Posts Tagged ‘pork’

JUSTANOTHERRIB RECIPE

Posted: January 2, 2026 in Uncategorized
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Yeah, it’s cold outside. But sometimes, only ribs will do.

The classic “Adams Ribs” episode of M*A*S*H is one of my favorites. Hawkeye’s speech about the city of Chicago said it all: “Chicago. Hog butcher for the world. Toolmaker. Stacker of wheat. Player with railroads and the nation’s freight handler. Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders. Sandberg knew, Radar. Spareribber for the universe! Maker of meat on a bone! The home of the pigsicle! Give me your tired, your poor… your cole slaw.”

There’s a million ways to make great pork ribs….and only a few ways to really ruin them. So, yeah, here’s another rib recipe. But it’s good.

I like using Berkshire pork St. Louis style ribs. They’re fattier than beef ribs, so I don’t have to worry as much about them drying out. I always remove the skin on the back of the ribs before rubbing them down with my spice rub.

 

Rubbed-down ribs. I let them sit for an hour at room temp before smoking.

8 to 10 lbs. pork ribs
spice rub (see below)
barbecue sauce (see below)

 

Spice rub

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon salt (I like using fine sea salt)
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon celery seed (not celery salt)
1 tablespoon granulated onion

 

Combine all the spice rub ingredients. I like to grind the celery seed in a spice grinder before mixing with the others, so that I don’t get crunchy bits.

If the pork rib slabs are long, cut them in half so they’re easier to work with (and so they fit in the smoker!)

Rub the ribs with the spice rub, and place them in a 250° oven or smoker. Place a pan of water underneath to keep them moist and to catch any grease that drips down. I use an electric smoker, so during those 3 hours of cooking, I add hickory chips once an hour.

 

After 3 hours of smoking with hickory chips. I place one rack on top of another, brushing them with sauce, then wrapping them in foil.

 

While the ribs are cooking, it’s time to make the barbecue sauce. I like a citrus-based, sweeter sauce, and this time, I had some mandarin oranges in the kitchen. But you can easily substitute regular oranges, lemons, limes or even grapefruit for this recipe.

1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup mandarin orange juice (or other citrus juice)
zest of 2 mandarin oranges (or other citrus)
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon hot sauce (I like Frank’s Red Hot)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

Brushed with sauce before wrapping in foil for the last 2 hours of cooking.

 

Remove the ribs from the smoker, place them individually on a piece of aluminum foil, and brush them with the barbecue sauce on all sides. Wrap them completely with the foil and place them on a baking sheet in a pre-heated 250° oven. Cook for 2 hours more.

Why cut them into individual ribs when you know you’re going to eat the rack anyway?

 

 

 

 

 

BALSAMIC BRAISED PORK CHOPS

Posted: December 7, 2025 in Uncategorized
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I was in the supermarket the other day, and a pack of pork chops called to me as I walked by the meat department. I hadn’t had pork chops in ages, and it was time to try something new with them.

The balsamic vinegar used in this recipe is not the crazy expensive stuff. It’s the bottle you probably already have in your kitchen cabinet that costs about nine bucks.

This recipe works with thick or thin pork chops, your choice.

The cool thing about this recipe is that you make it all in one pan, and on the stovetop.

4 or 5 bone-in pork chops
olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 large Spanish onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth (homemade is always best)
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Season the pork chops with the salt, pepper and thyme.

Add some olive oil to a large pan, and when it’s hot, sear the pork chops on both sides until they’re nice and brown.

Remove the pork chops from the pan and set them aside. Pour out the fat in the pan, add a touch of olive oil, and put it back on the heat. Add the onions, sautéing them for about 10 minutes until they’ve softened, and then add the garlic. Sauté a minute more.

Add the chicken broth, Dijon, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine.

Return the pork chops back to the pan, nestling them down into the sauce. Add any of the juices that may have collected when you set the chops aside.

