Recipe Anxiety?

[Mottmott]

Yesterday at WF I saw a lovely piece of boneless pork country ribs, a steal at $4/lb. (Turns out it was a steal, they'd mislabeled it and voluneered it to me at the sticker price.)

But I need to decide what to do with it. Given the cut, I see long slow cooking, ruling out most recipes for loin or tenderloin, but then.... Right now I want flavor zippiness, not the hominess of pork, cabbage/sauerkraut, potatoes, good as that may be. Besides, though I've been meaning to try out the sauerkraut from the Reading Terminal Market that's been getting such good reviews, it's RAINING outside. I might melt.

I could wing it. Boning the meat has produced a relatively thin, flat piece of meat that could be cooked as is or tied into a nice compact roast - suitable even for stuffing before tying it together. Hmm, I have some prosciutto, some nice kale, cheese, olives, roasted peppers, all sorts of dried fruits and nuts, spices on hand. Something tasty could be done right out of my pantry and my head.

On the other hand, I don't use my cookbooks enough except for bedtime reading. A shelf-full of cookbooks and the riches of the world online, how to choose, how to choose? How do you choose?

Stevens' ABB has enticing Pork Riblets in Vietnamese Caramel Sauce or a Honey Glazed 5-spice Baby Back Rib dish that could be easily adapted for a more homey presentation. Wolfert's Pork Stew with Prunes an Onions? I bet it would be splendid made in my beautiful barely broken in tagine. Bur right next to it is the Pork and Orange Flavored Beans that I've also marked for a future fling. Oh, how to choose, how to choose? How do you choose? And if ever a beautiful piece of pork called to be coddled in olive oil and served with beans and arugula, this one does. OK, I think the on-hand kale would be a great substitute. How to choose, how to choose? Luckily, the limits of my pantry rule out cassoulet because this piece of pork has cassoulet written on it. Maybe a **** chef might have the answer. Well, Keller has almost nothing to say on the subject of pork! (Too downscale?) I won’t be Cooking with Daniel Boulud, whose braised pork and carrots falls into the too homey category for today’s desire. Vongerichten’s Cooking at Home - a jackpot for pork embellished flavors: I could easily adapt his peanut crusted ribs, pork in caramel sauce, or even his baeckoffe of pork.

How to choose, how to choose? How do you choose?

[mizducky]

Heh. I experienced a similar case of Recipe Anxiety the last time I picked up a nice hunk of pork belly with no immediate plan of action in mind. After dithering over several recipe choices, I finally managed to remind myself that this was hardly the last pork belly on the planet, and whatever recipes I chose not to use on the poor thing this time, I could always try out at some future date. The spell thus broken, I then simply asked myself what flavors and textures were calling to me at that moment, and went with that. (Happened to be a braise with soy sauce and star anise, if memory serves...)

[fifi]

$4 a pound a good deal and a mistake? Good grief! Going rate here for that cut is about $3, top price, not on sale. Oh . . . I forgot . . . you said Whole Foods. Perhaps the pig was raised on acorns hand gathered by gnomes in the oak forests of Mythistan and watered from the Magic Spring toted to them in crystal jugs by the fairies.

All of your ideas sound really good. I tend to go either Latin or Asian when I run into that cut. For Latin, my quick go-to is a braise with Goya Mojo Criollo and lots of garlic and black pepper. Asian is usually something like mizducky said.

The Braising with Molly topic has some great ideas. I can personally vouch for using that cut as a substitute for the beef in the Beef Rendang.

I also need to break in my new tagine and I can't think of a better way than one of Wolfert's ideas.

[andiesenji]

I love apples with pork. A mixture of dried apples and prunes, chopped and mixed with some sweet spices, a dash of dry mustard, a very little rosemary, bread crumbs and finely chopped pecans, spread over the flattened meat, sprinkled with a little balsamic vinegar then rolled and tied and roasted long and slow or braised, etc.

[Carrot Top]

That is an amazing treasure-trove of ideas you've listed, Mottmott. If you keep thinking of all of them you will be quite full before you even bite into the finished dish.

The way I decide is to think of how I want the house to smell while I'm cooking. Let your imaginary nose lead you. . . .

[snowangel]

My recipe anxiety is usually dictated by what else I have at home, or what I look for at the market that is ripe. The first time I did the Molly Stevens recipe for pork braised with coconut milk, lime and mango had to do with the fact that I ad a couple of mangos on the counter that were close to the going, going, gone stage.

And, I must agree with Linda on the price of the ribs. I regularly get the bone in country ribs (superior for a braise, IMHO) for $1.28/lb.

[fifi]

. . . . .

And, I must agree with Linda on the price of the ribs.  I regularly get the bone in country ribs (superior for a braise, IMHO) for $1.28/lb.

←

Well, Mottmott did say boneless. That is what I was referring to at $3. I actually saw an ad for them today for $1.98, boneless. I consider the whole price thing the gnome and fairy factor.

And, I agree. I prefer the ones with bones. Especially for a braise. If the boneless ones are on sale, I tend to chunk them for stew or for the rare sishkebab.