Braised Pork and Grits
Here’s a dish you can make for dinner on the weekend that’s elegant, yet still humble enough to eat on any occasion. I wanted my first recipe after a long hiatus to reflect exactly where I am as a chef, and this is it. The grits ground this dish in southern cuisine, and the braised pork takes you abroad to visit with some Asian flavors that I love.
Grits are an everyday part of my life right now as a culinarian; I’m in the kitchen at 4AM to make them five mornings out of the week at Atlanta Breakfast Club. I started with ABC as a Sous Chef this past February, but we’ll get to those details in a Life of Lem post. Let’s just say I’ve developed an intimate relationship with grits to date. In this recipe you’ll practice the braising technique, make a red wine sauce, and realize the subtle nuances to reaching perfectly creamy grits. This dish is a celebration of new beginnings, and the progression of a young culinary mind. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
For Braising:
2 lbs boneless pork stew meat
1 qt stock (vegetable, chicken, beef, or veal stock works fine, please make sure the stock is no sodium, or low at sodium)
1 carrot
2 ribs of celery
1 medium yellow onion
3 bay leaves
1 bunch of tarragon (for the braise and the sauce)
Sauce:
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup stock
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp fish sauce
For Grits:
4 cups water
1 cup grits
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp kosher salt
Recipe:
1. Prepare your vegetables for your braised pork. Peel your carrot, peel halve your onion, and wash off the two ribs of celery and place them in a medium sized baking pan, or cast iron dutch oven.
2. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Season pork with kosher salt and pepper.
3. Heat a cast iron skillet or large saute pan with just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Brown your pork on all sides, until you see light caramelization on the pork. Work in batches so you do not overcrowd the pan. Overcrowding causes steam to rise and takes away from browning the pork.
4. Remove the pork from the cast iron and place in your baking dish or dutch oven with enough stock to cover the pork halfway. Cover the pan or dutch oven with foil and place in the middle rack of the oven towards the back to braise for 2 hrs.
5. For the sauce, begin by melting 2 tbsp of unsalted butter in a medium saute pan. Add the red wine, brown sugar, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Reduce the sauce by half. In the last five minutes of the simmer, add about 5 sprigs of tarragon from your bunch to the sauce. The sauce should have some thickness, but not coat your spoon totally.
6. Remove the pork from the oven. Check for fork tender meat. Try a piece, it should almost melt in your mouth. If so, place the stew meat into the pan with your red wine sauce to simmer. If the pork is not fork tender, place it back in the oven for 15 more minutes, then add it to the pan to simmer.
7. While your pork is simmering, boil 4 cups of water in a medium saucepan for your grits. Add 3 tbsp of butter and 2 tsp of kosher salt to the water and cover with a lid.
8. Once your water comes to a boil, whisk in one cup of grits and continue stirring until the grits begin to thicken. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan. Continue to whisk the grits periodically until they become creamy and each granule is hydrated and cooked through. You’ll want to taste them throughout this entire process to check for doneness, salt, and butter levels. Adjust to taste accordingly.
9. While the pork continues to simmer in the saute pan, the sauce should be thickening and coating the pork. Baste the sauce over the pork with a spoon to aid in the coating. Once the pork has turned a deep brown color and the sauce begins to coat your spoon, reduce the heat to below a simmer until you are ready to serve.
10. For serving, spoon grits into four shallow bowls, followed by the braised pork, and spoonfuls of the red wine sauce. Garnish with fresh tarragon and basil. Serve immediately.