Obviously you can roast a thawed hindleg like any other traditional Leg Roast. Depending on butchering age a single hindleg might weigh anywhere between 3 and 10 pounds. Pastured or wild pork will have a somewhat richer flavor than commercial penned pork because of the increased exercise the pastured animal will have had compared to the penned varieties. The loin can be roasted whole or cut into chops and grilled, or the chops pounded flat, battered and fried. Chunked meat can be stewed (Potbelly is excellent for Stroganoff!) or used in soups. Ground meat can be put into Tacos, chili, or meatloaf, etc. These are all recipes any traditional American or European cookbook will probably already have. So what follows are a few of the more exotic recipes people have asked for, that they have had trouble finding in commercial cookbooks and enjoyed at our dinnertable.
Potbelly Pressed Meat for Cold Lunchmeat or boneless Hot Roast
Traditionally lamb is used this way to make the meat for Gyros, and this is an adaptation of a Lamb recipe from Chef Alton Brown, from the Food Network’s "Good Eats".
This is intended to be a more dry dense somewhat aromatically spicy meatloaf (not hot spicy) for slicing for sandwiches, rather than moist like a traditional Roast.
Take 2 pounds of lean meat, with it very chilled or semi frozen, cut into chunks or strips small enough to fit in your meat grinder and then coarse grind. Chill again for an hour or so and then fine grind. (Grinding is a step that should not be skipped, this will ensure the fibrous portions of the sinew will be broken down. A food processor surprisingly does not accomplish this, and unlike stews or roasts which are slowly cooked, fast cooking will not break down the connective tissue. I skipped this step the first time I made this and there were areas of stringy strands in the final product. The reason for chilling the meat thoroughly before and between steps is so the heat of the meat grinder does not heat up the meat and start to melt the fat which will make it harder to grind the meat since it will start to stick in the grinder. I’ve found if I take a cold pack and freeze it over a piece of cardboard to match the shape of the motor casing of my grinder and place that over the motor housing during grinding, that helps as well.)
Take one medium onion, chop it enough to get it to fit in a large food processor and process till minced (about 5-10 seconds) Remove the onions from the processor and place on a tea towel, pull up the corners and twist to squeeze out the juice. Freeze the juice to save it for a soup recipe.
Put the meat and the onions in the food processor with:
1 and 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon oregano
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper (or white pepper if you like a little more heat)
Process on high until it turns into a meat paste (about 60-90 seconds).
Turn it out onto some plastic wrap. Form it into a loaf and then wrap tightly, twisting the ends of the plastic and excluding any air. Place in a loaf pan and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the plastic and Bake uncovered at 350 F for 1 hour. Immediately drain, then place a second loaf pan on top of the meat in the first loaf pan. Add about an inch of water in the second pan to put some pressure on the meatloaf. (Or you could use a foil wrapped brick). Allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing. Traditionally the meatloaf is placed on a spit and roasted in a rotisserie fashion, but a glass loaf pan is a close second.
Gyros are traditionally served with sautéed onions and sliced tomatoes with a cucumber sauce on pita bread.
Cucumber sauce for Gyros.
Take a whole cucumber, peeled and seeded, then dice it and place in a tea towel, sprinkle with a little salt about a 1/2 teaspoon, and press it until the pieces are fairly dry.
Put the diced cucumber in a bowl and put 12 oz plain yogurt in the tea towel. Pull up the corners and slowly twist to force out the whey. When a little of the white curd is starting to be forced through the towel, it should be dry enough. Put the yogurt curds in the bowl with the cucumber, add
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar.
Stir to combine, cover with plastic and refrigerate for up to a week.
Irish Potbelly Bacon
Debone the hindleg. This is easiest with it hanging. Simply scrape the bone spiraling down and the meat will come off in a torus (doughnut shape). Deboning will increase the surface area to mass ratio and eliminates the need for an injector. As the meat ages it will lose the torus shape and will look like a boneless roast. Age the meat in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 3 weeks, then put it into the brine and evacuate the air from the bag. Allow it to soak for another three weeks in the brine, in the refrigerator. This is a weak brine and the finished ham does not need to be soaked or washed prior to cooking. Pour a good beer over the ham and bake covered at 225 F for 2 hours.
