I’m always looking for new recipes and I found this one on a podcast from Whole Foods Market. It looked good and I liked the technique of cutting a pork tenderloin into pieces and then flattening them into cutlets similar to what you might do with chicken cutlets. It’s the first time I’ve ever prepared pork tenderloin this way and I will be trying this again. It’s a great alternative to grilling or roasting whole pork tenderloins.
This recipe is for people who like a strong lemony flavor. The lemon jumps out and bites you in the mouth. Outstanding.

The podcast recipe served the pork with sautéed broccoli rabe and I duplicated it too. Broccoli rabe if prepared right is a great alternative vegetable to spinach or broccoli and full of healthy vitamins.

My only advice for this meal is to prep your ingredients before you start. (mis en place) My wife and I made this during the week and we were running late so we were cooking while prepping. A couple of the cutlets burned because I was not paying attention while getting the broccoli rabe ready. Not a big deal but better to have those ingredients ready to go.

Also, because it was just the two of us (my kids ate the pork without the sauce) I cut the butter by two thirds but if you were making this for 4 to 6, you would want to use the entire amount or you won’t have enough sauce.

Pork Tenderloin with Lemon, Capers & Olives

Ingredients

1 whole pork tenderloin (sliver skin removed)
½ cup buttermilk
1 cup or more flour for dredging
1 teaspoon salt to season flour
4 whole eggs
¾ cup fresh Pecorino Romano or Parmesan, grated
2 cups commercial breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
½ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons, garlic sliced thinly
1 small lemon, thinly sliced into quarters
1-tablespoon capers, drained
1/4 cup sliced mixed olives
1/3 cup white wine
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/3-cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

How to Prepare at Home

Slice the pork tenderloin into 1-½ ounce pieces (about 1 ½ inches wide). Using a meat pounder or meat mallet, flatten each piece of tenderloin. Be careful not to over pound the meat or it will break apart and turn into mush. Pound the meat toward and away from your body, never straight down onto the meat.

Put the cutlets into a bowl and cover with buttermilk. Refrigerate the meat for at least 30 minutes up to a couple of hours. I have read that the calcium in the buttermilk is supposed to activate enzymes in the meat that break down proteins and I’ve also read buttermilk contains lactic acid that helps dissolve the meat’s proteins. Not sure which is correct, but who cares, it works.

While the cutlets are marinating, get the rest of your ingredients ready. We used shallow soup bowls to layout the dunking stations. One bowl contained the flour seasoned with salt, another holds the eggs that are beaten and then seasoned with ½ cup of cheese and the last bowl has the breadcrumbs mixed with the remaining cheese, oregano and salt.

Using one hand for dredging in the flour and the other for dredging in the eggs and breadcrumbs, start dredging each cutlet in the flour being sure to shake off any extra before dredging in the eggs. Finally coat the pork with breadcrumbs and set aside until all are done.

Heat the biggest sauté or frying pan you have and add the canola oil. If your pan is not big enough to sauté all the cutlets without over crowding (steams instead of sautés), cook the pork in batches until nicely browned, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the cutlets to a plate and reserve.

Wipe out the pan you are using or start with a clean pan and heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the lemon slices and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add the capers and olives, then the white wine and cook until the sauce is reduced by half.

Add the lemon juice and parsley. Season the sauce with freshly ground pepper. Add butter in pieces, (this is called mounting) and whisk continuously until the sauce starts to thicken and has that glossy look. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Now add the cutlets back to the sauce to reheat for a minute or two. Plate the cutlets on top of or right next to the broccoli rabe, top with sauce and serve.

Don’t be surprised when you take that first bite. The lemon is going to hit your square in the mouth. It’s delicious.

Sautéed Broccoli Rabe

Before you can sauté the broccoli rabe (rape) with olive oil and minced garlic, you need to parboil it first. Just bring a pot of water to boil, season with a teaspoon of salt and add a bunch of broccoli rabe. Be sure to wash the rabe and trim the ends before cooking.

Boil for just 3 minutes and then drain and immediately plunge in to a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking and maintaining the rich green color. Heat a sauté pan over medium heat, then add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and 2 minced garlic cloves. Cook for about a minute, then add the broccoli rabe and heat until heated through.

My friend Chef Ricco likes to season with a little nutmeg and a ¼ teaspoon of hot pepper flakes, but that’s up to you.

