Rancid Recipes #4: Wild Rice Stuffed Pork Chops

It's been a little while since I've posted a Rancid Recipe (such a delicious sounding title, to be sure).  Today's music selection was inspired by a dream I recently had that Tim Armstrong and I were taking a class on identifying Hollywood celebrities.  We both failed miserably, told the instructor that it was a bullshit class, and left to watch the movie "High Fidelity" with my brother.  I don't know what the dream means, but it put me into a Tim Armstrong music kick: Op Ivy, Transplants, Tim Timebomb & Friends, his solo stuff, and of course, Rancid.  Apparently, they knew from the very first show what it was all about.

The idea for this recipe popped into my head about a month ago, transformed a lot during late
nights of intoxication, Food Network, and conversation, and finally came into existence splendidly last night.  Do you have any idea how tickled I am when a recipe from scratch turns out perfectly with no need for alterations?!  Of course you don't, because you're not dining in my house (but perhaps you SHOULD be, Rancid members?)  The stranger in my head does a little dance when this happens and there was dancing last night, by glob!  It's a little time consuming (the recipe, not the dancing in my head), but well worth the time!  The combination of mushrooms, onions and apples was killer!

I think some of the ingredients in this recipe need a little explanation, though.  It does contain wild rice, as the title states, and I learned something - there is no correct way to cook wild rice.  I got mine out of the bulk bin at my local co-op and followed the instructions on the dispenser: 2 cups liquid to 1 cup wild rice.  I did exactly that, and the rice came out a little crunchy.  I loved it.  Justin didn't care for the consistency at all.  So researching wild rice, I found that different suppliers process it differently and you can't always cook two different brands the same way.  Basically, it's preference.  Do you like it crunchy or do you want to cook it until the rice bursts open and is softer.  Your call.  You have to just follow the instructions on the one you purchase and adjust according to your preference.

The lion's mane mushrooms are my next ingredient to discuss.  These obviously are not sold in your local supermarket (as Food Network often likes to tell its watchers about exotic foods).  We can sometimes find them in our co-op or local organic stores, but we mostly buy them in the summer at our local farmers markets.  And while you could use regular button mushrooms, crimini or portabello mushrooms for this recipe, there's no way you're going to get the same flavour out of them.  Lion's mane was first described to us as having a lobster flavour.  If you look them up on Wiki, it says when cooked, they have the consistency of seafood.  Well, I sort of agree and disagree with both.  Once that's in your head, that's what you think of (and now I put it in your head), but really, I'd just say they have a very rich, earthy flavour.  They're awesome.  If you like mushrooms and have never tried these, seek them out.  It'll be worth it.

And so we move on to the musical stylings of my favourite band, Rancid, bringing us their song, "Last One To Die".  As they wrap up their tour (which we very sadly don't get to see, again, because we're poor and live behind the Redwood Curtain) and prepare for a new album to come out, I think to myself - maybe they will be the last ones to die.  -jen

WILD RICE STUFFED PORK CHOPS
Time:  1.5 - 2 hours
Difficulty:  Medium
Serves:  6

Wild Rice:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup wild rice
• 2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons chicken base 
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• black pepper to taste (about 1/2 a teaspoon)

Chops & Stuffing:

• 6 thick pork loin chops (we like ours brined, recipe and how-to here)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups diced lion's mane mushrooms
• 3/4 cup oyster mushrooms (you can use all lion's mane if you like)
• 1 cup yellow onion, diced (about 1/2 of a large onion)
• 2 cups apple, peeled and diced (about 2 medium apples of your preference - sour or sweet, either would be tasty)
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• salt and pepper to taste

Rinse wild rice to remove loose hulls and strain the water out.  In a medium sauce pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat.  Add rice and brown, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes.  Add water and stir in chicken base, sage, tarragon, celery salt and black pepper.  Bring just to a boil, then put a lid on the pan and lower the heat to a simmer.  Cook without removing the lid or stirring for 50 minutes.  Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes.  (If you don't like crunchy wild rice, you may want to use 1 more cup of water, 1 more teaspoon chicken base, and a little more of each herb) and cook until the rice grains burst, about 60 minutes, then drain any remaining water from rice.)

