Living 2 Eat |

Pork Loin with Molasses-Mustard Glaze

and Apple Butter Sauce

From the kitchen of Burma Davis Posey

Inspired by a recipe from Bobby Flay in 2008

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Inactive Prep Time: 5 hours 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour

Level: Only for experienced cooks…  Cook this on a day when you have plenty of time and no distractions!  Grandchildren should be in another state!  It is a process to prepare, but truly worth the effort and work. 

Serves: 6 People

Ingredients:

1 (2-1/2 to 3 pound) boneless pork loin, trimmed of fat

Apple Butter:

·     2 tablespoons canola oil

·     1/2 small Spanish onion, finely chopped

·     1 clove garlic, finely chopped

·     2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped

·     1/4 cup water

·     3 tablespoons light brown sugar

·     1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·     1/4 teaspoon salt

·     2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

Molasses-Mustard Glaze:

·     1/4 cup Dijon mustard

·     2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

·     1/4 cup molasses

·     Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pork Marinade:

·     5 cups water

·     1 container apple juice concentrate, thawed

·     1/2 cup salt

·     1/2 cup brown sugar

·     1 Spanish onion, peeled and quartered

·     10 black peppercorns

·     10 mustard seeds

·     8 sprigs fresh thyme

·     2 bay leaves

Sauce/Gravy:

2 tablespoons olive oil or bacon drippings

·     Salt and freshly ground black pepper

·     3 shallots, finely chopped

·     2 cups whiskey (Recommended: Jack Daniels.  For my Baptist friends, all of the alcohol cooks away.)

·     5 cups homemade chicken stock

·     1/4 cup light brown sugar

·     2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

·     2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus parsley sprigs for garnish

Directions…  Make the marinade first and allow the pork to marinate while making the Sauce, Apple Butter, and Glaze.  It will seem that the sauce has to cook forever to reduce…

Pork marinade:

Bring the water, apple concentrate, salt, sugar, onion, peppercorns, mustard seeds, thyme and bay leaves to a simmer in a large stock pot and cook until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Allow to cool completely. Submerge the roast in the brine by placing a plate on top, cover with plastic and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.  I have a 25 year-old Tupperware marinating container that is a treasured item in my kitchen!  They probably still make it. 

While the pork is absorbing all these yummy flavors, make the sauce…

Sauce/Gravy:

Heat the bacon drippings in a Dutch oven.  Add the shallots and cook until soft. Add the whiskey, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and cook until almost completely reduced. Add the chicken broth and brown sugar and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a gentle boil and cook until reduced to a sauce consistency.  When the sauce has reduced, whisk in the apple butter.  Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the parsley.  (Make the Apple Butter and Glaze while the sauce is cooking and reducing.)   

Apple Butter: (This is so delicious I could sit down and eat it with a spoon!!!)

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the apple, water and brown sugar and cook until the apples are very soft. Stir in the cinnamon and salt and cook for 1 minute. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor along with the butter and process until slightly chunky. Scrape into a small bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend.

For the glaze:

Whisk all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl.

For the Pork:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the pork from the brine, rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Season the pork on all sides with salt and pepper and cook on all sides until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes total. Transfer the pork to a baking sheet, brush with some of the glaze and bake in the oven, brushing with the glaze every 10 minutes.  Cook until the tenderloin has an internal temperature of 150 degrees F on a meat thermometer, about 30 to 40 minutes, Remove from the oven, and allow to rest loosely tented with foil for 10 minutes.

Slice the rack into chops and place on your favorite serving platter.  Drizzle a little of the sauce around the pork chops and over the top.  Garnish with parsley sprigs and butter. The pork is so tender and has an unbelievably rich and delicious flavor.  My family RAVED about this dish. 

Jim’s Delicious Meatloaf

1-1/2 pound ground beef

3/4 cup tomato sauce 

1 cup Pepperidge Farms Herb Seasoned Stuffing
1 teaspoon Sage
1 clove garlic, diced

1-1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 eggs, gently beaten by hand

3/4 cup diced onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1-1/2 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1/3 cup Ketchup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup French’s Fried Onions

Sauté onion, celery, & chopped green pepper in Olive oil. 

Mix ground beef, tomato sauce, Herb Seasoning, sage, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and eggs together in large bowl.

Add sautéed mixture to the ground beef mixture.  Place/press into a greased loaf dish.  Spread Ketchup on the top of the mixture and sprinkle brown sugar over the ketchup.

Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 1 hour.

Sprinkle French’s Fried Onions on top, and cook for 5 more minutes being careful not to burn.

Serve with cornbread for a tasty fall meal…

Rosie Higgins
Lawrenceville, Georgia

Hamburger Stew

1 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 cups (1-inch thick) sliced carrots
5 cups (1-inch cubes) potatoes
4 cups water, divided
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons tomato paste

Brown ground beef and onion in olive oil in large skillet. Drain well and set aside.

