Boneless Pork Ribs

I've recently discovered how to cook boneless, country-style ribs and they are so yummy I have to share. I've made this recipe twice now with two different sauces and each time it was dang good. I found this recipe on foodnetwork.com (a dangerous site if there ever was one).

Sauce of choice - two yummy options below

3 country-style ribs, boneless (I've used both big ones and small ones, the big ones were perfect, the smaller ones were a bit dry so the cooking time should be less. I just don't know how much less.)

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 325. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Add enough oil to a hot, large skillet to just cover the pan. Add ribs and sear for three minutes each side. Remove to large, shallow roasting pan.

Add sauce over the ribs and turn to cover. Seal tightly with foil and roast for 3 hours. Marinate each hour with sauce. Take foil off for the last 30 minutes of cooking, or until tender.

Mojo Sauce

The sauce that came with the original recipe but with a few of my changes.

4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

10 large cloves garlic, chopped (I used a little chopper and it was an easy way of doing them all)

half of an onion, finely minced (chopper again, way handy thing)

2/3 cup orange juice

2/3 cup lemon juice with maybe a tablespoon of lime juice (the recipe calls for 1 cup lime juice and only 1/3 cup orange juice but this was what we had - let me know how it is as written)

2/3 cup water

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried parsley or 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon oregano

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder (because the 10 cloves wasn't enough)

2 teaspoons cumin/coriander powder (it only calls for the cumin but this is the only way I have it so the coriander gets to come too)

In a skillet, over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Once heated, add the garlic and onion. Cook until pale golden brown, 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients with 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and let cool while prepping the ribs.

Cheyenne Burger BBQ Sauce

Another foodnetwork.com recipe. I made the burger and had sauce left over so I used it for the ribs. A touch spicy.

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup ketchup

2 Tablespoons chile powder (I don't remember if I used this much, it seems like a lot)

1 Tablespoon paprika
1 heaping Tablespoon dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 chipotle chile in adobo, chopped

2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoon molasses

salt and pepper

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the onion, cook until soft; 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the ketchup and 1/3 cup water, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (except salt and pepper). Simmer for 10 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor (I used a blender) and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a bowl and cool to room temperature.

Pork and chive pot stickers

I got this recipe from my Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine, October 2009. My family absolutely loves these, but I'll admit they're time-consuming - especially for a side dish. I recommend making them ahead of time then frying them right before it's time to eat. Goes great with a stir-fry and egg drop soup for a fabulous Chinese feast. I'll have to post Dave's soup recipe at some point because it is the best. I've already doubled the amounts, because we found that 1 batch wasn't enough. You can freeze raw dumplings on a cookie sheet, then store in bags up to 3 months. Cook them frozen.

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1/2 pound ground pork (hamburger would be good too)
2 Tbsp minced chives/green onions
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp dry sherry (I just use water)
2 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp sesame oil (I don't usually have this, so I just use regular oil)
1 tsp cornstarch
36-40 wonton wrappers (usually in the produce department)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
In a bowl combine pork, chives, soy sauce, sherry, ginger, oil, cornstarch and 1 Tbsp water. Place a heaping tsp of pork mixture in center of a wonton wraper.Lightly wet edges of wrapper, fold over and press to seal (I usually press edges with a fork). Repeat to form remaining dumplings.

In two batches, cook dumplings in a large pot of boiling water for 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Make sure they're not touching or else they'll stick together. Some will fall apart in the process, but you won't mind eating the mess-ups.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Gently pat dumplings dry with paper towel, then cook until browned, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Serve warm with soy-ginger sauce:

Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce
I've never actually made this b/c the pot stickers are yummy on their own and I'm usually running out of time, but it sounds good:

In a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3 Tbsp rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger, 2 tsp sugar and 1/4 tsp sesame oil.

The Other White Meat

Note: I have opened up posting on this blog to my sisters. Not everything will be from me.

I love a good pork tenderloin. Sometimes they can be hard to find in grocery stores and harder to find without some kind of marinade already on them. I've noticed it's not uncommon to find them to packs of two so here are the two things I make with them.

Pork Tenderloin with Honey Butter
(from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food)
4 T butter
2 T honey
pork tenderloin
salt and pepper
water

Preheat oven to 375. In an oven proof skillet, melt butter and honey over medium heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper and brown on all sides. Turn the heat down if the honey starts to burn. Transfer to the oven. I usually cover it and it takes at least 25 minutes (or more) to cook. In looking back over the recipe on Martha's website, she doesn't say to and seems to think it will cook in 7-10 minutes. I think she's crazy but will try not covering it next time, the honey butter mixture left over is usually pretty thin. Transfer the meat to a plate. Add a bit of water to the pan and simmer over medium heat, scraping the brown bits off of the sides. Add the juices that have ended up on the plate and simmer until it is reduced to half a cup. Slice and drizzle the sauce over the meat.

I like to serve it with something green and mashed potatoes which are also very good with the sauce drizzled over them.

The next port recipe is from a cookbook I have from Costco. It has a picture for every page and specifies Costco products in the recipes. Plus, the food is really good.

Pork Tenderloin with Cilantro Lime Pesto and Smokey Bacon Bits
1 T minced garlic
2 T minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup minced green onions
1 T minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp minced jalapeno pepper (I never add it but you can if you want it spicier)
1/2 tsp pepper
2 T lime juice
2 T orange juice
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 - 2 lbs pork tenderloin
1/2 cup grated jalapeno jack cheese
1/4 cup chopped sunflower seed
1/2 cup crumbled bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the first 8 ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree. Slowly add olive oil until mixture thickens.
Cut tenderloin in half lengthwise and lay out flat. Spread half of pesto over tenderloin and sprinkle with half of the cheese, seeds and bacon.
Close the tenderloin and tie with string to hold together. Top with the rest of the pesto, cheese, seeds and bacon. The recipe says to refrigerate it for several hours or overnight but I never have.
Place tenderloin on a rack and bake until firm 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve.