Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Why have pork chops when you can have pork tenderloin? This question came to mind tonight when we were enjoying our Roasted Pork Tenderloin, which to be quite honest, makes pork chops look like chopped liver (which, isn’t really an insult coming from me, since I actually like chopped liver, but that’s another post).

Pork can be difficult. Overcooking dries out the meat and undercooked pork is toxic. It’s really easy, however to get a moist and juicy result with pork tenderloin. A quick season and sear before it hits the oven keeps the meat from drying out. Paprika and olive oil bring color and crust to the exterior, and garlic and salt bring flavor.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin – serves 2

1 lb pork tenderloin
1 t sea salt
1 t paprika
1 t dill
2 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled and pressed
2 T olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine salt, paprika and dill. Add olive oil and pressed garlic and stir to combine. Massage the mixture into the pork.

Heat 1 t cooking oil on a griddle over medium high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the tenderloin. Using tongs, lightly brown on all sides.

Transfer to a rack in a roasting pan and place in the center of the oven. Roast approximately 25 minutes until internal temperature reaches 155. Remove from oven and allow to rest at least 10 minutes.

Slice into medallions before serving.

Ingredient origins: Pork tenderloin – unknown (this was another “natural” antibiotic and hormone free meat from the supermarket, which is great but the origin is not listed); Sea salt – Maine; Paprika – Spain; Dill – Massachusetts; Organic Garlic – New Jersey; Olive oil – Italy

Yankee Cook’s Steak Tips

We drove out to a nearby farm yesterday to stock up on all natural, hormone-free locally raised meats. Once we got there, we both remembered the organic chicken awaiting our attention in the freezer at home and it just didn’t seem as pressing to buy a plethora of meats. After driving an hour, we ended up getting beef tips and andouille sausage. Sometimes life is about the journey.

This recipe for steak tips is as tasty as it is simple. The Worcestershire sauce tenderizes the meat a bit during a quick marinade and lends just enough of its spice and sweetness to flavor the meat without over doing it. We served the tips with quinoa and pan-fried Brussels sprouts.

Note: Be sure to buy all natural Worcestershire sauce if you’re not interested in consuming high fructose corn syrup. What!? Yes. Sadly, conventional Worcestershire sauce contains high fructose corn syrup and who wants that?

Yankee Cook’s Steak Tips - serves 2 – 4

1 1/2 lb sirloin tip
1/2 C Worcestershire sauce

Cut the sirloin into 1 1/2 – 2 inch cubes. Toss with Worcestershire sauce in a shallow marinating dish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Flip the pieces of beef and refrigerate for an additional 30 minutes. Remove tips from marinade.

Heat a lightly greased griddle over medium high heat. When the grill is smoking hot, add the meat. Using tongs, turn the tips after 5 minutes. Lower heat to medium and continue turning the meat every few minutes to cook the meat on all sides, forming a nice seal.

Cook to desired doneness. About 10 minutes for rare, 20 minutes for well done.

Ingredient origins: Sirloin tips – Massachusetts; Worcestershire sauce – California

Slow Cooked Short Rib

This holiday season, I was given the greatest gift of all. A slow cooker! Yay! I decided to christen it with short ribs.

The meat melts down over the course of hours, turning into rich, tender bits of falling-off-the-bone loveliness. I like to use vegetables that hold their shape well, like mushrooms and onions for dishes that cook more than two hours and I avoid ones that turn to mush, like carrots. The onions add a subtle sweetness and the mushrooms lend additional heft. Served over mashed potatoes, this dish becomes a serious winter warmer.

One last note is that I like to remove the meat from the bone before serving just to make it a little easier to eat and slightly more presentable.

Slow Cooked Short Rib – serves 2 – 4

2 lb beef short rib
1 T olive oil
16 oz whole button mushrooms
2 leeks, cleaned and loosely chopped
1 yellow onion, quartered
1 C dry red wine
1 C beef stock
1/3 C brown sugar

Prepare vegetables and arrange the first layer of leeks and smaller mushrooms in the slow cooker.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high. Sear the short ribs on all sides. Remove ribs from skillet and arrange on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker. De-glaze the skillet with red wine, scraping up any small bits. Stir the beef stock and brown sugar into the wine.

Arrange the larger mushrooms and quartered onions over and around the ribs. Pour the wine mixture over the short ribs. Cover and set the slow cooker to low. Cook for 8 hours.

Slide the meat off of the bone and serve with vegetables over mashed potatoes.

