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Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Grilled Pork with Fennel, Cumin, and Red Onion

We have been madly using up pork from a heritage pig we got last summer because it is currently impossible to get a new freezer (we ordered one at the beginning of the pandemic with an estimated delivery in August), and we have a potential cow on order waiting for a meat locker to have room for it.  So, we need to empty our freezer!
This was delicious, with tons of flavor.  The only downside is that while we served it with grilled summer squash, which is lovely, the flavor of the pork just completely overwhelmed the pork.  Serve with a rice pilaf.

  • 1 ¾ pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
  •  Kosher salt
  • 1 lime, plus some wedges for serving
  • ¼ cup cilantro or basil, leaves and tender stems, plus more for serving
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
  • 1 jalapeño or other green chile, seeded if desired
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 ½ tablespoons fennel seeds
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
  • 1 small red onion, sliced, for serving
  1. Season pork lightly with kosher salt and put it in a bowl or resealable bag.Juice the lime into a blender or food processor and add cilantro, fish sauce, garlic, jalapeño and honey. Blend until the jalapeño and garlic are puréed, then add fennel, cumin, coriander seeds and pulse four or five times to bruise the spices and mix them in.
  2. Pour mixture over the pork, tossing to coat the pieces. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes while you heat the grill, or up to 24 hours.  When ready to cook, heat the grill or broiler with a rack positioned 4 inches from the heat source.
  3. Thread the pork onto skewers, leaving a little space between cubes. Grill over the highest heat possible, or broil on high, for 2 to 5 minutes, then flip the skewers and continue cooking until the meat is browned all over and charred in spots. It should be just cooked through: A little pink is OK, but there shouldn’t be any red spots.
  4. Serve the pork with cilantro sprigs and onion slices on top, and lime wedges on the side for squeezing.

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