Braised Pork With Pearl Onions And Grapes Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle or lower third.
• Blanch unpeeled pearl onions in boiling water 2 minutes. Drain and transfer to an ice bath to stop cooking. Peel onions and trim off root ends.
• Bring onions, vinegar, and water to a simmer in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet with sugar, butter, bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Cover and simmer 3 minutes.
• Uncover skillet and transfer to oven. Roast, stirring once or twice, until most of liquid has evaporated, 15 to 18 minutes. Stir in grapes and roast, stirring once or twice, until liquid glazes onions and grapes, 5 to 8 minutes. Discard bay leaf.
• What to drink:
• Marimar Estate Don Miguel Vineyard '06

Steps:

• Combine salt and spices. Coat pork with the spice mixture, and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil. Add pork to pot. Sear pork until golden, turning with tongs, about 2 minutes per side. Stir in wine and bay leaves, scraping bottom of pot to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover, and simmer, basting meat with cooking liquid several times, 25 minutes. Remove pork from pot, and set aside.
• Stir in carrots, onions, parsnips, and garlic. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Make a well in center; return pork to pot. Quarter and core pears (peel and leave some whole if desired). Add pears, and simmer until pears are tender and a meat thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 145 degrees for medium, about 15 minutes. Let rest in pot 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Transfer the vegetables and pears to a platter with the sliced pork. Pour sauce through a fine sieve into a bowl; pour over pork.

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of salted water to boil, add the onions, and cook until almost tender but not falling apart (about 8-10 minutes). Drain and set aside, reserving 1 cup of the onion-cooking broth.
• Cut each pork tenderloin into 6 chunks. With a meat mallet, pound each to a thickness of about 1/2 inch.
• In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt 2 tbsp of the butter in the olive oil. Spread flour on a plate for dredging. Season the pork with 1/2 tsp of salt, and lightly dredge it in the flour. Brown the pork on both sides, about 2 minutes per side, and remove to a plate.
• Add the onions to the skillet, and let them cook a few minutes until lightly carmelized. Add the white wine, and bring to a boil. Once the wine is almost reduced, add the sage, the reserved onion-cooking broth, and the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes, until it is reduced by almost half. Whisk in the vinegar and the remaining 2 tbsp of butter. Add the pork back to the skillet with the grapes, and simmer until the sauce is thickened and grapes just begin to soften (about 3-4 minutes).

Steps:

• Tie the pork loin with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals. In a shallow dish large enough to hold the pork, whisk together the chopped herbs, mustard, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, teaspoon salt and teaspoon pepper. Add the pork and coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
• One hour before cooking, bring the pork to room temperature. Scrape off and reserve the marinade, then season the meat with salt and pepper.
• Place a roasting pan in the oven and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place a large saute pan over high heat. Add 2 more tablespoons of the oil and heat until smoking. Add the pork and sear about 4 minutes on each side, until well browned. Transfer fat side down to the roasting pan. Set the saute pan aside. Rub the reserved marinade over the pork and top with half the butter and the herb sprigs. Place the pan in the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the potatoes, shallots and grapes with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper. After the pork has cooked for 15 minutes, place the potatoes cut side down around the pork. Lay the grapes and shallots over the potatoes. Cook for an hour more, or until the center of the pork reaches 125 degrees.
• Meanwhile, drain the sauté pan of fat and return to medium-high heat. When hot, add the port and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan. When nearly evaporated, add the chicken stock and return to a boil. Whisk in the remaining butter and season with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve set over a serving bowl. Cover and keep warm.
• When the pork is done, transfer to a cutting board. Cover lightly with foil and let rest at least 10 minutes before slicing. Serve on a platter over the grapes, potatoes and shallots, accompanied by the sauce.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add pork to pot and cook until browned on all sides, about 13 minutes total. Transfer pork to plate; discard fat in pot.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same pot over medium heat. Add shallots and grapes; sauté until shallots are golden, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add sugar; sauté 30 seconds. Add vinegar; bring mixture to boil and cook until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Add broth, all herb sprigs, and pork with juices from plate. Bring to boil. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Braise pork 1 hour. Using tongs, turn pork over and continue braising until meat is very tender, about 45 minutes longer. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to platter; tent with foil.
• Remove herb sprigs from pot and skim fat from surface of cooking liquid. Boil cooking liquid over high heat until thickened, about 7 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour over pork and serve.