Wild game is a popular item at many of the Park City, UT restaurants and for very good reasons. Visitors love trying something new especially if it is an ingredient not found on their hometown restaurant menus. And let’s face it, how often do you find buffalo, elk, venison, or wild bore at your neighborhood eatery.

I have tried and enjoyed all these “wild game” meats during my six years as a resident of Park City. Are they better than beef? Are the worth the higher price? I guess that depends on your personal tastes. As much as I enjoy a venison steak while here in the mountains, I wouldn’t pick it over a choice or prime cut New York strip steak.

One recipe I would like to try at home, if I can find the ingredients, is Zane Holmquist’s Wild Game Chili. Zane is the executive chef at the world class Stein Eriken Lodge in Deer Valley just up the road from downtown Park City. I’m not sure Zane remembers who I am but we met many times when I lived there and even went to a Fourth of July barbecue at his house years ago.

Zane said this about cooking wild game meats in the Park City Magazine where I found this recipe, “We’re in the West; it’s part of our heritage. It’s also nice to broaden our horizons and use meat with unique textures and flavors.”

He also says in the article, “seasonings like garlic, verdant herbs, and earthy mushrooms help to balance the robust flavors of wild game before cooking the meat to a medium-rare to medium doneness.”

Wild Game Chili
(makes 2 gallons)

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil or corn oil
2 pounds buffalo meat, diced in ¾ inch cubes
2 pounds elk or venison, diced in ¾ inch cubes
2 pounds wild boar or pork, diced in ¾ inch cubes
2 pounds onions, medium diced
6 cloves garlic, chopped
4 tablespooons kosher salt
2 tablespoons balck pepper
½ cup pasilla chile powder
½ cup New Mexican chili powder
2 cups coffee, brewed
2 bay leaves
36 ounces tomato juice
6 – 12 ounce cans diced tomatoes
4 ½ cups beef stock (you can substitute 3 - 12 ounce cans of beer)
½ gallon water

How to Make Zane Holmquist’s Wild Game Chili

Mix all the dry spices together and use half the mixture to season the meat. Heat the oil in large stock or soup pot until hot but not smoking and brown the meat for 10 – 15 minutes in the pan. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the coffee, tomato juice, bay leaves, diced tomatoes, stock, water and the remaining spice mixture. Simmer for 2 to 3 hours until the meat is tender. You can adjust the consistency with more stock and check the seasonings.

Garnish with sour cream and green onions before serving.

This sounds like a great recipe and I’m sure you can substitute some easier to find ingredients for the wild game meats and still have a great result. By the way, one of my other favorite all time chili recipes is Deer Valley Chili and very popular to everyone who skiies at the Deer Valley Resort.

Braised Beef Shanks with Coconut Milk, Ginger and Cumin

I purchased some beef shanks that were about 1 ½ inches thick from my friends at the Farmers Market in Ardmore, PA. I have braised lamb shank, veal shank and pork shank so I was excited to see how beef shanks would compare.

The recipe was adapted from The Complete Meat Cookbook, one of the best cookbooks in my collection. If you want to learn about beef, pork or lamb, this book is a must. Not only does it have loads of great recipes, it has tons of information about meat cuts and how to cook them.

One thing I noticed when the shanks started cooking was a peculiar smell in the kitchen. To be honest, it wasn’t that appetizing but after about 45 minutes, the “peculiar” smell changed into an appealing one. So don’t be alarmed if you start off with a funky aroma.

The original recipe calls for coating each shank with a flour, salt & pepper combination. I skipped this step and it didn’t seem to upset the finally outcome.

I was concerned the spices might be more than my kids could handle but was pleasantly surprised when both of them told me they enjoyed both the meat and the sauce. Like other braised shank meat dishes, even if the meat is over cooked and a little dry, the sauce makes up for it. And the marrow from the shank bones was incredible.

Braised Beef Shanks

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons peanut oil (I used extra virgin olive oil because that’s all I had)
2 ½ cups chopped onions
2 carrots cut into ¼ inch dice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
Salt & pepper, to taste
4 pounds beef shanks, cut 1 ½ to 2 inches thick
2 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
1-teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 ¾ cups brown stock (beef stock)
1 ½ cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 cinnamon stick, 3 cardamom pods, lightly smashed and 2 bay leaves – wrapped in some cheesecloth
Freshly chopped cilantro for garnish

How to Make Braised Beef Shanks

Start by preheating the oven to 325 F. Heat a large enough Dutch oven or roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter with 1 tablespoon of the oil. When the butter melts, add the onion, carrots, garlic and ginger.

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