While rice cooks, in a large saute pan or skillet, heat 3 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil over a medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms, onion, and apples.  Saute for about 7 minutes, or until the onion becomes slightly translucent.  Add sage, tarragon and salt and pepper (I used about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 a teaspoon black pepper), and cook for a few more minutes.  Remove from heat and add mixture to wild rice.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, F.  Carefully cut a pocket into the pork chops with a sharp knife,
making sure not to open the ends or the back side.  Place each chop into a gallon-sized Ziplock bag and pound flat.

Season the outside of the pork chop (both sides) with salt and pepper.  Drizzle a little olive oil on a sheet pan (we always cover ours with foil for easy clean up.)  Stuff each pork chop with as much of the wild rice stuffing as it will hold and carefully lay the stuffed chop on the baking sheet.  Place in the oven and cook at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chop.  Best to use a meat thermometer and cook until pork reaches 140 degrees F, then let rest.  The carry-over will bring it to a safe 145 degrees.

Wild American Shrimp Etouffee

My grandma and your grandma we're sitting by the fire...  So, lately, I've been wanting to do some southern-style cooking and the other day something reminded me of a commercial that was running on TV right after hurricane Katrina.  Jen and I always loved it because the one we had seen locally actually used the words, "All up in your etouffeé."  The video I found online is a bit shorter and says, "Right there in your etoufeé" instead but the point is that it inspired me to do some Cajun cookin and I decided on shrimp etouffeé.  I used a pearled barley in place of the rice, as Jen and I prefer it, but you could use anything you want since etouffeé is just a French word that means "smothered".  Smother whatever you wish!

Since the dish was inspired by wild American shrimpers, I figured it would only be apropos to accompany the dish with some Dead Kennedy's "Holiday in Cambodia".  Why, you might ask?  Because of some connective process by which one has to be aware that the biggest competition for wild American shrimpers is Southeast Asian shrimpers.  And Holiday in Cambodia seemed fitting.  If you read the next recipe post, I'll show you how to get from The Dead Kennedy's to Kevin Bacon in under three moves.  -  justin

Shrimp Etouffee

• 3 cups water
• 3 tbsp salt
• 2 cups pearled barley
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp dried sweet basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup chopped celery
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh pepper (Bell, Anaheim, Poblano) - I used poblano
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 cups seafood stock 
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 2 lbs peeled, de-veined shrimp
• 1 cup finely chopped scallions

Bring the water and 3 tbsp of salt to a boil over high heat in a saucepan and add the pearled barley.  When it returns to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and let cook for 30 minutes.  No lifting the lid!  After 30 minutes, set aside to cool.  This can be made far in advance if desired.

Thoroughly mix the salt, cayenne, white and black peppers, sweet basil and thyme and set aside.  In a separate bowl combine the onion, celery, and fresh peppers. 

In a large skillet (preferably cast iron), heat the oil over high heat until it just stars to smoke, around 4 minutes or so.  Mix in the flour gradually, stirring with a whisk until the mixture is smooth and continue cooking over high heat, whisking constantly, until the roux is a dark reddish-brown color, about 3-5 minutes.

Remove from heat as soon as you are at the desired color and immediately add the chopped vegetables and 1 tbsp of the seasoning mix.  Stir in with a wooden spoon and continue stirring until the roux has cooled, approximately 5 minutes or so.  The idea is to stop it from cooking or the residual heat will carry it far beyond where you intend, even burning your roux after it's been removed from the heat.