Combine carrots with 2 cups water in large Dutch oven. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add potatoes and remaining 2 cups water. Boil until vegetables are fork tender. Add meat mixture and remaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat 15 minutes.

Yield: 12 servings.

Fried chicken livers are one of my all-time favorite Southern foods…

Rick McDaniel

Chef Rick’s Southern Cooking

www.chefrick.com

Fried Chicken Livers

• 1 pound chicken livers
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Wash livers under cool, running water and pat dry.

In a 2-quart mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt and black pepper. Dredge chicken livers in flour mixture.

In a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil until it shimmers but does not smoke, 350 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Carefully place livers into hot oil. Fry until brown, about 4 to 6 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towel.

Yield: 2 to 4 servings

Pineapple Grilled Chicken Thighs                             

1 cup (6-oz.can) pineapple juice
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 large pineapple, cored and sliced 1-inch thick

Combine pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce and garlic in a small bowl.
Pour over chicken thighs; refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Remove chicken from marinade. Grill chicken, covered with grill lid, over medium heat 20 to 30 minutes or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 170 degrees.  Place pineapple slices on grill during last 10 minutes of cooking time.

Mrs. Meredith Appleton
Macon, Georgia

… from the kitchen of Suzanne Forsyth

Georgia Shrimp in Olive Oil and Lime

1 pound Georgia shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon lime juice

Rinse and drain shrimp. Combine shrimp, olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper in large zip top bag. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour (4 hours is better). During the last 30 minutes of marinating, add lime juice.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place contents of bag in 13×9-inch baking dish. Bake 8-9 minutes, stir and bake an additional 5-6 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings.

If you are accustomed to low salt cooking, use Healthy Request Low – Salt soup. This dish may be too salty if made with traditional soup and dry soup mix.

Mrs. Martha Little Fowler
Hazlehurst, Georgia

Pork Chop & Rice Casserole

4 - 6 pork chops
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1 can cream of celery or mushroom soup
1 soup can water
1 envelope dry onion soup mix

Spray baking dish with cooking spray. Salt, pepper and flour pork chops; brown on both sides in small amount of hot oil. Drain.

Combine rice, soup, dry onion soup mix and water in mixing bowl. Pour into casserole dish. Top with pork chops. Bake at 350° for 1 hour in metal dish and 325° for 1 hour if using glass.

Note: You can add fresh or canned mushrooms to this dish.

This is the ultimate in comfort food.  I prefer to delete the garlic salt from this recipe (from the South Carolina Farm Bureau cookbook).

Hamburger Biscuit Casserole

2 pounds ground beef
1/2 - 1 cup chopped onion
1 14-ounce can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
2 8-ounce cans buttermilk biscuits
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 8-ounce container sour cream
2 eggs, beaten

In large frying pan, brown ground beef and onion. Stir in tomato sauce, chili powder and garlic salt. Simmer while preparing dough.

Separate 1 can of biscuit dough; pull apart each into 2 layers. Press biscuit layers over bottom of ungreased 10 x 13-inch baking pan.

Combine 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese (reserve remaining cheese for topping), sour cream and eggs; mix well. Remove meat mixture from heat and stir in sour cream mixture; spoon over dough. Arrange remaining biscuit layers (pull apart in two layers) on top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until biscuits are golden brown.

Hint: To reheat, bake loosely covered with foil, at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until heated through. To make ahead: prepare, cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours before baking.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.
Yield: 8 servings

Being raised in Immokalee, I have eaten my fair share of fowl.   Quail was always a treat.   Suppose my favorite version of quail is found at Commanders Palace in New Orleans… but that recipe is lengthy and complicated.  But, this recipe is easy and truly Southern.

Ben

Smothered Quail

6 quail
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons self-rising flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup sherry
 Salt and pepper to taste

Wash and season quail with salt and pepper as desired.  Melt butter in a heavy skillet and brown quail.

Remove quail from butter and place in a deep baking dish. Add flour to butter in skillet and stir well. Slowly add chicken broth and sherry, blend well with a wire whisk. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bring sauce to a boil, remove from stove and pour over quail. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until quails stick tender.

This recipe can be found in the South Carolina Farm Bureau cookbook.

There is something comforting about this dish.  On a cold day, I think this meal is one of my all time favorites.

Shepards Pie

2 pounds ground beef

vegetable oil

1-1/2 cups chopped onions

1 cup carrots, cut up

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup beef broth

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping:

5 medium-sized potatoes

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Fry ground beef in vegetable oil.

Add onions and carrots. Cover and cook 5 minutes over medium heat. Blend in tomato paste, flour, and beef broth. Cook, stirring, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in frozen vegetables and cook 10 minutes.

Cook and mash potatoes and spread over meat mixture in casserole dish. Dot with butter.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.