Stinchetti di Maiale Arrosto - Italian Pork Shanks adapted for the Pressure Cooker

The air has the cool bite to it.  Although I'm not thrilled with the prospect of several winter months ahead, it does inspire comfort food.  What better than slow cooked pork shanks.  Or, if you don't have time for the slow cooking, the perfect alternative is to do them in the pressure cooker.


I'm not familiar with the Italian name in the title, but had found this recipe and thought it would adapt well to the pressue cooker.  It reminds me a lot of my pork osso buco in the pressure cooker recipe but without the tomatos.  What I really like about this one is that you can use your bounty of fresh herbs from the garden (as long as you still have them).  In this case, rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage. 

It's quite simple, you use pork shanks, trimmed of the thick skin and seasoned with salt and pepper. Brown them along with the rosemary.  Add veggies, wine, more herbs, bouillion.  Bring your pressure cooker to pressure and 25 minutes later you have a delicious comfort food dinner. 

Italian Pork Shanks - in the Pressure Cooker

4 meaty pork shanks, trimmed of fat
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 sprigs rosemary

1/2 cup dry white wine (pinot grigio)
1/2 cup chicken boullion
2 large carrots, 1/4" slice
1 stalk celery sliced
1 onion, diced
2-3 sage leaves
2 sprigs thyme, stem removed
1 small bunch parlsey, chopped

Heat the olive oil in the pressure cooker.  Season the meat with salt and pepper then sear on all sides alongside the rosemary.  Remove the rosemary and add the remaining ingredients to the pot.  Secure the lid and bring to pressure, reduce heat enough to keep pressure.  Cook for 20 minutes and then let the pressure drop on its own. 

OMG - Pulled Pork Tinga

UPDATE: See the end of this post for another instalment of using up the leftovers - smoked pulled pork pizza. This is a teaser photo right below - it's not pork tinga!

This would be an instalment in my using up the leftovers of the "Cheap Ass Monday" Smoked Pork Picnic Roast. Although I've been using up the pork, I'm pacing myself on the postings. (Pacing=lazy)

Oh my god.

That was my first reaction to my first bite of this recipe.

After mulling over my leftover options, I decided to text one of my girlfriends from Mexico to get an idea. A simple text saying "I've got a bunch of left over pulled pork - any Mexican recipes for using it up" led to a flurry of texts for Tinga. And baby, it was so worth piecing together the multiple texts.

In fact, making this dish was thrilling on so many levels - and I can honestly say that doesn't happen every day in general cookery.

My first thrill was using a brand new All-Clad 3 quart cassoulet that I added to my collection. What the hell a cassoulet is for, I don't know (surely not just cassoulet), but it was a thrill to use. So I started by sautéing some diced onions until just starting to brown then added some of the pulled pork leftovers.

Meanwhile, thrill number two arose, when I used a food processor to puree 2 large tomatoes, a large clove of garlic and 2 chipotles in adobo sauce. This was a thing of beauty. The resulting sauce was such a deep luscious colour, I knew I was onto something good.

I added the puree to the pork mixture, along with 1/2 cup of orange juice and salt and pepper and let it simmer. Again, it just looked completely fantastic. Thrilling, in fact.

I had zipped to the grocery after work to buy tostadas (actually Wal-Mart - a store which is a negative thrill, but they actually carry proper tostadas) so after the Tinga had simmered for 1/2 hour I was ready for assembly.

My girlfriend is travelling right now, so I can't confirm the proper, traditional way to serve Tinga. So I simply put some pork on a tostada, added lettuce, cheese and sour cream. I would have added avocado but the one I had on hand wasn't quite ripe.

Then I had a bite. Oh my god. It was amazing. I couldn't believe the flavours. To coin a phrase from

Moe the Bartender on The Simpsons "It's like a party in my mouth and everyone's invited". That Moe, he knows how to call it.

Pulled Pork Tinga Recipe
1 tbsp oil
1/2 large onion diced
2 cups pulled pork (leftovers)
2 large ripe tomatoes, cored
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (with sauce)
1 large clove garlic
1/2 cup orange juice

To serve: Tostadas, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, chopped avocado, sour cream

Heat the oil in a large saucepan (or cassoulet pan if you have) until just starting to brown. Add the pulled pork and mix. Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, peppers and garlic in a food processor. Add to the pork along the orange juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer a 1/2 hour until somewhat reduced.

LEFTOVER UPDATE:

Smoked Pulled Pork and Pineapple Pizza

I won't go into the prep details for this (I'll save that for another blog - but I used more of the smoked pork picnic roast to do a smoked pizza. The result was pretty good. I really liked that it didn't have the processed flavour of bought pork product, but it wasn't exactly like ham and pineapple pizza either. It was pretty much unto its own.

"Cheap Ass Monday" - Smoked Pork Picnic Roast

You may be wondering why the "Cheap Ass Monday" bit in the title. Well it's to flag that this post is intended to be a submission to Michelle over at Thursday Night Smackdown for her "Cheap Ass Monday" (formerly "hobo Mondays") monthly event - where a dinner for six can cost no more than $13.

