Apple Cider Pork

A recipe from my good friend Carole Huort

Note : the Apple cider should be the real one, it contains alcohol. What is sold in the US is generally Apple juice with gas in it - this is NOT Apple cider. If you can't find any, use red beer instead (Killians red style)

Ingredients

• 2 lb pork meat (not too lean)
  
• ½ lb smoked bacon (salted if can't get smoked) in thick slices.
  
• 3 onions
  
• 2 shallots
  
• bouquet garni (thyme, laurel, parsley, savory)
  
• Nutmeg
  
• 1 bottle Apple cider (the one with alcohol in it, not the sparkling apple juice)
  
• 5 apples
  
• olive oil
  
• salt, pepper
  

Procedure
Cut pork meat in cubes, about 1” sides.
Cut the apples in cubes, same size.
Cut the bacon in small cubes also.
Mince shallots and onions
In a heavy pot, lightly saute the porc meat in olive oil. Add bacon, onions and shallots, saute until golden.


Add ½ bottle cider, the herbs, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook on low heat for about one hour. Add more cider, and the apples. Cook one more hour.
Let it cool down.
Warm it up to serve it the next day, with more sauted apples, or an apple puree, and white rice.

Bon Appetit ! 

Grilled Duck Breasts

Very easy, and delicious...

Ingredients :

Duck Breasts (Magrets) – with Skin on (1 breast per guest)

Salt

Coarse ground black Pepper

Procedure :
Light up your grill, charcoal, gas or oven grill.

In a dish, mix salt and pepper – about 1/5 salt, 4/5 pepper

Rub the magrets in that mixture

Start grilling the magrets with the skin turned toward the heat. This will melt the fat and impregnate the meat with it., it also slightly isolates the meat from the heat. When the Skin is well grilled – crispy – turn the magrets so the meat is on the heat.

Stay there, make sure they are not overcooked, the grill must be very hot so the meat is seized in the surface and does not cook to deeply – Magrets should be eaten medium-rare.

Serve with :

• small cubed potatoes sauted in olive oil (or even better in goose fat) with garlic.
• Ginger and Cassis sauce (see other recipe)

Light red wine does very well with it – Saumur Champigny or St Joseph are really nice…