by Edward Lee
Pair with a great wine. I love Jim Clendenen’s opulent Chardonnays from Au Bon Climat. / Feeds 4 as a main course
Buttermilk Pepper Gravy
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1¼ cups ham broth (see note, page 192) or chicken stock
¼ cup whole milk, or as needed
1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
4 boneless pork rib chops (cutlets)
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
½ cup whole milk
One 3.5-ounce package dried ramen noodles, pounded until crumbled but not pulverized
¼ cup dried bread crumbs
3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)
1To make the gravy: Melt the butter in a small skillet over low heat. Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes to cook off the raw flour taste, but don’t allow the roux to color.
2Take the skillet off the heat and continue to stir for a minute to cool it down slightly, then add the ham broth, milk, and buttermilk. Return the skillet to medium-low heat and cook, stirring, until the gravy thickens and coats the back of the spoon, 5 to 6 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper. Taste. Gravy preferences are wide-ranging: Add more milk to make a thinner gravy; adjust the salt and pepper to your liking. I like mine really salty.
3Place one pork chop between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound firmly but not violently with a mallet or the bottom of a skillet until you get an even ¾-inch-thick cutlet. Repeat with the other chops. Season the pork on both sides with the salt and pepper.
4Set up a breading station: Put the flour in a shallow dish. Next to that, whisk the egg and milk in a medium bowl. Next to that, combine the ramen crumbles with the bread crumbs in a shallow bowl. Dredge one pork cutlet in the flour, turning to coat, then put it into the egg mixture. Lift the cutlet out of the egg wash with a fork, letting the excess drip off, transfer to the ramen crumbles, and press as much of this crust onto the pork as possible. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining pork cutlets. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before frying.
5Preheat the oven to 350°F.
6In the largest cast-iron skillet you have, heat the oil over high heat. Fry the pork cutlets one or two at a time, depending on how large your skillet is, for about 2 minutes on each side. The ramen crust will burn pretty quickly, so watch it carefully. Transfer to a baking sheet and pat dry with paper towels.
7Transfer the cutlets to the oven and bake for 10 minutes until the pork is cooked all the way through. Meanwhile, reheat the gravy over low heat.
8Remove the chops from the oven and serve immediately, with the gravy. If you feel any guilt about eating this rich dish, sprinkle a little fresh parsley over the top.
There are infinite varieties of ramen, but try to use one that has thin noodles, as they will crisp up better. If you can’t find ramen, substitute 1 cup panko bread crumbs.
Cola Ham Hocks with Miso Glaze
Ham hocks are hard to find fresh, but not impossible. My butcher can usually get them for me. You may find them more easily in their smoked form, which can be used to flavor all sorts of veggies and soups, but it’s worth the effort to find them fresh for this dish. When roasted slowly, the meat becomes impossibly tender and flavorful. And special. It’s not every day you see a whole ham hock on a plate.
Serve these with Butter Beans with Garlic-Chile and Celery Leaves (page 212) and Pickled Corn–Bacon Relish (page 182). / Feeds 4 as a main course
4 ham hocks (about 1 pound each; see note)
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1½ cups dry vermouth
One 12-ounce can cola
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 star anise
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
Miso Glaze
¼ cup red miso
½ cup apple cider
½ cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons sorghum
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1Soak the ham hocks in cold water for 30 minutes; drain and pat dry with paper towels.
2In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the ham hocks and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Don’t worry if they get a little burned on the outside; you’re going to cook the hell out of these hocks.
3Add the onions and garlic to the pot and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the vermouth, cola, vinegar, soy sauce, star anise, peppercorns, and bay leaves, bring to a boil, and skim off the foam that rises to the top. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and lower the heat to medium-low. Braise for 2 hours while you read some Walt Whitman poems.
4Just before the hocks are done, prepare the glaze: In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients, bring to a simmer, and simmer, stirring until thick and syrupy, 5 to 6 minutes. Keep warm.
5After 2 hours, check the ham hocks: The skin should be soft and amber in color and the meat should be falling off the bone. If not, continue to cook for another 20 minutes or so.
6Preheat the broiler. Carefully transfer the ham hocks to a baking pan. Brush the glaze onto the hocks and transfer to the hot broiler. Broil until the glaze starts to bubble and caramelize, usually 3 to 5 minutes—but this will really depend on the strength of your broiler, so check frequently. Transfer to large warm bowls and serve with a small ladle of the braising liquid.