Bring the pan to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover the pan. Let it cook for 45 to 60 minutes. I like to flip the chops about halfway through the cooking process.

To serve, remove the chops from the pan, and smother them with the sauce! You may want to reduce or thicken the sauce a bit, but I like it just the way it is!

WILD BOAR BELLY WITH SEARED SCALLOPS AND ESPRESSO GLAZE

Posted: October 26, 2025 in Carnivore!, fleur de sel, Food, pork, Recipes, salt, scallops, seafood
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This is a rich, delicious, and unusual surf-and-turf, using wild Texas boar (I got it as a gift from my buddy, Dr. Chezwick!) and locally caught Rhode Island scallops. Wild boar is an ingredient usually only found online, so substituting pork belly, which you can find at your local butcher shop, is a great alternative.

 

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For the pork belly…
3 lbs. fresh pork belly
salt and pepper
1–2 tablespoons leaf lard or olive oil
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 fennel bulb, quartered
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
4 cups beef stock
1 cup hard cider or apple juice

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

Season the belly with salt and pepper. On medium-high heat, melt the leaf lard, then sear the meat on all sides in an oven-proof pot big enough to hold it in one layer. Add the carrot, celery, onion, fennel, thyme and peppercorns and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, until caramelized.

Add the beef stock and the cider. Cover the pot with a lid or seal it with aluminum foil, and braise the belly in the oven for 3 hours, until tender.

Remove the pot from the oven, carefully remove the pork belly, and put it on a plate. Cover it with foil. If you’re cooking earlier in the day, you can place the belly in the fridge at this point.

Strain the leftover braising liquid from the pot and discard the vegetables and thyme. Skim off the excess fat. If you’re starting this dish earlier in the day, you can put this liquid in the fridge and the fat will harden, making it easier to remove.

 

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For the glaze…
braising liquid, strained
1 tablespoon espresso
1 tablespoon honey

In a small saucepan, reduce the brazing liquid by half, then add the espresso and honey. Cook a few more minutes until the sauce thickens. When it coats the back of a spoon, it’s ready. Set it aside.

For the scallops…
Fresh scallops
salt and pepper

When you’re ready to serve, heat a pan on high heat with a little more leaf lard. Cut the belly into equal pieces and sear them on all sides for about a minute. Place the scallops in the same pan, seasoning with salt and pepper, and sear them on both sides, being careful not to overcook them.

To serve, place the belly on a plate. Top it with a scallop or two. Drizzle the glaze over the top. Season with Fleur de Sel or other finishing salt and serve it immediately.

ASIAN-STYLE ROASTED PORK

Posted: October 8, 2025 in Uncategorized
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I love pulled pork, or pork roast…cuts that use inexpensive, fatty cuts of meat that are full of flavor as long as you roast them low and slow.

 

A very special cut of pork!

I recently received a gift of a very fancy cut of pork: Spanish Iberico, where the pigs roam freely, feasting on acorns. It’s some of the best pork you can buy.

But even with a much less expensive cut of pork, like a pork shoulder, you can achieve some delicious results as long as you give it time: time for the marinade to get absorbed into the meat, and time for the meat to cook slowly at a low temperature. Low and slow is key to melting the fat and gristle, and making the meat as tender as it can be.

The pork, before marinating.

Just like with a basic pulled pork recipe, the spices you use make all the difference. I usually make a spice rub that I generously rub all over a pork shoulder when I’m preparing pulled pork. Then it goes in the smoker for as much as 10 hours, depending on the size of the shoulder.

In this case, I’m using a marinade, which needs to be absorbed into the meat. So if I was using a larger cut, I would butterfly it, and marinate it that way. The Iberico pork that I used in this recipe was under 2 pounds, so I left it whole.

