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Posts Tagged ‘roasting’

68 Days of Gourmet: Island Pork Tenderloin

Posted in 68 days of Gourmet, Pork, Quick and Easy, tagged , , , , on December 16, 2009| 17 Comments »

68 Days of Gourmet: Day 22

I didn’t plan on making this pork tenderloin recipe. It happened out of desperation. I originally planned on making this Fennel Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Fennel Wedges. I bought all the ingredients for it and everything. Then I found out that my husband hates fennel – how did I never know that? I said “too bad, I’m making it anyway” but then the recipe would not load on Epicurious and it’s not in The Gourmet Cookbook. I looked everywhere online for it with no luck. It was 8:30 and I had to start something for dinner. I was hungry and cranky. I begged Brandon just to take it out and grill it but he refused…it was freezing out. I sulked off to The Gourmet Cookbook and began browsing through the pork tenderloin recipes. I was pleased to find Island Pork Tenderloin. It sounded like something we would love.

I will honestly say that I’m happy our original recipe didn’t happen because this Island Pork Tenderloin was wonderful. The spice rub is a great combination of warm flavors and the glaze is such a nice finish with brown sugar, hot sauce and garlic. Sounds strange but it totally worked. Also, I love recipes where I can start meat in a skillet and finish it in the oven. It frees me up to prepare the side items. I served this with roasted potatoes, salad and rolls.

Island Pork Tenderloin
(Recipe source The Gourmet Cookbook)
Printable Recipe: Island Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

FOR PORK
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pork tenderloins (a little over 1 pound)
1 tablespoons olive oil

FOR GLAZE
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon hot sauce (Tabasco)

Directions:

FOR THE PORK
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (I had my oven at 375 because of the potatoes. Just watched the internal temperature closely)

Stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and cinnamon and coat pork with spice rub.

Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over medium high heat until just beginning to smoke. Brown pork on all sides, about 4 minutes total. Remove from heat.

FOR THE GLAZE AND TO ROAST THE PORK
While the pork is browning, stir together brown sugar, garlic and hot sauce. Once you remove pork from heat, spread glaze onto top of each tenderloin. Roast in oven until thermometer inserted in center of  tenderloin registers 140 degrees, about 20 minutes. Tent with foil and let pork stand in skillet at room temperature 10 minutes. (Temperature will rise to about 150-155 while standing.) Slice and serve.

Yield: 2 servings

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Good Eats Roast Turkey on the Big Green Egg

Posted in Basics, Big Green Egg, Chicken/Poultry, Healthy, Holiday, tagged , , , , on November 17, 2009| 9 Comments »

altonturkey

Two posts in one day? I can honestly say I never thought this would happen but this turkey is just too beautiful not to share with my readers while everyone is planning Thanksgiving menus. I can’t take any credit for this bird – it’s my dad’s practice turkey for Thanksgiving. He made this last weekend on the Big Green Egg using Alton Brown’s Good Eats Roast Turkey recipe. If you’re looking for a turkey recipe I think you should give Alton’s a try. I was shocked to see it has received 2,289 reviews and still has 5-stars. Pretty impressive! My dad was very pleased with how this turkey turned out and will be using this recipe on Thanksgiving day.

One of the benefits of cooking your turkey on the Egg is having your oven space available for all your sides and desserts. Also, the smoke flavor and crisp skin is delicious! If you don’t have an Egg, no worries. Alton’s recipe provides step-by-step instructions for the oven.

The only thing my dad did differently was let the turkey air-dry in the fridge for 12 hours before cooking. This dries the skin to help it become golden and crisp while cooking.

Can’t wait to try this turkey on Thanksgiving day!

Good Eats Roast Turkey on the Big Green Egg
(Recipe adapted from Alton Brown)
Printable Recipe: Good Eats Roast Turkey on the Big Green Egg

Cook Time:

BRINE
14-16 hours (1 hour per pound)

AIR CHILL
12 hours

COOK TIME
2 hours 30 min (max)

Ingredients:

1 (14-16  pound) fresh turkey

FOR THE BRINE
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries (my dad substituted 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water

FOR THE AROMATICS
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 rosemary sprigs
6 sage leaves
Canola oil

Directions:

TO MAKE THE BRINE
Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Remove the brine from heat, cool to room temperature and refrigerate.

TO BRINE THE TURKEY
The day before you’re roasting your turkey, combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed. Cover and refrigerate or set in cool area for one hour per pound. Turn the bird once halfway through brining if your turkey is not fully submersed.

After brining time is up, remove the bird from the brine, rinse and pat dry. Place in refrigerator and allow to air chill overnight, about 12 hours.

TO ROAST THE TURKEY
If using the Egg, set it up with a plate setter or pizza stone. Place a cast iron grate (feet side up) on top of that and finally you’ll place the turkey in a roasting pan on top of that (after Egg is preheated). Preheat the oven or Big Green Egg to 500 degrees.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey’s cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey in the Big Green Egg with lid down or on lowest level of the oven for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees (or bring the grill temperature down). Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees and remove the turkey to rest when it reaches this temperature. (After 2 hours my dad’s turkey was 163 degrees in the breast and 171 degrees in the thigh).

Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil for at least 15 minutes before carving.

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Crash Hot Potatoes

Posted in Potato, Side Dish, Tried and True, tagged , , on May 12, 2009| 3 Comments »

Before roasting

Before roasting

After roasting

After roasting

This twist on roasted potatoes makes a perfect side item with grilled meats. We served these alongside grilled ribeyes and roasted asparagus when we had friends over on Friday night. I originally saw this recipe on Pioneer Woman Cooks and tons of food bloggers have made it as well. I’ve made these potatoes a few times now and I’m officially on the “Crash Hot Potato” bandwagon. They’re so simple and I love that you can customize them to whatever tastes you’re feeling and what herbs you have on hand.

The Pioneer Woman roasts her potatoes at 450 degrees but since I was roasting asparagus too, I kept my oven at 400 and just cooked them a little longer. I added the asparagus in during the last 10 minutes the potatoes were cooking.

Crash Hot Potatoes
(Recipe source Pioneer Woman Cooks)

Ingredients:

Small round potatoes (new potatoes, yukon golds, etc)
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
Herbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 to 450 degrees (depending on how crispy you want your potatoes and if you have other things in the oven).

Place desired amount of potatoes in a large pot and cover with w

ater. Add a couple tablespoons of salt to the water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes, or until

potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork (time will depend on size of your potatoes).

Meanwhile, prepare a baking sheet by spreading a thin layer

of olive oil over the bottom of the pan. Note, I always line my baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup. (Shiny side down.)

Remove potatoes from pot and drain. Depending on the size of your potatoes, you may need to cut some of them in half. Place potatoes on baking sheet, leaving space between. Using a potato masher or the back of a fork, mash down potatoes, rotate pan and mash again.

Brush tops generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and desired herbs (I love rosemary). Roast in oven 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

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