Pure Pork Awesomeness recommended for pork lovers
It is often said about pigs that you eat everything except the oink! Kevin Gillespie’s book, Pure Pork Awesomeness, puts him squarely in that camp. If you are looking for a way to fix pork as a comfort food – something familiar, you will find it here.
If you want to understand pork cooking, why lard is hard to find in local markets, how to cook various cuts of the “other white meat” in unusual delicious ways, and then this is the book for you. Gillespie’s recipes offers everything from from bacon popcorn to roasts, to a dessert trifle, all pork flavored or based. He has a recipe for spicy sausage and kale soup, tells us how to make Brunswick stew and pork osso bucco, even homemade pork rinds and he includes a bacon infused ice cream between killer molasses cookies, best sounding ice cream sandwich recipe I have ever seen. I like pork, but this man LOVES it and his passion for the meat comes through in every page.
He says, on the jacket flap, “If I only had one animal to eat forevermore, it would be pig.” This Season 6 contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef, knows people as well as he knows pigs. The book’s recipes are designed to be easy to follow, use ingredients you will likely have on hand and cover a wide range of tastes and textures so that there will be something that almost everyone will like.
The organization is a bit off-beat, information about pigs followed by “pantry” recipes, then organized by cut of meat — shoulder, loin, belly and ribs, etc, ending with “odds and ends” (where you will find the trifle.) This butcher-style approach calls for sticky notes to mark your favorites as you read through — and you will want to read it from cover to cover. In addition to the 100 recipes, the information about cooking pork, the anecdote and little “worth knowing” blurbs make this a book to read cover to cover, stopping only to put it on the kitchen counter as you use it.
Gillespie has top-notch credentials. He likes incorporating fresh, organic, and sustainable ingredients in all of his dishes. He has worked in top restaurants in Atlanta and Oregon and in 2013 opened his own place, Gunshow. He was one of the final three contestants on the Top Chef show where he received the honor of being named “Fan Favorite.”
He is a Slow Food member and is involved in a long list of organizations that help preserve traditional American foodways, promote good healthy eating and support the local farmers. He is scheduled to open a second restaurant, Revival, this year. I am putting his restaurants on my to-go list for our next trip to Atlanta, But before then, thanks to this book, you and I can enjoy his expertise right in our own homes. Co writer, Joachim is no slouch either, having edited or co-written more than 40 cookbooks.
It is hard to say much more about it, my thesaurus of praise words is not large enough. However, let it suffice to say, I’ve provided one simply delicious sounding pork roast made with Coca-Cola (I had heard of such a thing but had never found a recipe worth trying before I saw this one).
After all, Gillespie does hail from Coke’s hometown, Atlanta.
Recipes
Coca-Cola Glazed Pork Shoulder
Used with permission from Pure Pork Awesomeness: Totally Cookable Recipes from Around the World by Kevin Gillespie with David Joachim, Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC
Serves 4 to 6
Note from Gillespie
If you’ve never cooked with Coke, it makes a fantastic marinade because it’s high in acid, which tenderizes tough muscle fibers. And the flavor . . . well, Coke has been a winner since the late 1800s. Serve this pork shoulder with mashed or roasted potatoes and pan-seared brussels sprouts.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Ingredients
1 cup Coca-Cola
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon lemon vinegar
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2½ pounds boneless pork shoulder roast
2 teaspoons grapeseed oil or canola oil
Method
In a large zip-top bag, combine the Coca-Cola, salt, vinegar, pepper, vanilla, and cinnamon, squishing to mix. Add the roast, squeeze out excess air, zip closed, and marinate for 1 hour at room temperature.
Remove the roast from the marinade and pour the marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then remove from the heat.
Spray a roasting pan and rack with nonstick spray. Pat the roast dry, brush lightly with the oil, and place on the rack, fat side up.
Roast for 15 minutes, then brush with the boiled glaze, flip, and roast for another 10 minutes.
Turn the oven down to 300°F and continue flipping and basting the meat every 15 minutes until it reaches 160°F, about 1¼ hours.
Remove the roast from the oven and let it rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
Tips from the Chef: Look for lemon vinegar in gourmet stores. If you can’t find it, use 1 teaspoon lemon juice + 1 drop lemon extract. For this recipe, look for a fattier roast rather than a lean one. The fat will keep the meat nice and juicy. Be sure to let the roast cool down before you carve it. It roasts pretty quickly, and you have to give the meat time to reabsorb the juices. If you carve it right away, the meat will be dry and the glaze won’t be set. Just be patient. You be rewarded with juicy meat and a nice, thick glaze.
Title | Pure Pork Awesomeness
Authors | Kevin Gillespie with David Joachim
Publisher | Andrews McNeel Publishing,LLC
Cost | $29.99
This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 7:27 AM with the headline "Pure Pork Awesomeness recommended for pork lovers."