BRINE (for a 3-5 pound ham)
3 cups water
½ cup sugar
½ cup Morton Tenderquick
½ Tablespoon Black Pepper
Mettwurst
These are not greasy at all, unlike every commercial variety I have ever tried.
16-18 pounds of coarse ground Lean Potbelly meat. Mix thoroughly with
2 and 1/2 Tablespoons Morton Tender Quick
1 Tablespoon ground White Pepper
1 Tablespoon ground Fennel Seed
1 Tablespoon ground Celery Seed
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons Onion Powder
1/2 Tablespoon ground Paprika
1 Teaspoon ground Coriander
1Tablespoon Minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Teaspoon ground Ginger
2 Teaspoons whole Mustard Seeds
In a very large stockpot Simmer 700 cc by volume Pinhead Oatmeal (a.k.a. Groats) in 2500 cc Water until it is a thick porridge consistency (about 30-40 minutes). Add the meat mixture and mix thoroughly. Chill in refrigerator overnight and then Fine grind the mix, chill for another 2 hours and stir to recombine the liquid that will have tried to settle out of the mix and then stuff into sausage casings (30 mm or so) and freeze. I’ve found the easiest way is to stuff it into one long sausage coil, or periodically use some string to tie a section into a link, then freeze the sausages and then either break or cut it into sections for freezer portions. If you are using fresh sausage casing (which is more delicate than what is used for smoking) the traditional method of twisting the sections into links, seems to have a tendency to simply pop the casing and spew your sausage mix all over the counter.)
To cook them, place the frozen sausages in a skillet with about a half inch to an inch of plain water, cover and steam for 20 minutes over medium to high heat making sure the water doesn’t boil off too quickly, then remove the lid and cook off the remaining water, then brown to your liking.
Goetta
Goetta is an old German breakfast favorite and variations of recipes can be found on many pinhead oatmeal (groats) packages. Some prefer it fried and served with syrup, (this will usually be for a heavier oat mix such as 2 pounds of meat for one pound of uncooked oats) others prefer it seasoned with salt and pepper, or maybe even some salsa and/or cheese. I prefer a meatier mix. You can use the tougher parts of the pig for this, since the meat is cooked prior to grinding, most of the collagen has been broken down, and it makes grinding much easier. You can also add the kidneys, heart, spleen and tongue. In many ways this is reminiscent of the Scottish dish Haggis in that you use the less choice parts of the animal with oats. You can also use this trick (grinding cooked meat instead of raw) for any stuffed sausage as well. My version ends up being about half meat and half oatmeal by volume after cooking. The higher the meat ratio, the more difficult it is for the loaf version to set, and the more likely that stuffing it into casings will work better. In a pinch, this could also be browned and used in place of other meat for tacos, chili etc.
10 pounds of pork trimmings, simmered in about 2 gallons of water for about an hour with two large onions. Drain the meat and onions, but save the broth.
Grind the meat and onions through coarse and then fine grinds. Set aside.
Cook the pinhead oatmeal (2 pounds) in the broth with 2 bay leaves, simmer and stir until it is thick and bubbles splattering like a volcano. Be careful not to let it stick to the bottom of the pan or it will burn.
Stir in the meat and spices:
1/5 cup kosher or sea salt
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon sage
1 teaspoon ground celery seed
1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1 teaspoon mustard seeds (optional)
pour into loaf pans and refrigerate. (Stores well in freezer) cut off slices and fry until golden brown. Serve sweet with maple syrup or honey. Or serve savory with salt and pepper, maybe with salsa or cheese, or top with a fried egg.
Instead of loaf pans, you could also allow it to cool and then stuff into sausage casings. This is very reminiscent of Bratwurst in flavor and texture.
Potbelly Ham
Debone the hindleg. This is easiest with it hanging. Simply scrape the bone spiraling down and the meat will come off in a torus (doughnut shape). Deboning will increase the surface area to mass ratio and eliminates the need for an injector. As the meat ages it will lose the torus shape and will look like a boneless roast. Age the meat in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 3 weeks in the brine, then cook and serve. This is a weak brine and the finished ham does not need to be soaked or washed prior to cooking, but you probably would not want to cook the meat in the brine, since that will be too salty. Pour a good beer over the ham or a can of chunked pineapple and bake covered at 225 F for 2 hours. Then sprinkle some brown sugar over the meat and bake for another 10 minutes uncovered at 400F. Allow the meat to rest for 15 minutes prior to slicing. The leftover juice makes a great base for Split Pea Soup, or French Onion Soup.
