Braised Pork Hash Food

SHANGHAI-STYLE BRAISED PORK BELLY (HONG SHAO ROU)

Steps:

• Start by cutting your pork belly into 3/4-inch thick pieces.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch the pork belly pieces for a couple minutes. This gets rid of impurities and starts the cooking process. Take the pork out of the pot, rinse, and set aside.
• Over low heat, add the oil and sugar to your wok. Melt the sugar slightly and add the pork. Raise the heat to medium and cook until the pork is lightly browned.
• Turn the heat back down to low and add shaoxing cooking wine, regular soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and water.
• NOTE: It's very important to the color and flavor of this dish that you have both kinds of soy sauce! Just head to your local Asian market, buy a bottle of each, and it will last you a year!
• Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until pork is fork tender. Every 5-10 minutes, stir to prevent burning and add more water if it gets too dry.
• Once the pork is fork tender, if there is still a lot of visible liquid, uncover the wok, turn up the heat, and stir continuously until the sauce has reduced to a glistening coating.

ROUND 2 RECIPE - PORK HASH

Steps:

• Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat with the oil. Add the onions and peppers and cook until the vegetables are softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Next, add the pepper flakes, salt and pepper, to taste, and the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the potatoes and pork and cook for 5 minutes to heat them through. Add the reserved herb butter and cook until the hash is hot and crispy, about another 5 minutes. Serve with poached eggs.

SUCCULENT BRAISED PORK

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Pat the pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
• In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, and working in batches brown the meat on all sides until a golden crust forms. Transfer the pork to a plate. To the pan add the onion, celery, and carrot and sweat until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sweat another 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes to cook off the raw flavor and caramelize it. Sprinkle with the flour and cook another 2 minutes to cook off its raw flavor. Whisk in the wine and reduce it by half. Return the pork to the Dutch oven, then stir in the beef stock, parsley stems, and bay leaves. Add the water if liquid does not come up to the top of the pork. Do not cover the pork with liquid. Cover the pan and place it in the oven to braise until the meat is fork tender, about 3 hours. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.

BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Using a spice grinder, grind the coriander and cumin seeds until they are a fine powder.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the pork shoulder with the ground spices and salt, then tie each piece so they cook evenly.
• Coat a Dutch oven with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Brown the first pork on all sides. Remove the pork from the pan and reserve. Ditch the fat in the pan and give a few drops of new oil. Repeat with the second pork and remove.
• Lower the heat to medium and toss in the fennel and onions and season them with salt and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper. Cook the onions and fennel until they are soft and very aromatic, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer.
• Add the wine and reduce by half. Stir in the mustard and add the bay leaves and thyme. Return the pork to the Dutch oven and add stock to the pan until it comes halfway up the side of the pork. Add salt if needed. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover and put the Dutch oven in the preheated oven.
• After 1 hour, turn the pork over and add more liquid to the pan if the liquid level has gone down. Cover and return to the oven for 1 hour.
• Turn the pork back over and return to the oven without the lid and cook for 45 more minutes. The liquid should concentrate.
• Remove the pan from the oven, remove the pork and reserve for 15 minutes, tented with aluminum foil. Skim any excess fat from the pan and reduce the pan juices, if needed.
• Slice the pork and serve with onions, fennel and juices.
• Wine Pairing Suggestion: Pinot Grigio

BRAISED-PORK HASH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F with rack in middle.
• Cut 8 deep slits randomly over top and sides of pork with a paring knife. Sprinkle a little thyme and a little pepper into slits, then insert a slice of garlic and a bay leaf into each.
• Sprinkle any remaining thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper over pork, then put in pot. Scatter onions and any leftover garlic around meat.
• Add wine and bring to a boil. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper, then lid, and braise in oven until meat is very tender, 4 to 5 hours.
• Cool, partially covered, about 30 minutes, then transfer meat to a platter and cool completely. Strain braising liquid through a sieve into a bowl and reserve onions. Skim off fat from braising liquid. If you have more than 2 cups liquid, simmer gently in pot until reduced. If less, add chicken broth or water.
• Once pork is cool, discard bay leaves. If pork has skin, peel off and reserve. Trim excess fat from pork and remove meat from bone. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces and return to pot, then add onions.
• Bring braising liquid to a simmer in a small saucepan and keep hot, covered.
• Heat butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet until foaming, then stir in flour and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until light to medium brown, about 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and slowly whisk in hot braising liquid, then bring to a simmer, whisking, and simmer, skimming foam, 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Reheat meat and onions in enough sauce to coat (about 1 cup) over low heat (hash should not be soupy). Serve remaining sauce on the side.

BREAKFAST PORK HASH

Steps:

• Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and onions, then season and stir to coat. Spread into in as much of a single layer as possible and let cook for 5-8 minutes periodically stirring to brown all sides.
• Add 1/2 cup water, cover and let cook for 8 minutes.
• Remove lid, add pork and finish on high until heated throughout and potatoes reach desired color and crispy exterior.

BRAISED PORK SHANK

Steps:

• For the brine: Bring the water to a simmer in a large non-reactive pot. Turn off the heat and add salt, sugar, coriander, peppercorns, rosemary, bay leaf and garlic and bring to a simmer. Whisk until the salt and sugar is dissolved, and then let it cool in the fridge or an ice bath until the brine hits a temperature of 35 degrees F.
• Add the shanks to the cooled brine and weigh down with a plate to ensure that the shanks are completely submerged. Refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
• After brining, remove the shanks from the brining liquid to a baking sheet lined with a clean kitchen towel to dry off a bit. Discard the brining liquid.
• For the braise: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Heat a large Dutch oven or roasting pan over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil so that it covers the bottom of the Dutch oven or roasting pan completely. Put some flour in a shallow dish. Add a heavy pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper to the flour and whisk to combine. Dredge the shanks in the flour, shaking off the excess, and add them to the pan. In order to get a nice even golden-brown sear, you don't want to overcrowd the pan. (Do this step in two batches if necessary.) Brown the shanks on all sides, a few minutes per side, then remove to a plate while you sear the rest.
• Add the celery, onions, carrots, garlic, rosemary and thyme with a large pinch of salt. Sweat the vegetables until tender, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine and reduce by three-quarters. Add the apple cider and reduce by half. Add half the chicken stock and bring the braising liquid up to a simmer. Taste it for seasoning, adding additional salt and pepper if necessary. Place the shanks back into the pan; the liquid should go about halfway up the shanks. If it does not, add the rest of the liquid until it reaches the desired half. Put the pan in the oven and cook until the meat is tender, about 200 degrees F when checked with a meat thermometer, 4 to 5 hours.
• Remove the shanks from the oven and carefully transfer the shanks to another large pan. Then strain the braising liquid over the shanks. Cool them in the liquid overnight in the refrigerator.
• The next day, reheat the shanks in their liquid. Then remove them to a large serving platter. Spoon some of the braising liquid over the meat.