Ingredient origins: Short rib – can’t be sure (I know it’s terrible! I bought it at a store whose name rhymes with stop and flop, which means the cow was probably raised on a brown, hideous feedlot somewhere in the Midwest, consuming corn and other things that cows should not eat, like hormones and antibiotics. I know, I know! I’m sorry! The natural foods store was out of local short rib. Sigh. I’ve lost all cred now, haven’t I?); Olive Oil – Italy; Mushrooms – Pennsylvania; Leeks – New Hampshire, Onion – New Hampshire; Red wine – California; Beef stock – Colorado; Brown sugar – Florida

Maple Cognac Glazed Ham with Winter Vegetables

A briny cured ham complements sweet winter vegetables nicely, making this a great choice for a holiday meal. So we decided to say so long to the aughts with a festive ham.

Maple is a cured ham’s natural best friend and cognac adds another layer of mellow sweetness to the glaze. We topped off the meal with baked yams and a simple salad of spinach with olive oil, cider vinegar and grated smoked cheddar.

Happy New Year from Yankee Cook!

Maple Cognac Glazed Ham with Winter Vegetables – serves 10 – 12

1 10 lb cured bone-in skinless ham
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped into 2 inch pieces
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped into 2 inch pieces
Maple Cognac Glaze (recipe below)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse the ham and place it cut side down on a rack in a roasting pan. Score ham using a sharp knife. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast in the middle of the oven for 2 1/2 hours.

Remove ham from oven. Take the rack holding the ham out of the roasting pan and set aside. Add chopped veggies and toss with the juices at the bottom of the roasting pan. Place rack with ham back in roasting pan over veggies. Cover again with aluminum foil and roast 30 minutes.

Make the glaze (recipe below).

Remove ham from oven. Take the rack with the ham out of the roasting pan again and flip the vegetables. Return the ham to pan and brush with half of the glaze. Return to the oven and continue to cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Brush the ham again with the rest of the glaze. Roast for another 15 minutes until the ham’s internal temperature reaches 160 by this point degrees. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Serve with a small salad or additional veggie sides and a nice chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Maple Cognac Glaze – makes about 1 cup

1/2 C maple syrup
1/4 C brown sugar
1/4 C cognac
4 t water
1/4 t sea salt
5 cloves
10 allspice berries

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a light boil, stirring over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the salt has dissolved and the alcohol has evaporated off.

Ingredient origins: Ham – Massachusetts; Potatoes – Idaho; Carrots – New Jersey; Parsnips – Massachusetts; Maple Syrup – Massachusetts; Brown sugar – Florida; Cognac – ; Sea salt – France; Cloves – Unknown; Allspice – Jamaica

Roasted Chicken au Naturel

Chicken au Naturel gets its name from its simplicity. Sure, chicken can be roasted with all sorts of herbs and spices that will lend additional flavor to the bird, but sometimes it’s nice to let the flavor of the meat speak for itself. This recipe uses just butter, salt and pepper. The key to getting the chickeny-ness out of the chicken without a rotisserie is to flip it every so often to allow the juices from the bones to melt into the meat.

Any root vegetables or tubers are great to add to the bottom of the roasting pan in the last hour or so of the process. As they roast along with the bird, they absorb some of the drippings and form a crisp brown crust. In this case, I added carrots and turnips. Serve with a salad of spinach, mache or mixed greens to round out the meal.

Roasted Chicken au Naturel – serves 4

1 5 lb chicken
2 T butter
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter in an oven-proof dish as the oven gets to temp.

Rinse chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Brush the the bird inside and out with melted butter. Sprinkle salt and pepper inside and out as well. Fold the flaps in and, using kitchen string, tie the legs together. Tuck the wings under the bird. I can never get mine to stay that way as it cooks, so I like to tie a string around the bird where the wings are folded.

On a rack in a roasting pan, roast the chicken breast side up for 30 minutes. Flip and roast breast side down for 15 minutes. Baste and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.

Remove from oven again and this time flip the bird over so that it’s breast side up again. Add any veggies that you plan to roast. Baste the bird and the veggies and return to the oven another 45 minutes – 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes.

The chicken is finished cooking when the meat at the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165. Allow the bird to rest for 15 minutes before transferring to a serving platter and carving.

Ingredient origins: Organic Chicken – Colorado (I settled for organic this time rather than local), Organic turnips and carrots – Massachusetts, Butter – Maine