BRINE (for a 3-5 pound ham)
3 cups water
½ cup sugar
½ cup Morton Tenderquick
½ Tablespoon Black Pepper
½ Teaspoon Garlic
2 Bay leaves
½ teaspoon Whole Allspice
George's Potbelly Pate Souffle
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic
1-2 eggs, separated and the whites whipped to soft peaks
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
herb of choice (sometimes I like a 1/2 teaspoon of coriander, sometimes basil, experiment a little)
A good piece of liver about the size of your hand, cleaned of any bile ducts and the gall bladder removed as well. Depending upon the pig this will likely be a half to a whole liver. Make sure the liver looks healthy. It should be a uniform and firm reddish brown and any bile ducts should look sort of off white. If the meat of the liver has yellow discolored areas or obvious scarring, then it may be best to discard it
Kidneys, split and washed, remove the ureters and any renal pelvis (white gristly puouch connected to the uereters)
Spleen
Heart
Tongue (Make sure to have removed the hyoid bone and thouroughly scrub the skin portion. Alternately blanch and peel the skin)
Omentum (a.k.a. call fat which forms a sort of net like apron of fat that hangs in front of the viscera inside the abdomen)
Wash and pat dry the meats. Cut them into uniform sizes. Braize them to the medium rare stage in a shallow pan over low to medium heat with the salt and pepper with a little olive oil. Set the meat aside and then caramelize the onion. Deglaze the pan with a few tablespoons of beer or wine or balsamic or rice vinegar. In a pinch you could use water with a dash of tobasco.
Put the meat in a food processor and process until it is in little tiny uniform bits (probably about 30 seconds). In order to blend it smooth you will need some liquid which often is sufficient in the caramelized onion with the glaze in the pan. Add the onion, glaze, herb and garlic and process until smooth. Add the egg yolk(s) and process another 30 seconds. It should be about the same consistency as spackle. If it's too dry add another egg. If it's too liquid add a few crackers (potato chips or corn chips would work too) and process again. Fold the pate mixture with the egg whites and scrape into a baking dish that has been lightly buttered and floured.
Bake uncovered at 350F for 20-30 minutes. It should have puffed up and formed a few small cracks with browning around the edges. Remove from heat and grate some parmesan cheese on top, enough to cover the pate. Serve with crackers or toast for scooping.
Stock is best described, the way I make it, as liquid bone. The flavor and mouthfeel that stock adds as opposed to water in soups and stews is indescribeably delicious. It is the kind of thing you would not believe unless you have experienced it.
After deboning either a sheep or pig carcass, (or a mix for that matter) put the bones in a pressure cooker. (One boar skeleton will fit easily into a 7 quart jar capacity canner/cooker) Feel free to toss in a couple vegetables or your favorite spices but I do not add salt during the canning. I only add salt at the time of meal preparation. When properly pressure canning salt is not necessary. Adding it for flavor is something else. Add enough water to get it to 1/2 to 2/3 full (2-3 gallons) and cook at about 15 pounds pressure. You may need to tap on the side of the canner or try to lift one side once in a while to make sure it is not cooking down too fast. You don't want to burn it by boiling off the water. I cook it for about 5 hours the first day and then turn the fire off and go to sleep. This kind of cooking is sure to have killed anything in there and bacteria aren't going to crawl in overnight if you have a pressure cooker with a properly fitting lid. The next morning I check the water level, usually not having to add any water, turn it on and cook it for about another 2-3 hours. I don't know why, but allowing it to cool over night and then cooking a second time seems to result in a better stock.
