pork & clams, my way

[moikel]

Ingredients

.Sweet paprika,smoked paprika,garlic.pork neck,sherry vinegar, madeira.red wine,clams,sweet red pepper,country style chorizo,1 dried chilli pepper more aromatic then hot,gpb. Stock in this case from smoked pork bones,but normally chicken. Canned tomatoes .

I looked on net to get correct spelling,found a bunch of recipes all different to mine! Well I have been cooking it this way for 20 years &I figure its my deal. Rest coming

 

[SmokinAl]

Sounds delicious!

 

[moikel]

I dont marinate the meat but I use neck not shoulder,if you wanted to you could use shoulder & give it a soak in red wine garlic etc. Neck has 2 lines of fat that keep it tender.

So I fry 1 chopped onion,chopped red pepper,& a full chorizo less taste test(mighty fine) in olive oil 4 min then add 2 fat cloves of garlic, 1 more minute then take everything out of pan leaving as much pan juice as I can,had some butter on hand that looked at me the wrong way so it went in too. Then fry cubed pork in the panjuices ,chorizo leaves a bit behind.When its coloured sprinkle with 1x teaspoon sweet paprika ,1x smoked paprika,1 x teaspoon cumin,good fat grind black pepper.Fry 1 min. Then good slug sherry or madeira to deglaze pan ,give it a good shake & stir .Then add stock.I had pork stock (smoked ) fresh chicken frozen pork won.The chilli that I  soaked in hot water,I read packet its from Peru lovely depth of flavour not HOT. Put chorizo,onion,pepper mix back in. I decided against the canned tomatoes & used 1/2 a bottle of tomato passatta instead. Meat should be covered ,gentle simmer until meat is tender.I cut my pork big  but thats just me.

 

[moikel]

I  just touched it with sherry vinegar & topped it up with a glass of red wine.If any of its hard to find in your neck of the woods,you can use sherry vinegar/red wine + bit of sugar if you cant get madeira or sherry.I  bought a bottle of Madeira because its just authentic & I  can get it. Down under sherry has had a bad rap cheap nasty skid row drink . Real sherry from Spain /Portugal is a world away from Australian sherry.

I let the whole deal simmer until pork is cooked.

Then I  add clams & cook until they open. 

I dont add salt in this recipe. My Doctor talks about salt like its crack cocaine I filter what she tells me but chorizo is salted & clams will throw a bit.You can add it but you cant take it out.

After that its just serve with white rice. I was going to do some greens but I  figure I  have all the food groups covered already. I  have also drunk some very fine Margaret River red on an empty stomach & Im hungry.

 

[moikel]

I add clams,Diamond shells from New Zealand great product & simmer until they open.We get seafood & people from NZ.Its only a 4 hour flight.Our rugby team has at least 10 Polynesians. I like all of them.

 

[moikel]

OK this turned out really special but I was hungry & 3/4 bottle of red wine up. Its really about the depth of flavour in the sauce. Yes the colour is great but its about taste first. I haven't cooked it for a while . When I  first saw it on menu in Portugal 20 years ago my reaction was

 why would you put pork & clams together. Then I  saw it was plat d jour in the old school tavernas & I  saw 3 generations of a stonemason crew chowing down one lunchtime & figured they must know something!

Ive eaten it Madeira style,no tomato,mountains style more pork less clams,Lisbon style  more chilli & then my version. The smoked pork stock was because I  had it there,it worked. Clams vary I  ate different types when I was in Canada,little necks,cherry stones?. It would work with mussels although Bearcarver cant eat it. No reason to lose the clams if you can help it.

 

[moikel]

 

[moikel]

Hope you like it I realise its a bit different but its a classic dish & a combination of flavours that just sing

.

 

[Bearcarver]

Awesome!!!!

I'll take a plate just like that one, please!!!!!

Bear

 

[masterofmymeat]

What Bear said. That plate is screaming my name. Really great job...James

 

[moikel]

 Got plenty left over,Bearcarver clams come in 1 kg packs so I  had to ante up.

 

[africanmeat]

Wow it looks amazing. if any left after Bear and James one for me

 

[moikel]

For measuring types it was about 2 pounds pork neck,same of clams.1 kg. Neck is also called scotch fillet here,great cut. Braises really well,doesnt dry out.Same price as belly today & no skin. I figure some of the smokers on here could make it like a ham or what the Germans call kessler,so could I come to think of it.

 

[moikel]

Pork neck here is $11 a kg or less so $5 a pound.No skin ,no bone pretty good deal. Dont whine about your grocery bill if you cant see past loin at $20 & then you grill the bejesus out of it or pour some goop out of a jar on it because you like the photo on the jar.I know Im not talking to forum brethren but you have to wonder about what a lot of people call cooking.  Fish market early tomorrow Im out of here. 

 

[venture]

Awesome post.  Thanks, I saved it!

Just a warning, tho.  This is NOT Mexican chorizo he is using.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[scarbelly]

Wow that one is going on the list - Thanks for sharing - Venture I bet it is the firmer chorizo like the Salvadorian style.

 

[moikel]

Scarbelly, I posted a photo over in mussells with chorizo.They are firm,country style is hand cut not ground. Our big meat companies make them but the ones made in house by the little guys are streets ahead. You could use another smoked sausage if you got stuck.

 

[moikel]

First photo is selection from 2 Portuguese butchers,firm. 2nd photo spanish chorizo I bought at deli at fish market.No Albacore,no spanish mackeral.Yellowfin tuna to 80kg!

 

[venture]

Most Mexican chorizo is fresh.  It also has a lot of vinegar.

The only resemblance to Spanish and Portagee chorizo is the name, and even that is spelled differently in different places.  LOL

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[roller]

Yea that looks great...I will take  a little of that gravy on my rice !!!!!