In a 3 quart saucepan bring 2 cups of the seafood stock to a boil over high heat.  Add the roux in increments, making sure to completely dissolve it before adding the next bit.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes while continuing to whisk.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large saucepan or stockpot, melt 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), over medium heat.  Stir in the shrimp and green onions.  Sauté for a minute or two, stirring constantly.  Add the remaining stick of butter, the last cup of seafood stock, and the stock/roux mixture.  Cook until the butter melts into the sauce, about 5 minutes, constantly shaking the pan in a circular motion over the heat, rather than stirring*.  Add at least 1 tbsp of the remaining seasoning mix and stir it in.  There should be 3 tbsp left and I used 2 for some spicy zip!

Serve over rice, or barley, and enjoy with a tall glass of iced tea or a cold, dark beer.

*A note on shaking the pot as opposed to stirring.  There are scientific reasons as to why this is a better way to combine butter in a sauce over medium heat instead of stirring but I don't know them.  What I do know is that it helps the oils released from the melting butter to better incorporate in the sauce than stirring does.  It works.  It just does.  If your sauce comes out looking oily or separated, add 2 more tbsp of stock or water and shake the pot for a couple minutes and the sauce will blend.

White Fish Tacos, Avocado Sauce, Black Bean & Olive Spanish Rice

Fish is a food that I didn't like until I was about 27 years old and Justin made me my first fish hash tacos.  This sealed the deal for me and fish and I have had a love affair ever since.  Since it's surely due to California that I love fish (it's much less "fishy" here than it is in Chicago), it was only natural that our play list consist of some of our favourite California bands - Rancid, NOFX, and Sublime.  Sublime's "Bad Fish" came on, and seemed incredibly appropriate in its juxtaposition to our excellent fish recipe below. -jen

 

BLACK BEAN & OLIVE SPANISH RICE

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped green or Kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1.5 cups of long-grain white rice
• 2.5-3 cups water **see instructions
• 15oz can diced tomatoes, drained (keep juice and set aside)
• 15 oz can black beans, drained
• 2 tablespoons Caldo de Pollo (or chicken boullon)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Heat olive oil in large skillet or sauce pan.  Sautee onions and carrots until tender and onions are transparent.  Add chopped olives and minced garlic and sautee another 3 minutes.

Add rice to vegetables and mix in.  Measure the drained tomato juice into a measuring cup, and use water to make up 3 cups of liquid total.  (If you have 1/2 a cup juice, you'll use 2.5 cups of water).  Carefully add liquid to hot pan.  Stir in tomatoes, beans, Caldo de Pollo, cumin, coriander, chili powder, smoked paprika and cilantro.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and turn heat to low.  Simmer for 25 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.  Don't lift the lid during cooking!

FISH TACOS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion (yellow, white, spring, or combination)
• 1 pound of boneless, light fish (sole, snapper, catfish, cod, etc), patted dry and cut into large chunks
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed or ground sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if desired)
• 1 lime (1 tsp of zest, and then juice the entire lime)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• corn tortillas
• Avocado Sauce (see recipe below)
• cilantro and chopped green onions for garnish
• Queso Fresco (if desired) 

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.  Add  onion and cook until onion is tender and translucent, 1-2 minutes.  Add fish, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, lime zest, and cayenne.  Cook for 2-3 minutes; fish will begin to turn an opaque white.  Add lime juice, garlic, and cilantro.  Continue cooking another 3 minutes, using the spatula to break up the fish into a hash.  Remove from heat.

Heat tortillas over the open flame of a gas burner until lightly browned (or use a dry skillet if you have electric burners).  Serve fish in warmed tortilla, top with Avocado Sauce, green onions, and cilantro.  We like to add a little crumbled Queso Fresco to ours.

AVOCADO SAUCE

This is a light, avocado and citrus sauce that goes well with fish, chicken, or as a vegetable dip.

• 1 avocado, cubed
• 1 green onion, chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon green Tabasco sauce
• pinch of salt
• pinch of black pepper

In a small food processor, combine all ingredients, blend well.