Volume 8, Issue 116 - June 20, 2005

Hello Recipe Club,

You have all heard the expression "Pork...The Other White Meat" and while it is a crafty slogan, it is more than true. Pork is  lean (yes, and more so depending on the cut), versatile and mildly flavored so it can be used in nearly every cuisine in a myriad of preparations. We chose to feature pork recipes this week for two reasons. First reason is that we have never had a week of pork recipes in the four plus years we have been publishing this Recipe Club and reason number two is that pork has played important roles in our lives...honest!

Pork in History: That the Ancient Chinese were so loath to be separated from fresh pork that the departed were sometimes accompanied to the grave with their herd of hogs.

Pork in Politics: During the war of 1812, a New York pork packer named Uncle Sam Wilson shipped a boatload of several hundred barrels of pork to U.S. troops. Each barrel was stamped "U.S." on the docks, and it was quickly said that the "U.S." stood for "Uncle Sam," whose large shipment seemed to be enough to feed the entire army. This is how "Uncle Sam" came to represent the U.S. Government.

Pork in the "Big City": Free-roaming hogs were famous for rampaging through the valuable grain fields of colonial New York City farmers. The Manhattan Island residents chose to block the troublesome hogs with a long, permanent wall on the northern edge of what is now Lower Manhattan. A street came to border this wall -- named aptly enough, Wall Street.

Pork in the Military: Enlisted men in the U.S. Army, received shoulder and leg cuts of pork while officers received the top loin cuts. So "living high on the hog" came to mean living well.

See what I mean?

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Pork Pot Stickers

Ingredients:

Pork Filling:

2 cups chopped napa cabbage
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 pound ground pork, (not lean pork, the fat is good for juicy and flavorful dumplings)
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 egg
1 cup chicken stock, (or up to 2 cups)

Pot Sticker Dough:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups boiling water, (or up to 1 3/4 cups)

Spicy Dipping Sauce:

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup sliced scallions
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Oriental chile paste

Preparation:

Pork Filling:

Sprinkle cabbage with the 1/2 tablespoon of salt and let stand for 30 minutes. Place the cabbage in a strainer or on a piece of cheesecloth and squeeze out any water. You want the cabbage as dry as possible. In a large bowl thoroughly mix the cabbage with all of the other ingredients, except the chicken stock. Taste a bite or two to check for seasoning.

Pot Sticker Dough:

In a bowl, mix flour and salt. Slowly add hot water to flour in 1/4-cup increments. Mix until a ball is formed and the dough is not too hot to handle.

On a floured surface, knead dough until it becomes a smooth, elastic ball. Place back in bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rest for at least 1 hour.

Working on a floured surface with floured hands, roll out dough to 1-inch in diameter. Cut 1/2-inch pieces and turn them over so the cut sides are facing up. Flatten with your palm and roll out thin using a rolling pin. The dumpling wrapper should end up about 3 inches in diameter.

Assemble the Dumplings:

Place a small mound of filling in the middle of the wrapper leaving the edges clear of any of the filling. Fold the wrapper in half to form a half moon shape. Starting on one end fold/pinch the wrapper tightly together working your way in this manner to the opposite end and the dumpling is completely sealed. Set the dumplings with the folded edges straight up.

Cooking the Dumplings:

In a hot sauté pan coated well with oil, place pot stickers flat-side down and cook until the bottom is browned. Have pan cover ready and add 1 cup of chicken stock, cover immediately. Be careful, the liquid will splatter! The stock will steam the pot stickers. Check them in 5 minutes as more stock may be needed. The trick here is that once the dumplings are firm and fully cooked the stock will evaporate and the bottoms will crisp-up again.

Spicy Dipping Sauce:

Combine all and serve in a small bowl on the side.

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Kielbasa Sausage and Pork with Sauerkraut, Mushrooms and Potatoes

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

3 pounds refrigerated sauerkraut
2 cups chicken or beef broth
1 ounce dried mushrooms, (1 cup loosely packed)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, or more if needed
2 pounds pork shoulder, (butt) or loin, well trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound kielbasa
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 pounds Yukon potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
3/4 pound parsnips, scrubbed and cut into 2-inch chunks (or use 2 additional potatoes)
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill for garnish

Preparation:

Drain the sauerkraut and reserve the brine. Check the sauerkraut and if too strong, rinse but keep in mind that the flavor will be diminished when it is cooked with the other ingredients. If rinsed, drain well and set aside.

Heat the broth in a pressure cooker. Set the dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour the hot broth over. Make sure they are submerged in the broth and cover with a plate and set aside until the mushrooms are soft, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse and dry out the cooker. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Brown the pork and kielbasa in 3 or 4 batches, about 4 minutes per batch, adding more oil if needed. Set aside.

With a slotted spoon, remove the reconstituted mushrooms from the broth and squeeze them over the bowl to catch the liquid they release. Coarsely chop the mushrooms if the pieces are large. Pour the broth into the cooker, making sure to leave behind any sediment on the bottom. Set the pressure cooker over medium heat and stir well to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom.

Add the mushrooms and half of the sauerkraut. Set the browned pork and kielbasa on top. Cover with the remaining sauerkraut and sprinkle caraway seeds on top. Set the potatoes and parsnips on the kraut.

Lock the lid in place. Over high heat, bring to high pressure. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 10 minutes.

Quick-release the pressure. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow excess steam to escape.

Ladle out 1/2 cup of the broth and blend the sour cream into it. Then stir this mixture back into the pot as you stir well to distribute all of the ingredients. If you'd like a stronger sauerkraut flavor, add some or all of the reserved brine. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle lightly with dill. Pass additional sour cream in a bowl at the table.

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Pork and Seafood Stew

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

3 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder; cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cups dry red wine
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 cans tomato sauce, (8-ounce)
18 uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
12 fresh littleneck clams in shells, scrubbed
1/3 cup Kalamata olives
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

Make a marinade with the red wine, garlic and crushed red pepper. Pour over the pork, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Transfer the pork and marinade to a large saucepan. Add paprika and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until pork is tender, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. (Pork can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Add tomato sauce, shrimp and clams to pork. Cover and boil until shrimp are cooked through and clams open, about 5 to 6 minutes. Discard any clams that do not open.

Transfer stew to large bowl. Garnish with olives and parsley and serve.