I combine all the marinade ingredients into a bowl…

3 tablespoons Chinese Five Spice powder
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon Chinese chili garlic sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (same thing as rice wine vinegar)
1/2 an onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped (optional)

Once the piece of pork has been trimmed of any obvious hanging fat (remember, you don’t need to butcher the meat…the fat and gristle will melt while cooking and add flavor), place in a Ziplock-type freezer bag, and pour in the marinade. Squish the bag around carefully, to make the marinade makes good contact with the meat. Place the bag in a bowl (to prevent accidents) and place the bowl in the fridge overnight. Squish the bag around every few hours.

 

Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees. Use a baking pan large enough to hold the roast.

Remove the roast from the marinade, and wrap it in aluminum foil. Place the foil on the baking pan and into the oven. The amount of time you cook the pork will depend on the size of the roast, so use a thermometer to check if the meat is ready. My roast was ready in less than 2 hours, but it was a small one.

 

Halfway through cooking, while I was checking the temperature, I opened the foil and basted the roast with some of the marinade. Then I re-wrapped it, and placed it back in the oven.

 

I save the marinade to brush on the roast halfway through the cooking process. I could also use it as a dipping sauce when serving, but if I did that, it’s important to place the marinade in a saucepan and bring it to a boil to kill all germs! Remember, that marinade was swimming around raw pork! Once it has boiled for a bit, you can set it aside to cool to room temperature.

 

Done!

 

Pork should be cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees, so I remove it from the oven at 150 degrees, knowing the temperature will still rise as the meat rests.

 

Let the meat rest for at least 30 minutes.

 

ASIAN BACON

Posted: September 14, 2025 in bacon, Carnivore!, Food, frying, pork, Recipes, Uncategorized
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Sometimes the happiest of cooking accidents happen with bacon. My original plan was to make Chinese-style honey ribs for dinner. But instead of pulling a nice rack of ribs out of the freezer, I accidentally took out a slab of pork belly. I only realized my mistake after I thawed it, so I decided to use it! The results were pretty damn tasty.

I like maple syrup instead of honey, but use what you like!

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Marinade:
¾ cup light soy sauce
6 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
5 lbs. pork belly
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 whole star anise
2 cinnamon sticks (3”)
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
4 cups chicken broth (preferably homemade)
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Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the marinade ingredients. Set them aside.
Cut the pork belly into pieces that are about 2 inches square. Place them in a large pot. Cover them with water and bring the pot to a boil. Boil it for 5 minutes. Drain the water.
Place the warm pork belly pieces on a sheet pan lined with non-stick aluminum foil. Coat them with the marinade. Let them sit for 10 minutes.
Bake the pork belly pieces on the sheet pan in the oven for 30 minutes.
While the pork belly is baking, start the sauce in a large non-stick pan or pot: combine the lemon zest and juice, star anise, cinnamon sticks, maple syrup or honey, and chicken broth. Bring it to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer.
When the pork belly pieces have finished baking, add them to the sauce pot, lowering the heat to a simmer. Simmer (covered) for about 15 minutes or until meat is tender.
Turn the heat back on high, uncover the pot and cook until the sauce has reduced to a glaze that coats the meat. Reduce the heat as the sauce thickens to avoid the sugars in the syrup or honey from burning. When the pieces are sticky and gooey, they are ready!
Devour them just like that!
If you have leftovers, let the pork belly cool, then slice the pieces it to your desired thickness and fry them like regular bacon. They’re great with eggs!
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GUANCIALE: A CRUCIAL CARBONARA INGREDIENT

Posted: August 20, 2025 in carbonara, curing, guanciale, Italian, pork jowl, Uncategorized
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Pork is magical. And though I’ve loved pork chops and store-bought bacon all my life, it’s only been in the last decade that I’ve learned to appreciate other cuts of pork and how they’re prepared. Guanciale is one of those meats, and it’s a key ingredient to a classic Italian dish: pasta carbonara.

In the beginning, I could only find huge jowls that required cutting and weighing to mix with the right amount of cure.

