Earlier this year I caught an interesting recipe on Mark Bittman’s blog for Coconut Braised Beef. It was a rather simple recipe using coconut milk to braise some cubed chuck.

Not long after discovering it I made it for dinner one night and it was good, but not great. Personally I’m not as much of a fan of braised beef as I am pork. I think it is a textural thing.

Deciding that I needed to try it again with pork, I also decided to add a little more of my style to the dish. I added mango to the mix, as well as some lemongrass. Also, to make the presentation more appealing (my wife loves color) I diced some mango, scallions red bell pepper to make it look festive.

The results of this experiment were phenomenal and, according to my wife, this vaulted to the top of her favorite things that I make. After nearly six years together and a lot of kitchen adventures I felt that was a rather impressive accomplishment.

Personally, I’m not much of a fan of a lot of sauce on my dishes, but the braising liquid reduction with pureed mango was very silky and would taste good on a car bumper.

The residual heat from the chili powder and sriracha added a nice, light bite. If you prefer your food more spicy, then I would recommend at least doubling what I used.

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• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 tablespoons ginger, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons sriracha sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 limes, zested and juiced
• 1/2 cup peanuts, crushed, 1/4 cup reserved
• 2 pounds boneless country pork ribs, cubed*
• 2 cans coconut milk, 1 can reserved
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 stalks lemongrass, roughly chopped
• 4 sprigs fresh cilantro
• 2 mangoes, 1 1/2 roughly chopped, 1/2 finely diced
  1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup agave nectar (or 1/3 cup brown sugar)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 bunch scallions, bias cut
• salt and pepper, to taste

assemblage

• In a medium size bowl combine the first eight ingredients to form a loose paste, then saute for two to three minutes on the stovetop
• Add the cubed pork and stir to combine until the meat is coated in the paste
• Pour the coconut milk and water into the pan and cook for two to three minutes before pouring the mixture into a slow cooker
• Add the lemongrass, cilantro sprigs and roughly chopped mango
• Cover and cook for about eight hours on low
• When the pork is finished, separate the solids from braising liquid, wrap the pork in aluminum foil and reserve the mango pieces
• Pour the strained braising liquid in a medium sauce pot and add the second can of coconut milk, orange juice, agave nectar (or brown sugar) and reduce by half
• Add the reserved mango pieces and hit it with the boat motor (immersion blender), or allow to cool then transfer to a regular blender
• If allowed to cool, return the reduction sauce back to the sauce pan and bring back to a simmer, otherwise, add braised pork into the reduction and stir to coat completely

presentation

I served this braised pork very simply with some brown and red basmati rice and a few garnishes. Plating it up consisted of putting the rice in the center of a shallow bowl, a serving of the pork, a healthy drizzle of the sauce, then topping it all off with the diced mango and red bell pepper, reserved crushed peanuts and scallions.

* I used bone in country ribs because I didn’t find any boneless that I cared for. You could also cube up a pork shoulder that you’ve trimmed of any excess fat.

After the success I had with creating an Iron Chef America inspired dish last week it fueled my desire to attempt to replicate a dish I saw Chef Michael Symon make on the same episode. His dish was a chocolate pasta with a pork and boar shoulder ragout, however, I wasn’t able to find boar, so I stuck with just pork shoulder.

Since I could not find any recipes available on the Food Network website for any of the Iron Chef America episodes, I had to draw upon Chef Symon’s description of the dish and my experiences with braising. Obviously I did not make this in under an hour, but I also did not have any sous chefs or Alton Brown narrating my every move.

Despite my eagerness to attempt to replicate his dish, I was a little apprehensive about properly balancing chocolate and chili peppers in a savory dish. However, when it was all said and done I couldn’t have been happier with the results. The reduction sauce was amazing with the dark chocolate notes hitting you first as it finished with the heat from the chili peppers.

My only critiques would be I wish I had reduced the sauce a little more, as I felt it was a little thin for my tastes, and I could have added a touch more heat. The next time I do this I will probably try a more potent pepper, something in between a jalapeno and a habanero.

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5 pound pork shoulder, trimmed
olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 tablespoons chili powder, 1 reserved
2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon reserved
salt and pepper, to taste
2 14.9 ounce cans Double Chocolate Stout, 1 reserved for chef
1 1/2 cups orange juice, reserve 3/4 cup
1 1/2 cups chicken stock, reserve 3/4 cup
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
4 medium carrots, 2 roughly chopped, 2 julienned
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
6 to 8 garlic cloves, smashed
2 jalapeno peppers, roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, julienned
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 ounce of 60% or greater chocolate, grated (about 4 squares of a Lindt bar)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

assemblage

• Wash, pat dry, trim any excess fat from and lightly coat the pork shoulder in olive oil
• Liberally apply salt and combine the brown sugar, chili powder and cayenne pepper before rubbing it on the meat
• Wrap in plastic wrap and, if possible, refrigerate overnight
• Remove meat from refrigerator, if necessary, and deposit it in a slow cooker
• Pour in the chocolate stout, orange juice and stock, then the onion, roughly chopped carrot, celery, garlic and jalapenos
• Cook on low for up to eight hours
• When finished cooking strain/separate the fat from the braising liquid and begin reducing in a medium sauce pan along with the reserved orange juice and stock
• Once the braising liquid has reduced by half whisk in the tomato paste, taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary
• Whisk in the grated dark chocolate, then finish the reduction sauce by whisking in the butter and remove from heat
• Shred the pork, add in the remaining chili and cayenne powder and toss together, then ladle in about a quarter of the reduction sauce to heat it up and keep it moist

presentation

Like most pasta dishes I make, I kept the plating simple. I piled up some of the pork on the chocolate pasta, which were cut like fettucine noodles, sauced the dish and topped it all off with some julienned and sauteed carrots and red bell pepper. For the finishing touch I used my zester to grate some 70% dark chocolate like it was cheese.

The other night I was watching an Iron Chef America battle between Iron Chef Michael Symon and Chef Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes fame. The secret ingredient for the night was chili peppers and chocolate, which is a combination that has always interested me. I had a brisket that I needed to do something with, so I took some inspiration from this episode.

Deciding to use cola as my braising liquid, I trimmed the brisket and rubbed it with a mixture of chili powder, cocoa powder and ground cayenne pepper. Then I added some soy and Worcestershire sauce along with ginger, garlic and roughly chopped jalapenos to the braise.

This recipe has some nice background heat, as I’m not a fan of heavily spiced food, and, as with any braise I do, the reduction sauce was the key to success. If you like your dishes hotter, then I’d recommend increasing the proportions or upping the ante from jalapenos to habaneros.

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2 1/2 to 3 pound beef brisket
2 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups cola (not diet)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons ginger, roughly chopped
2 jalapenos, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons brown sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

assemblage

• Trim the brisket of fat, the rub with mixture of chili powder, cocoa powder and cayenne pepper
• Sear the brisket in a pan on high heat on both sides, then deposit into slow cooker
• Pour the cola, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce in with the brisket
• Add the garlic, ginger and jalapeno peppers
• Cover and cook for six hours
• After the brisket is finished braising, remove and cover with foil to retain heat
• In a medium sauce pan add the braising liquid, after straining the fat, and reduce by half
• Whisk in the tomato paste and brown sugar
• Taste reduction sauce and adjust seasoning, if needed

presentation

When I originally thought about doing this I intended to slice the brisket on the bias and use the strips of meat as the basis for tacos. In order to let the delicately braised meat and reduction sauce to shine through I didn’t want to add to much to the tacos. I dressed some broccoli slaw with a sesame soy vinaigrette to provide a some contrast to the meat and some crunch.