A ham hock is usually cut from just above the ankle and just below the part of the bone where a traditional ham starts. They can come from either the back or front legs of the pig. I always try to get the back-leg ham hocks since they are a bit larger, but tastewise they are the same. When ordering, just make sure they don’t give you the ham hock with the foot still attached, as I have sometimes seen butchers do. It generally makes people squeamish. If you don’t want all the fat, you can take the skin off the hocks before you transfer them to the broiler and just glaze the meat instead of the skin. Give the skin to your pooch; he’ll love you forever.
Pulled Pork Shoulder in Black BBQ Sauce
Oven-roasting pork shoulder is a great way to get that soft pulled-pork texture without having to smoke it for hours. The Black BBQ Sauce that flavors the pork is something I came up with a few years ago after a trip to Owensboro, Kentucky, home to some of the best BBQ in the region. I noticed how every BBQ joint had a signature sauce they could call their own. Most BBQ sauces are too sweet for me; I like the saltiness of Asian BBQ marinades. So I started tinkering with conventional notions of BBQ and added some Asian spices to a Southern BBQ sauce recipe. We have had some variation of this sauce on our menu ever since.
Serve the pulled pork with Lardo Cornbread (page 208) and Quick Caraway Pickles (page 173), or stuff it inside hot dog buns and top with Spicy Napa Kimchi (page 169) and Pork Cracklin’ (page 109). There are endless ways to enjoy this stuff. / Feeds 6 to 8
Black BBQ Sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound onions, chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, chopped (seeds and all)
⅓ cup raisins
½ cup bourbon
½ cup dark coffee
½ cup cola
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons black bean paste
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons ground allspice
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Juice of 1 lime
¼ cup Asian sesame oil
Rub
¼ cup kosher salt
1½ tablespoons ground cumin
1½ tablespoons smoked paprika
1½ tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
One 5-pound pork shoulder roast, skin on
1To make the BBQ sauce: In a Dutch oven, melt the butter with the olive oil over low heat. Add the onions, garlic, jalapeño peppers, and raisins. Cover the pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to brown and caramelize on the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan by adding the bourbon, coffee, and cola. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon and simmer until the liquid has reduced by about half.
2Add the ketchup, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, and black bean paste and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the mustard, allspice, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika and simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the sauce to cool for about 15 minutes.
3Transfer the sauce to a blender, add the lime juice and sesame oil, and puree on high until you achieve a smooth, thick sauce. Taste. Is it good? Adjust the seasonings to the way you like it. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate; bring to room temperature when ready to use. (The sauce will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.)
4To make the rub: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
5Put the pork shoulder in a large baking dish or other container and pat a thick layer of the rub over the entire surface. Let stand in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to give the pork a quick cure.
6Preheat the oven to 425°F.
7Wrap the shoulder loosely in aluminum foil and set in a roasting pan. Pour a little water, about ½ cup, into the foil package. Roast for 2½ hours. Check the meat. Does it pull away from the shoulder-blade bone when you poke it with a fork? It is done.
8Carefully transfer the pork to a cutting board. It is easier to pull the meat while it is still hot. Use two forks: one to hold the shoulder in place and the other to shred the meat, using a downward motion.
9Moisten the meat with just enough BBQ sauce to flavor it but not so much that it overpowers the pork. Transfer to a platter and serve hot.
Piggy Burgers with Sun-Dried Tomato Ketchup
A few years ago I was in San Sebastián, in northern Spain, home to arguably the best food in Europe and the epicenter of Basque culture. So it was pretty horrifying when I found myself having lunch at the only McDonald’s in the city, but I had a good reason. They serve a pork burger there—a fast-food pork burger—and I had to have one. Alas, it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be, so I came up with one myself. These are great with cold root beer. / Makes 4 large burgers
Burgers
1 pound ground pork (85% lean)
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
Greens from 3 scallions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sun-Dried Tomato Ketchup
6 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 dried pasilla peppers, stems and seeds removed
1 garlic clove, chopped
½ cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup dry red wine
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
About ¾ cup water
2 tablespoons peanut oil
For Serving
4 hamburger buns
Spicy Napa Kimchi (page 169)
Fresh bean sprouts
Fresh cilantro leaves
Pork Cracklin’ (page 109)
1To make the burgers: Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Form the meat into 8 thin patties (about 2 ounces each); the patties should be thin enough to use 2 per burger. Stack the patties between squares of wax paper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before cooking. (The patties can be wrapped, stacked, and stored in the freezer for up to 1 week; pull some out whenever you feel like a burger.)