Looking at carbonara recipes online, many said the same thing: “Though a genuine carbonara uses a cured cut of pork called guanciale, it’s hard to find. So use pancetta or bacon.” Although both pancetta and bacon meats are delicious (both come from the belly of the pig…bacon is smoked, pancetta is not) the flavor and texture is not the same as a pork cheek, or jowl…and that’s what guanciale is made from.
Many years ago, my search for guanciale started with a local restaurant, the Back Eddy in Westport, Massachusetts. Being a buddy of the owner (and bribing him with alcohol), I asked if he’d order me some jowls. He did, and that worked well for a while. But I didn’t want to keep bothering him every time I wanted more, so I eventually found my own source on line that supplied me with massive jowls weighing many pounds each, as in the photo above. They were good, but a pain to work with. Eventually, that company went out of business.
I now shop for jowls online at http://www.heritagefoods.com. They sell a variety of pork products made from  heritage breeds like Berkshire, also called kurobuta. It’s delicious with wonderful fat that’s healthy and full of flavor.

Berkshire pork jowls with fresh thyme from the garden and the dry cure mix.

My curing process is simple: sugar, salt, peppercorns, and fresh thyme. I cure the jowls for about 3 weeks. I rinse them once they’ve cured, and pat them dry. They still need to cook, but they’re ready to use for carbonara, ragu bolognese, topping a pizza, or any other delicious recipe that comes my way…and they freeze really well.
Once I made my first batch, there was no turning back!
2 lbs. raw pork jowls
1/2 cup basic dry cure mix (recipe below)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
a handful of fresh thyme sprigs
Combine the basic dry cure mix, brown sugar, and peppercorns in a bowl. We’ll call this the rub.
On a large work surface, lay down several sheets of plastic wrap, overlapping each other to keep the rub from leaking through to the counter underneath. Sprinkle half of the rub onto the plastic wrap in an area where the jowls will lay. Scatter a half-dozen thyme sprigs on top of the rub. Lay the pieces of pork jowl on top of the rub and the thyme.

I place the rub and sprigs of thyme on a long sheet of plastic wrap.

 

The pork jowls go on top.

Then top the jowls with the rest of the rub, covering them evenly, and top with more thyme sprigs.

Press down on the jowls to really get the rub to stick.

 

Fold the plastic wrap over the jowls as tightly as you can, pressing the rub into the meat. If the wrap is loose, use more wrap to really tighten it up. Then place the entire pork-wrapped package in a container that will hold the liquid that will ooze out during the curing process.

Into a container with a lid and into the fridge.

 

Place the container in the fridge to cure for 3 weeks.
Every couple of days, flip the plastic wrap package over, so that the top is now the bottom. Then return it to the fridge. You want the rub to get at every part of the pork. Don’t pour off any liquid that forms…it gets kind of gooey, but it will help the curing process.

3 weeks later, it has transformed…

In about 3 weeks, the pork jowls will feel firmer. This is a sign they’ve been properly cured. Remove them from the plastic wrap, rinse them thoroughly under cold clean water, then pat them dry with paper towels.

They’re perfect…they just need a rinse.

 

Cured, rinsed and patted dry. Cut the guanciale into smaller pieces before freezing. A little goes a long way!

 

At this point, cut the guanciale into smaller pieces, wrapping each well and placing them in freezer bags. They will keep in the freezer for a long time.
Many guanciale recipes tell you to hang the meat in the fridge for at least a week after curing, but I haven’t really found the need to do that if I’m keeping them frozen. The drying process keeps the meat from getting moldy, but that’s only if you keep it at room temperature, which I don’t.

Always slice off a little to fry up a test batch! It’s all about quality control!