After it has cooled enough to handle the cooker, open it and strain off the liquid. The bones at this point should be crumbly. We give the solids at that point to the dogs. There should be about 3-5 quarts of liquid. This is poured into quart sized canning jars. The canner is cleaned and then the jars are processed for canning at 15 pounds pressure for 45 minutes, in accordance with the canner's manufacturer. Be sure to add a couple tablespoons of white vinegar to the boiling water during canning (in the water outside the jars) to prevent spalling, which is basically the minerals in the water crystallizing on the outside of the jars. If you forget and this happens, it doesn't seem to affect the stock in the jars. It just looks odd, and the novice will think that something horrible has happened. Properly sealed jars will last for several years in the pantry and are a quick soup base on those days that you don't feel up to a lot of work.
One thing to avoid during canning is using the quick release for the pressure. Allow the processor to cool on the stove and don't release the pressure or open the lid until the whole thing is cool enough to touch comfortably. If you don't wait the pressure differential will make the jars boil over and a portion of the the stock will wind up in the boiling water instead of the jars.
Back to top of pageMan that was good! Lamb would probably have been even better!
You know those days when things don't go exactly right for a few days in a row? You look in the fridge and there's a bit of leftovers from a couple days that don't seem to mesh? I had about a pound of leftover somewhat overcooked and therefore a little tough ends of pork loins with about 2 cups of meat juice plus or minus the beer that I'd poured over it prior to cooking the previous day and my own personal blend of spices (salt, garlic powder, onion powder, ground bay leaves, cumin and white, black and red peppers). There was also about a cup of cooked, previously frozen peas, chicken eggs...because this is a farm, and I started to look around the pantry and crisper drawers. Dried peppers... onions... garlic... celery... couscous... Wait a minute, where'd that come from? I was thinking Lo Mein, but couscous sounds interesting...
Slivered leftover pork (about a pound of meat and about 2 cups of liquid)
2 julienned medium onions
2 sliced ribs of celery
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 dried ancho peppers ground in a coffee grinder (minus most of the seeds since I try to replant those)
1 dash of Rice Vinegar
1 Dash of Sesame Oil
6 seconds of grinding white pepper (probably 1/2 teaspoon)
1 egg, (but wait on that, see below. Stirred in eggs should be done close to serving or they overcook and don't taste as good in the final dish. they tend to mellow out overseasoning and overspicing)
Put into a large dutch oven over mild heat and simmer until all is tender (that day that was about an hour)
In a separate medium saucepan simmer 3 cups water with a 1/4 teaspoon salt. When the water is hot pour in the dried couscous, remove from heat and let steam, covered for 5 minutes, then stir in the peas.
When the couscous is cooked, stir an egg into the meat mixture (in the same manner as egg drop soup or poached eggs...when the liquid is simmering, turn off the heat and stir in a raw egg. The residual heat of the liquid will cook the egg)
Put a serving spoonful of couscous in a bowl and a ladle of the curried pork and enjoy!
This is my version of falafel. The not so secret ingredient is meat. Lamb or pork works well, as does a mix. If you want a vegan version simply omit the meat, but we think it tastes much better with the meat included.Back to top of page
Soak covered overnight (18-24 hours) in 5 cups water, at room temperature
then drain and set them aside.
- 2 cups dried garbanzos
- 2 ½ cups dried split peas
In a spice grinder (dedicated coffee grinder), grind into a fine powder,
In a food processor, working in batches, process into meat paste (roughly 15-30 seconds at high speed).
- 2 Piquin chili peppers
- 5 whole Bay leaves
- 2 Tablespoons whole Cumin
- 2 Tablespoons Rosemary
- 1 Tablespoon Whole White Peppercorns
- 1 Tablespoon Whole Black Peppercorns
- ½ Tablespoon Mace blades
- 2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
- 3 Tablespoons Smoked Paprika
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons minced Garlic
- 2 ½ to 3 pounds ground meat (2 sandwich sized zip-seal bags)
Next in the processor, process the rehydrated peas and chickpeas into a dough (roughly 3 minutes at high speed). Then blend the meat and the spice mix together with the garbanzo dough thoroughly. Form the mixture into meatballs each about ¾ the diameter of a golf ball (roughly 1 ½ inches).
Bake uncovered in a shallow pan at 400F for about 20 minutes.
Serve with a spicy barbecue sauce and have available toothpicks or skewers for spearing the meatballs and dipping.