced
3 radishes, cut into wedges

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Cooking Directions

Halve and squeeze 1 or 2 of the limes to yield 2 tablespoons of juice. In a large bowl, combine the lime juice and oil. Add the cabbage, onion, and cilantro, tossing to combine. Add salt to taste. Cut the remaining 2 limes into 6 wedges each. Set the slaw and lime wedges aside.

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream and chipotle pepper. Season with salt and set aside.

Arrange the tortillas on plates. Top with the pork, slaw, sour cream mixture, and tomatoes. Arrange the lime and radish wedges alongside and serve.

Makes 6 servings

*Use Chili Rub Slow Cooker Pulled Pork leftovers for this recipe.

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Serving Suggestions

If you like, you can use regular tortillas, warmed up, instead of the crisped ones, to make soft tacos instead of tostadas. And you can experiment with the slaw to make it your own – try adding shredded zucchini, thinly sliced bell pepper, or diced cucumber.

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Nutrition

Calories: 350 calories
Protein: 22 grams
Fat: 12 grams
Sodium: 380 milligrams
Cholesterol: 50 milligrams
Saturated Fat: 2 grams
Carbohydrates: 39 grams
Fiber: 6 grams

Recipe from: PorkBeInspired.com

Wordless Wednesday: 7.18.12

Pork On Your Fork: Low and Slow Pulled Pork

Times

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Marinating Time: 24 hours

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Ingredients

1 Boston Butt roast, about 5 pounds
Hardwood chips, soaked in water for 1 hour
apple juice, for spritzing

Rub:

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup garlic , granulated
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup paprika
2 tablespoons onion, granulated
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground red pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Sauce:

3/4 cup cider vinegar
1 clove garlic , minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup chili sauce
2 tablespoons onion, chopped
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Dash ground red pepper

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Cooking Directions

Stir together all rub ingredients in a bowl. Store in an airtight container. Set aside.

Stir together all ingredients for the sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, 40 minutes.

Divide sauce into separate containers for basting and servings at the table. (Basting brushes used on raw food should not be dipped into table sauce.) Use as a basting sauce during the last 10 minutes of cooking for steak, pork, burgers, or chicken. Discard any remaining basting sauce, and refrigerate any leftover table sauce.

If needed, trim the fat back to about 1/8 inch thick on shoulder. Sprinkle meat generously with rub, massaging it into the meat. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and chill overnight in the refrigerator.

Smoking a large piece of meat takes a long time, so you’ll need to get an early start. Prepare your smoker or grill until the temperature reaches 250 degrees F. Take the meat out of the refrigerator, and let it sit for about 30 to 45 minutes. Having the pork at room temperature is very important, because if you put it on the smoker cold, the outer portion will burn.

Smoke is one of the main ingredients of good barbecue. Soak hickory wood chips (or any other hardwood chips used for barbecuing) in water overnight. This prevents them from burning. The chips smolder, producing smoke that flavors the meat during the cooking process. The smoke also lends a pink color to the outer inch or so of the flesh, creating what is called a “smoke ring.” A handful of wood chips should be added to the fire every 30 minutes or so. The more you add, the stronger flavor of smoke you get.

Place meat on the smoker fat side down. After two hours, turn the meat over so it is fat side up. Total cook time will be 1 1/2 hours per pound. Maintain the temperature in the smoker between 225 degrees F and 250 degrees F. Use a pit thermometer for an accurate reading If the smoker temperature is hotter than 250 degrees F, the meat will cook too quickly; any lower than 225 degrees F, and the meat will not get done. Every time wood chips or charcoal is added, spritz the meat with apple juice from a spray bottle. This will add moisture and a fruity background flavor during cooking.

Remove the meat from the smoker with two hours remaining, and place on heavy-duty aluminum foil. Spritz generously with apple juice, and tightly seal foil around pork. Place meat back on the smoker, and cook for two hours more. Using an instant-read meat thermometer, check the internal temperature of the thickest part of the meat, being careful not to touch bone with the tip of the thermometer. When the internal temperature reaches 195 degrees F, the pork is ready. Cooking the meat beyond the USDA guideline of 160 degrees F renders out the fat and tenderizes the meat.

Remove the meat from the smoker, and let it cool for 15 to 30 minutes. Remove foil after it has cooled enough to handle. Remove the bones, which will easily pull away. Begin pulling, or shredding, the meat with two large forks, and place in a large baking dish or pan. Remove and discard any remaining fat.

Add the sauce to pulled pork, and toss. This is a popular way to serve pulled pork in most regions. If you prefer, serve with additional sauce.

Serves 12-14

Recipe courtesy of Southern Living Bar-B-Que: The Ultimate Guide.m

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Serving Suggestions

Start with the right cut of meat. Most barbecue restaurants use whole pork shoulders, but they’re rarely available in grocery stores. If you find a whole shoulder, use it. Otherwise, we recommend a Boston butt, which is half of the shoulder, the other half being the picnic shoulder. The first nationally branded barbecue sauces were likely based on a Kansas City-style sauce like the one included here–thick, tomatoey, and sweet, with just a hint of hot.

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Nutrition

Calories: 308 calories
Protein: 29 grams
Fat: 8 grams
Sodium: 4046 milligrams
Cholesterol: 83 milligrams
Saturated Fat: 3 grams
Carbohydrates: 31 grams
Fiber: 3 grams

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Random Safety Tip:

Refrigerate leftover pork as soon as possible.

recipe from: porkbeinspired.com