 

The Basic Dry Cure Mix
This basic dry cure mix is extremely simple, and you can cure many meats with it. But it does require a special ingredient: pink salt. This is not pink Himalayan salt. This is a very special curing salt that must be used in small amounts. (You can easily find it online.) It contains nitrites which will help preserve the meat and give it a good color. Many people get bent out of shape over nitrites these days, so you need to decide whether you want to use pink salt or not. I do, because I don’t eat pounds of guanciale like a lab rat. If you don’t use it, the meat will turn a bit gray–nothing wrong with it, just not an appealing color.
1 1/2 cups Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt*
1/2 cup organic turbinado  sugar
5 teaspoons pink curing salt
Combine these ingredients and mix well. Store the basic dry cure mix in a tightly sealed plastic bag in your pantry.
*An important note: the reason I give the brand name for the salt is because all Kosher salt does not weigh the same! A cup-and-a-half of Morton Kosher Salt, for example, weighs more and will throw off the recipe.

BBQ CHICKEN AND BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA

Posted: August 15, 2025 in barbecue, chicken, Food, Recipes, Uncategorized, wings
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I grill year-round. I’ll stand in 3 feet of snow to get smoked ribs just right, if I have to. Through years of tireless experimentation, I’ve come up with a barbecue sauce that I can be proud of. I prefer a slightly sweet and tangy barbecue sauce,  and it works really well with pork or chicken.

What makes this sauce special is the citrus. I originally used lemon juice for this recipe and it was good. Lime juice was better. Adding lime zest: even better than that. I tried orange juice and zest, even Meyer lemon. But the Big Daddy of ’em all was grapefruit. I was craving my barbecue sauce one day and only had a grapefruit in the fridge. I thought: how bad could this be? Turned out to be the perfect foil to the sweetness of the brown sugar and ketchup.

 

Try this sauce on your next rack of ribs, batch of chicken wings, or even a whole bird. Cook the meat almost all the way through, brushing the sauce on for the last 20 minutes so that the sugars don’t burn. Then just try to stop eating it!

 

Chix BBQ

 

GRAPEFRUIT BARBECUE SAUCE
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
Juice and zest of 1 grapefruit
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce, like Frank’s Red Hot
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
(no salt)

Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes on low, until it’s slightly thickened.

 

saucey

 

It’s almost impossible to imagine that there would be any leftovers, but the last time I made a batch of boneless skinless barbecued chicken thighs with the sauce, we had a little bit left over. So we decided to make a barbecued chicken pizza with it the next day.

Fresh pizza dough, some of the barbecue sauce, a combination of sharp cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, and of course, the barbecued chicken thighs.

 

A great way to use up leftovers!

TWO MOST EXCELLENT BARBECUE SAUCES

Posted: July 11, 2025 in barbecue, chicken, Food, Recipes, Uncategorized, wings
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I grill year-round. I’ll stand in 3 feet of snow to get smoked ribs just right, if I have to. Through years of tireless experimentation, I’ve come up with a barbecue sauce that I can be proud of. I prefer a slightly sweet and tangy barbecue sauce,  and it works really well with pork or chicken.

What makes this sauce special is the citrus. I originally used lemon juice for this recipe and it was good. Lime juice was better. Adding lime zest: even better than that. I tried orange juice and zest, even Meyer lemon. But the Big Daddy of ’em all was grapefruit. I was craving my barbecue sauce one day and only had a grapefruit in the fridge. I thought: how bad could this be? Turned out to be the perfect foil to the sweetness of the brown sugar and ketchup.

Try this sauce on your next rack of ribs, batch of chicken wings, or even a whole bird. Cook the bird almost all the way through, brushing the sauce on for the last 20 minutes so that the sugars don’t burn. Then just try to stop eating it!

Chix BBQ

 

GRAPEFRUIT BARBECUE SAUCE
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
Juice and zest of 1 grapefruit
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce, like Frank’s Red Hot
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
(no salt)

Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes on low, until it’s slightly thickened.

 

saucey

If you like a less sweet, more vinegary style to your barbecue sauce, this is the one. How could a sauce that’s inspired by what most people claim to be the best barbecue joint in the USA, Franklin’s Barbecue in Austin, Texas, be bad? People line up early in the morning and wait as much as four hours for a slab of brisket from this place. I’ll get there one day. In the meantime, I have the sauce.

use this sauce on chicken, pork, or beef. The vinegar really cuts through the fat.