2While the patties are chilling, make the ketchup: Combine all the ingredients except the water in a medium saucepan, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes over low heat.
3Transfer the tomato mixture to a blender and puree on high, slowly drizzling in enough water to create a smooth puree. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. (Leftover ketchup will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.)
4Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil.
5Add 4 of the pork patties to the pan, and cook for 2 minutes on the first side, then flip and cook for another minute on the other side, until cooked through. Transfer the cooked burgers to a plate and keep warm in a low oven. Cook the remaining patties in the same way.
6To assemble the burgers, smear a little of the ketchup on the bottom of each bun and top with a pork patty. Spread some ketchup on each patty and top with the remaining patties. Top each one with some kimchi, a few bean sprouts, a couple of cilantro leaves, and a small fistful of pork cracklin’. Serve immediately.
Country Hams
I stopped using prosciutto the day I discovered country ham. There’s a bit of confusion about what exactly a country ham is, so let me clarify: A country ham is a dry-cured pig leg, salted and hung to dry for about a year, much like Italian prosciutto. The difference is that prosciutto is only salted, never smoked, while many American country hams are smoked as well as salt-cured, and most also have some form of sugar in the cure. And country hams are packed in salt for almost twice as long as prosciutto is, though usually not aged as long, making them saltier than their Italian counterpart. That is why the producer usually suggests soaking the ham in water or beer before cooking to draw out some of the salt. Cooking the ham might seem odd because you’d never think to cook a prosciutto, and it also leads some people to conclude that country hams are unsafe to eat “raw,” but the soaking and cooking is because of the saltiness (the soaking takes out the salt, but then the ham needs to be cooked to intensify the flavor). The hams are, in fact, safe to eat raw, sliced thin and enjoyed with pickles and compotes and mustards. Country ham is very different from a city ham, also sometimes known as a spiral ham, which is a wet-brined, often injected, ham that is not aged long at all, very moist, and fully cooked or smoked (so you don’t have to cook them, but you often do anyway).
Country hams have existed in America in some form ever since Her-nando de Soto, the famous Spanish explorer, brought pigs to North America from Europe in 1539. They were first made in Virginia, where Smithfield took up residence, but they soon spread to North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, and beyond. There are countless farms making country hams today, both small producers and commercial giants. Each region has, over the years, developed its own particular style, and eating through them is a revelation. It’s sort of like eating through the colonial history of America.
Pictured above are my favorite hams from Kentucky. All of them are aged for at least 10 months, most over a year. Each one is a bit different, which you can see from their shades of smoke. Hams like these are no farther away than our backyard of the American South. See Resources, page 279, for a list of my favorite ham purveyors; Newsom’s is also a great source of information on hams.
Bacon Pâté BLT
New York City is filled with Greek diners, where you can get anything from a me
atball hero to chicken souvlaki to a BLT. The waiters shout orders at the kitchen in a coded language that mesmerizes me—orders like “a Jack Tommy on whiskey all the way” (grilled cheese with tomato on rye with a side of fries). I waited tables in diners all through college, and I’d always sit down after the lunch rush and have a BLT with extra bacon, griddled tomatoes, and a black-and-white milkshake (vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup). This recipe grew out of my cravings for that rich, unctuous BLT. I cut these into 1-inch squares, and serve them warm as an appetizer with a flute of Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc. / Makes 6 sandwiches; serves 10 to 15 people as a canapé
Bacon Pâté
1 pound good-quality bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
10 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup dry red wine
¼ cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon sorghum
3 scallions, finely chopped
3 ounces foie gras (see note)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 slices rustic whole-grain bread, preferably from a day-old bread loaf
Dijon mustard
¼ cup grated aged Gruyère cheese
¼ cup corn oil for panfrying
1To make the pâté: Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft. Drain off some but not all the fat, leaving about 2 teaspoons. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, red wine, mustard, sherry vinegar, sorghum, and scallions, bring to a simmer, and simmer gently for 6 to 8 minutes.
