Recipe: Soy Honey-glazed Ham with Cucumber Cashew Salsa

Glazed ham recipe

Ham and smoked pork shoulder are two cuts of pork that get a lot of limelight leading up to Easter. Shortly after, it seems to fade away, back into the sidelines while most people return to roasting chickens, grilling steaks, so on and so forth…

Me? Well, you’ll find a ham in my fridge more often than not. Since it’s already been cooked, it lasts a long time and is ideal for many things from cubing up into a simple omelette to mac and cheese, soups and more.

This recipe takes thick slices of ham (or smoked pork shoulder — the main difference is that they are different cuts of meat, but processed the same way) and turns them into filling, sweet-savoury dinner steaks in no-time. The cucumber cashew salsa helps brighten things up  too.

This dish is just begging to be eaten outside on your back deck. Weather permitting, of course!

What you’ll need…

Cucumber cashew “salsa”:

1/2 long English cucumber (diced)

3 green onions (thinly sliced)

1 bird’s eye chili (thinly sliced)

1 lemon (zest and juice)

1 cup cashews (roughly chopped)

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Glaze:

1/2 cup honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sriracha

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

 

8 1/2″ slices of ham or smoked pork shoulder

Directions:

Cucumber cashew “salsa”:

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Keep cool in fridge until ready to serve with ham.

(note: most ideal to prep shortly before serving so cashews still retain their texture)

Ham:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place all glaze ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine.

Spread cuts of ham out evenly in a large baking dish and brush liberally with glaze.

Let cook in oven for 25 minutes, removing from oven and applying more glaze intermittently.

If desired, turn oven to low broil to help caramelize glaze for 5 minutes or so before completing roasting time.

Serve warm from oven with cucumber and cashew salsa on the side.

Serves 4-5

Total prep and cook time…35 minutes

 

Recipe: Pork Shoulder, Lentil and Charred Cabbage Salad

Pork shoulder, lentil and charred cabbage salad

I feel like I’ve become a little obsessed with smoked pork shoulder lately. It’s versatility knows no bounds whether you’re having it braised in this goulash I made the other week or smoky, crispy and salty like in this hearty salad here.

Roasting the pork shoulder to crisp it up along side the chicken leaves you with an amazing pan juice that transforms into an amazing dressing for the salad. I think we all should roast these two Alberta-raised ingredients together more often!

What you’ll need…

6 1/4″ slices smoked pork shoulder (cut into long strips)

2 skin-on chicken thighs

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 cups cooked whole green lentils (cooled)

1/4 green cabbage, cut into 1/4″ thick slices

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon grainy mustard

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

3 tablespoons chopped chives

sea salt (to season)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix together oil, 1 tablespoon of the maple syrup and pepper.

Arrange pork shoulder and chicken thighs in a large baking dish. Drizzle oil/syrup mixture over top of meat and let roast in the oven until chicken is cooked through and pork is dark and crispy, approximately 25 minutes.

Remove from oven, transfer meat to paper towel to cool and absorb any excess grease. Strain pan drippings into a small bowl and set aside for now.

Using the same baking dish, roast cabbage slices in the oven until slightly charred and tender, about 30-35 minutes.

While that’s roasting, remove chicken meat from bones and give a rough chop with the crispy pork shoulder.

Pour the reserved pan drippings into a pot along with reserved maple syrup, vinegar, mustard and chili flakes and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes or until mixture has reduced by 1/3.

Once cabbage has roasted and cooled slightly, chop roughly and combine in a large bowl along with meat, lentils and chives.

Pour pan dripping vinaigrette overtop and toss until well-coated. Can be served slightly warm or cold, but if you’re serving cold, do not add into the crispy pork shoulder until just before dining.

Serves 5-6

Total prep and cook time…1 hour, 15 minutes

Cheezy Pork Tenderloin with Raspberry Balsamic Glaze

Last night’s dinner was inspired by a bottle of raspberry flavoured balsamic vinegar that was gifted to me at Christmas time. (Thanks mom!) The combination of flavours in this dish is very pleasing. Sweet and sour is often paired with pork and for very good reason. I added some herbed Boursin cheese for additional flavour which I think works perfectly with this dish.

Grab your favourite lager and I trust you will enjoy this dish as much as I did!

 

What You Need:

Alberta pork loin
1 package Boursin cheese (I used garlic and fine herbs)
asparagus sprigs 6-8
Approx. 1/2 cup Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4-1/3 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
your favourite spice
salt

To Prepare:

Here is a good illustration on how to stuff a pork loin:
http://domesticfits.com/2012/02/08/how-to-roll-cut-and-stuff-pork-loin/

NOTE: You could easily add some fresh greens, parsley or onion to the cheese mixture, however I just kept it very simple.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Follow the steps from the link above to stuff the loin. Add olive oil to med sized fry pan. Brown pork on both sides and transfer to the oven. Cook for approximately 30-35 mins or until desired internal cooking temp is reached.

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan add raspberry balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and water. Gently bring to a boil stirring continuously until slightly thickened. DO NOT BURN. Pour a little of the balsamic reduction to the pork and finish roasting.

Wash asparagus spears and prepare by breaking off the dry ends. Lightly cook in steamer or sauté in small fry pan with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.

Serve pork tenderloin over asparagus and pour on the remaining glaze. Enjoy!

Recipe: Garlicky Pork Ragu

Roast Garlic pork ragu recipe

I’m not sure how it happened, but December is just around the corner. Even though we haven’t had nearly as much snow as we usually do by this time of year, that doesn’t mean it’s not feeling a little chilly outside.

This tomato ragu recipe incorporates big chunks of tender pork shoulder and red wine for a finished product that is not only comforting, but great on anything from rice or pasta to roasted root vegetables and mashed potatoes. It freezes well too, so if you’re a big batch cook, this one’s for you!

What you’ll need…

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 4lb bone-in pork shoulder (meat 1″ cubed, reserve bone)

2 cups red wine

1 yellow onion (halved and thinly sliced)

6 cloves garlic (minced)

6 cups canned crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons butter

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon dried basil

2 tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper (to taste)

8 cups cooked pasta of choice

Directions:

Heat canola oil in a large pot on medium-high heat. Add cubed pork to the pot and, working in two batches, cook until browned on all sides.

Remove pork from pot and deglaze with a few splashes of red wine. Add onions and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Return meat to pot along with the shoulder bone, remaining wine, tomatoes, butter and spices. Stir well to incorporate and once mixture comes to a simmer, reduce to low heat, cover and let cook for 2 hours or until pork is fork-tender, checking and stirring occasionally.

After 2 hours, remove lid, discard bone and spice sprigs, turn to medium heat and let cook for 15 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken slightly.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, portion out pasta onto 6 plates or shallow bowls and top liberally with pork ragu. Enjoy!

Serves 6

Total cook time…2 hours, 30 minutes