It is pure coincidence that I'm making a smoked pulled pork dish on the heels of Michelle's recent smoke-a-thon. You see, I was at the grocery yesterday and they had these pork picnic roasts (hock removed) on sale. How could I resist. It was screaming "smoke me" I'm cheap!

Usually when I make pulled pork, I use a pork blade shoulder roast . But when I saw these big pork shoulder picnic roasts, I figured I should throw all caution to the wind and give it a whirl.

I began by trimming the excess fat from the roast. EXCESS fat, not ALL. This is critical to the end product. Not only does it keep the meat tender during its long cooking process, but it also creates the most amazing crispy crust on the outside that is worth the whole dinner in itself.

I slathered one of my favourite spicy dry rub recipes. This is a concoction I created by picking and choosing things I liked from different recipes. I make it in bulk and use it on various meats/cuts including chicken and pork ribs. I've even contemplated packaging it as a gift for friends and family at Christmas, but the lazy side of me always interferes.

I wrapped the rubbed roast in plastic wrap and let it sit for an hour to "marinate." I should note that it was 9:00 a.m. as this is one of those low and slow recipes. Then it was smoking time. I preheated the smoker, filled with maple pellets for 15 minutes. I then put the rubbed roast on (plastic wrapped removed- in case you are silly enough to think it stay) and turned the heat to 225F. A bit of basting and 8 hours later you're ready to eat!

For sides dishes I made a smoked potato casserole (yes I just made this last week, but it was so delicious I was craving it and had to make it again), and a simple tomato salad (yayyyy - I finally have productive basil in the yard to do this).

When the pork roast was ready it looked amazing, and tasted even more amazing. I had originally planned to drench it with a bbq sauce, but it was so good on its own I didn't - turns out this was an opportunity. . . .

As for the pork picnic roast - I will choose it over the pork blade roast from now on for pulled pork. It was much better for "pulling" and had tonnes of meat.

This was originally a dinner for 6 (that's what the math is based on), but the pork roast turned out to be so big that I've got enough leftovers to get me through numerous meals. A Challenge! I plan to use the leftovers in various meals for the next few days (i.e. Before I get sick of eating pork or before it starts to grow some crazy bacteria that will make me sick).

Stay tuned. . . .

The Math:
for Cheap Ass Monday, Smoked Pork Picnic Roast for Dinner for 6 per instructions
Pork Roast $6.00Potato Casserole Ingredients ($1.59+$.59+$1.5+$1.89+$.25)
Tomato Salad ($1.15 + $1.5)
Total: 14.47 CDN - converted to USD $13.29*
*yes its slightly over the limit, but if the CDN dollar hadn't strengthened this last week it would have been well over


Spicy Dry Rub for a Plenitude of Purposes
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
Mix all ingredients together. If making the bulk mix using a strainer to remove any lumps. Store in airtight container.

Smoked Pork Picnic Shoulder Roast
1 6-8 lb pork shoulder picnic roast
1 recipe dry rub mix (above)

Trim the roast of excess fat - but not all. Be sure to leave a thin layer to keep the roast moist during cooking and create a delicious crackling whilst cooking. Rinse with water.

Rub the roast all over with the dry rub and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Let sit for one hour to "marinate." 15 minutes before it's ready prepare the smoker by heating it on high with maple wood. Turn the heat to low or 225F and put the roast on. Baste with Raspberry baste every hour for 8 hours until the roast is cooked.

Once cooked, remove from smoker. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Pull the pork into strip using a fork and a knife. Be sure to remove excess fat, but keep the crispy crackling (you may even want to snack on it as you go).

Raspberry Vinegar Baste
1/2 cup raspberry vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt
Mix all ingredients together.

Crabapple Glazed Ribs

We had determined that we would have ribs for supper this evening, and I was anxious to put them to test in the pressure cooker, but what kind. I was in the mood for nicely glazed ribs with a bit of heat and a bit of sweet.

The original recipe is one that I've made several times and is actually for Baked Maple Ribs from The Spice Ingredients Cookbook. But I didn't have the staple ingredient, maple syrup, on hand. I figured, that apart from a bit of a maple flavour, the intent was a sticky, sweet ending. So, surely crabapple jelly would be a reasonable substitute.

First I sautéed some onions and garlic right in the pressure cooker until they were softened. I added crabapple jelly, soy sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, chopped fresh ginger, paprika, mustard powder, balsamic vinegar, and sambel olek for heat. I brought it all to a simmer. I carefully placed individual ribs from a rack of baby back ribs into the pot so that each one was in the sauce. I would say that this is key to the end product.

I put the lid on and let it come to pressure. They cooked at high pressure for 20 minutes and I let the pressure drop on it's own for some extra cooking time.

When I opened the pot, I could tell that any part of the rib that wasn't submersed in the sauce, didn't capture any of the colour. It wasn't particularly attractive or appetizeing. But, they were definitely done and very tender, but in terms of appearance, they didn't look great. To help out with this I decided to put them into a separate dish, pour the sauce over and finish in the over for a few minutes to get a better looking dish.

That worked! Although it dirtied an extra dish, it was worth it as they were attractive enough to set on the table or serve to company without having to blindfold them (usually a plus for entertaining).