 

2 cups ketchup
3/4 cup water
6 tablespoons cider vinegar
6 tablespoons white vinegar
6 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

 

Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer until the flavors have blended, about 20 minutes. Remove it from heat and cool to room temp. If you store it in an airtight container in the fridge, it’ll stay good for a couple of months.

 

 

A COUPLE-A CHUCK ROASTS

Posted: April 27, 2025 in Uncategorized
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Chuck roast is an inexpensive cut of beef, but it requires a little TLC to make it tender and tasty. I had a couple of grass-fed chuck roasts in the freezer, and decided to try two different ways of seasoning them before cooking them low and slow.

With the first, I used Asian spices…

2 lb. chuck roast, preferably grass-fed
1 tablespoon Chinese five spice
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated onion
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Pre-heat the oven to 250°.

Let the chuck roast come to room temperature before cooking.

Combine the Chinese five spice, salt, onion, garlic and pepper in a bowl.

Rub the spice mixture all over the chuck roast, and then wrap the roast in aluminum foil. Place the foil in an oven-proof pan and bake the chuck roast for about 2 hours, until it’s tender. Carefully pour of the fat before the next step.

In a separate bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and sesame oil, and brush it all over the chuck roast. Put the roast back in the oven, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, until a nice glaze forms on the meat.

Let it rest for 15 minutes. Slice the chuck roast on the diagonal for maximum tenderness.

With the second chuck roast, I went with Italian style seasonings, also with tasty results.

2 lb. chuck roast, preferably grass-fed
olive oil
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon granulated onion
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 250°.

Rub the chuck roast with olive oil, and then rub the spices all over it, placing it in the foil and wrapping it. Place the foil in an oven-proof pan and bake it for about 2 hours, until tender.

Carefully pour off the fat, and let the meat rest for 15 minutes before slicing on the diagonal.

ASIAN-STYLE PORK CHUNX

Posted: April 12, 2025 in Uncategorized
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These delicious “chunx” of pork are full of fantastic Asian flavors and go great with broccoli and rice…or just by themselves. Plus, I used inexpensive boneless pork sparerib meat, which saves a few bucks.

3 pounds boneless pork ribs
1/2 a large onion, diced
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese chili garlic sauce
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup maple syrup
4 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade

This recipe is similar to my Asian bacon recipe, only it uses a cheaper, easier to find, cut of pork: boneless sparerib meat. You can usually find packages of this meat in a 3-pound size at most supermarkets.

The rib meat is fatty, however, and often has some gristle. So I trim as much of that away as I can to keep the tasty bites tender. 

I cut the pork into 1-inch cubes, and toss them in a bowl with the diced onion. I add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and Chinese chili garlic sauce to the bowl and mix everything really well.

I will let the pork marinate for 2 hours at room temperature, remixing every half-hour or so. (If the pork needs to stay out longer, I put it in the refrigerator, bringing it back to room temperature when I’m ready to cook.)

I preheat the oven to 350°.

I line a baking pan with nonstick aluminum foil and place the pork and onion pieces on it in a single layer, reserving any leftover marinade for later.

I bake the pork and onions for 30 minutes.

While the pork is in the oven, I get a large pot and place the lemon zest, lemon juice, star anise, cinnamon sticks, maple syrup, and chicken broth in the pot. I bring it to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer.

After the pork and onions have cooked for 30 minutes, I remove them from the baking pan and place them in the pot, pouring in all the juices that might be in the baking pan. At this point, I can add any leftover marinade into the pot as well.

Bringing the heat under the pot back on high, I continue cooking until the liquid in the pot starts reducing. As it reduces, I turn the heat down as well, so I don’t burn any sugars in the pot. I stir the pork pieces once in a while.

Soon, the liquid will be reduced to a glaze. I keep tossing the pork in that glaze until it looks nice and shiny and gooey and sticky. And that’s when they’re ready!

Serve the pork chunks immediately!

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