Pork Barbacoa

I was recently at a farmer's market in Sonoma and got some pork neck. Neck meat is really great for stews, because of all the bones, and it is relatively inexpensive. I had some spicy barbacoa sauce that I had made previously and froze in an ice cube tray. This is a really simple and delicious dish in a slowcooker.







Ingredients
1/2 cup of spicy barbacoa sauce (about 4 cubes, if you freeze them)
1 cup of homemade lamb stock (you can use homemade rich dark chicken stock if you want to, about 8 cubes, if you freeze them)
Red wine, about 1 cup or so (day old wine works best, don't waste the good stuff)

1 or 2 lbs of Pork or Lamb neck (with bones)
1 tomato, chopped
5 cloves of garlic


Directions
Melt the barbacoa and lamb stock in a sauce pan.

Add the red wine to the sauce. Taste. If the barbacoa is too spicy and overpowering for you, add more lamb stock and red wine to get a flavor profile you like.

Once the stock and barbacoa has melted, transfer to the slowcooker.

Add the neck bones to the slowcooker. Add the tomatoes and garlic to the slowcooker.






























Cook for 4 hours on low heat. Check the meat after 4 hours. If should be falling off the bone. If not, let it cook for another hour.

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with barley or farro and rustic bread.

Delicious!  

Braised Lamb chops with mashed sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli and caramelized onions

Lamb chops were on sale today! Yippie!

This was a fairly simple French/Chinese preparation.

I powdered the chops with five spice powder on both sides and then fried them in a large frying pan. this seals the meat and allows it to remain juicy.

I then removed the chops and chucked them into a crock pot. I then sauteed the onions and garlic. I just quartered the onions and let them cook in the oil. This is nice because the oil has taken on some of the five spice powder from the lamb, and gives it a wonderful flavor. Cover the lamb with the onions and garlic. I then usually chop up 2 or 3 fresh tomatoes and add them to the crockpot. And chuck in 2 or 3 stock cubes into a sauce pan and let them melt. (preferably lamb stock, but chicken stock will do in a pinch). Add that to the crock pot as well. I finish it off with the cheapest bottle of red wine I can find. I add enough wine to ensure that the lamb is just submerged in the wine/stock liquid. If you have any fresh thyme, now is a good time to add it!

I let that slowcook in the crockpot for a few hours. If you have a crockpot,I recommend that you make this meal at night, just before going to bed. Leave the crockpot on, and you will wake up to a delicious smell in the morning. Alternatively, you can make it in the morning, and return home to the same lovely smell.

This goes very well with homemade noodles. I served it with steamed broccoli, mashed sweet potatoes and some of the carmelized onions. Delicious!