Another pressure cooker victory! Tasty, tender ribs in minutes.

Crabapple Glazed Ribs
Adapted from The Spice Ingredients Cookbook

1 rack pork baby back ribs
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion diced
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup crabapple jelly
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sambel olek

Heat the olive oil right in the pressure cooker. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until softened. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to simmer. Arrange the ribs in a single layer in the pressure cooker. Secure the lid and bring to high pressure. Reduce heat (without losing pressure) and cook for 20 minutes. Let the pressure drop on its own. Remove the ribs to a baking dish and pour remaining sauce over. Finish in a 350F oven for 5-10 minutes.

Comfort Food - Pork Osso Buco

Here it is. March. It's still winter (at least where I am) and they're still talking about a recession. But signs are coming that spring is near (there was actually a few spits of rain today during my 7 minute commute after work). So time is running out on those wonderful comfort-food meals that you make during the dark nights of winter.

Tonight I'm making Pork Osso Buco. An oxymoron you ask? Isn't Osso Buco always from veal? Technically, yes. And I'm sure there are Italians reeling at this bastardization of a traditional recipe. But pork is a good substitute for a number of reasons:

1. Although I'm clearly a carnivore, I always get a sad twinge when eating veal (have you seen a baby cow - they're so darned cute). Of course, I get over it and still eat my veal, but nonetheless, there's a twinge.
2. Economy. I use pork hocks vs. veal shanks. Pork hocks are lower down on the leg of the animal than the shank, and are insanely cheap, but incredibly delicious and great for yourself or even a dinner with guests.
3. It's different. Why do the same thing all the time?
   

Let's begin.

The first time I made Osso Bucco, I used a recipe by Tyler Florence from his real kitchen cookbook. I've really liked celebrity chef Tyler Florence ever since his Food 911 days (I wish they would bring back re-runs of this show, or some DVD version). I remember being on a trip to Boulder, Colorado right when this cookbook was out and was elated to find a deal on it. Worth every penny.

The thing about pork shanks is they are often big, or perhaps long is the better description. So I get my butcher to cut them in half (not lengthwise) and plan for each piece to be a portion. I start by dredging the hocks in the flour mixture. And then I tie with butcher string to help them from falling apart while cooking.

Heat your pressure cooker pot on med-high heat. Melt some margarine (or oil and butter mixture). And brown the shanks on all sides. Remove the shanks to a plate.
Now it's veggie time. Chop an onion, some carrots, some celery, and garlic.

Put them into the pressure cooker which you've already prepared your pork hocks in. Chuck in some bay leaves and thyme. And wait. The aroma of this mixture is heavenly. I wish you could put scents on the internet (good ones at least) because at this point, your kitchen is smelling great. (Add to this some garlic roasting in the oven for the garlic mashed potato accompaniment and you'll pretty much be drooling on the counter).

Once the veggies have softened and started to get some nice colour, add some red wine. I will restate here, the rule of thumb which I'm sure you've heard a million times, do not use cooking wine and do not use wine that you wouldn't drink. This doesn’t mean that you have to use expensive wine, but please try to use something relatively decent.

Let the wine simmer down, and then add some canned consommé and some tomatoes. I used canned tomatoes that were drained. Per a former blog, I've discovered that you don't need as much liquid when utilizing pressure cooker technology.

Although I find that I'm quite enjoying the speed and quality of pressure cooked meals, this is where it gets boring. Put the lid on according to the manufacturers instructions, set to high pressure, and once the it reaches pressure. Wait for 50 minutes.

Boring.

Yet fast.

At least compared to the usual 3-4 hours of cook time.

After 50 minutes of cooking under pressure. I turned the burner off. I let the dish reduce pressure on it's own. The final dish was delicious. Still a lot more watery than if done in the oven (reduce liquid even more next time). I served over garlic mashed potatoes (my own recipe). Yummy!

I'm quite amazed that I was able to do this meal on a week night. A dish that's usually 3-4 hours, was more tender than ever, and done within with 1.5 hours total. I still found it had a bit too much liquid, so next time I try this in the pressure cooker, I would reduce the liquids a bit more.

I served over yummy garlic mashed (not smashed) potatoes.


Pork Osso Buco in a Pressure Cooker
This recipe is inspired by Tyler Florence's real kitchen but has been changed quite a bit for pressure cooker and general ingredient purposes.

2 pork hocks, cut in half
Flour for dredging seasoned with salt and pepper
4 tablespoons margarine
1 medium onion diced
1 celery stalk sliced or diced
2 carrots peeled and chopped
3 large garlic cloves chopped
2 bay leave
2 tsp dried thyme
2 cups red wine (I'd use less next time)
1/2 can consommé
1 large can tomatoes drained

Dredge the pork hocks in seasoned flour. Melt the margarine in the pressure cooker and brown the hocks on all sides. Once browned remove to a plate (for now). Add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves and thyme. Sauté until soft and a bit coloured. Add the wine and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add the consommé and tomatoes. Return the hocks back to the pressure cooker. Secure the lid. Bring to high pressure and let cook for 50 minutes.