Tag Archives: pork recipes

Featured Post, Recipes

Praline Bacon Recipe

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I don’t think there is anything quite as sinful as Praline Bacon. In fact, it is so sinful it could have only been created in New Orleans, and in fact it was, at Elizabeth’s Restaurant in 1998.


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The flavor marriage of pralines and good smoky bacon is so wrong that it just has to be right. Cochon Butcher (restaurant website) also has Praline Bacon, but taken to a new level, as it is more of a praline with chunks of their house made bacon inside of it. It’s as my friend Timmy from RouxBDoo’s Cajun & Creole Food Blog calls it, “like Sugary Crack”.

From

This recipe is more in the style of Elizabeth’s, although I like to leave my Pecans a little chunkier than they do.

Make this with breakfast, and you will absolutely blow your family and guests away with minimal effort!

From Nola Cuisine

Praline Bacon Recipe

1 lb. Good quality thick cut Bacon
4 Tbsp Steen’s Cane Syrup
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Pecans, toasted and chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place a wire rack on a sheet tray. Combine the Pecans and brown sugar. Lay the bacon side by side on the rack, place in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until the bacon is sizzling and starting to brown around the edges. The object is for the bacon to cook about 3/4 of the way through before adding the topping.

Push the partially cooked bacon as close together as possible on the rack and brush with the cane syrup, this will give the topping something to grab on to. Cover generously with the Pecan/brown sugar topping. Place back in the oven for about 10 minutes more or until the topping is bubbly and the bacon is good and brown. Let cool.

As the Praline Bacon cools it will set up and have a nice chewy bite to it.

Serves 4 as a side.

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which links to all of the recipes featured on this site!

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Featured Post, Recipes

Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Peach Salsa Recipe

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Yes, I am still alive and well, but spare time has been very hard to come by these days, so please forgive my long stretches of dead air here on Nola Cuisine. I am however, making a concerted effort to start posting more religiously on this site, my goal is one post per week.

On another off topic note, I’ve been forced to put all comments into moderation because of the army of rat b@stard spam bots that have been attacking my posts, so please continue to leave your comments, I love reading them, and they will eventually make it up (provided you’re not selling Viagra or one of the other broke-d!ck pharmaceuticals). Funny, I honestly don’t know why there are so many of those but there are, it must be all of the sausage recipes on here. 🙂

Anyway, on to the food…

I came across some beautiful ripe and fragrant Southern Peaches at the store yesterday, and I immediately thought pork for some reason. I made a similar dish with fish last year that I never got up on the site, but this one had to go up. This dish absolutely screams summer. Here is a detail of the peaches, roasted pepper and Vidalia onions fresh off of the grill

From Nola Cuisine

I was going to use cilantro with the peaches but I have some basil in my herb garden which is at it’s absolute peak, it is so beautiful and floral that it almost doesn’t even smell like basil. I tasted a piece with a slice of the grilled peaches and the flavors were a match made in heaven, so I rolled with it!

The Apricot glaze gives another peachy punch to the dish, and another layer of flavor on top of the smoky pork.

I hope you enjoy!

Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Peach Salsa Recipe

For the grilled Peaches:

4 Southern Peaches (must be very ripe) halved and pitted
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Steen’s Pure Cane Syrup
2 tsp Creole Seasoning
1 tsp Kosher Salt

Additional grill prep for the salsa:
1 Roasted Red Pepper,
1/2 of a large Vidalia Onion, cut into 1/2″ slices and rubber with olive oil

Warm a gas or charcoal grill to 350-400 degrees F.
Toss all of the above ingredients together, making sure to coat the peaches well. Grill the peaches flat side down until they start to caramelize and get some grill marks, flip them over skin side down onto a cooler spot of the grill to finish warming through. At the same time, roast your pepper on the grill until the skin is black all over, and grill the Vidalia Onion slices.

When the peaches are warmed through and softened remove the skins and slice lengthwise, place into a medium sized bowl. Also peel, seed, and slice the roasted Red pepper into strips; Chop the grilled Vidalia Onion.

Grilled Southern Peach Salsa Recipe

4 Grilled Southern Peaches (see above)
1 Roasted Red Pepper, sliced (see above)
1/2 Grilled Vidalia Onion, chopped (see above)
2 tsp Steen’s Pure Cane Syrup

3 Tbsp Fresh Basil, chopped
Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients while still hot, serve at room temperature.

Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Peach Salsa Recipe

4 Bone in, thick cut Pork Chops
1 Recipe Seasoning Mix (see below)
1 Recipe Apricot Glaze (see below)
1 Recipe Grilled Peach Salsa

Seasoning mix:
1 Tbsp Creole Seasoning
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt (if using commercial creole seasoning omit)
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tsp Black Pepper

Combine.

Apricot Glaze:

3 Tbsp Apricot Preserves
1 Tbsp Steen’s Pure Cane Syrup
1 Tbsp Creole Mustard

Combine all ingredients.

Season the pork chops liberally with some of the seasoning mix.

Preheat a Charcoal or Gas grill to 400 degrees F with a pan going with smoldering wood chips (I used Pecan chips). When hot grill the Pork chops to desired degree of doneness, I like mine cooked medium about 140 degrees. Brush the chops with the apricot glaze, let it warm a bit and remove the chops. I pulled mine off at about 132 degrees to allow for carryover cooking. They were a perfect medium at the table.

From Nola Cuisine

Top the glazed chops with a generous portion of the warm Peach Salsa, make sure to drizzle some of the liquid as well. Enjoy!

Serves 4.

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which provides links to all of the recipes featured on Nola Cuisine!

Related Posts:

Homemade Creole Mustard Recipe
Homemade Creole Seasoning Recipe
Boudin Stuffed Pork Chop Recipe

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From Nola Cuisine
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New Orleans Restaurants

Cochon

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From Nola Cuisine

**UPDATE Here is my post on Donald Link’s newest venture Cochon Butcher in the same building as Cochon, right around the corner!

Also, Chef Donald Link’s cookbook comes out April 21, 2009, can’t wait! It’s called Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking from Donald Link’s Louisiana
 (Read my review HERE!)

If I were a pig (no comments please), and I could choose my final resting place, I would choose Cochon. My sacrifice would not be in vain because I would be assured that every part of me would be utilized to create some of the best dishes that I’ve had in New Orleans to date, and that my friends is saying a mouthful.

Chef Donald link, co-owner Chef Stephen Stryjewski and their crew are orchestrating an in house Boucherie everyday, bringing in whole hogs that are broken down, and turned into a plethora of different Charcuterie ingredients, some on the menu and some that change from day to day on their Boucherie plate, more on that later.

Upon first walking through the door of Cochon, the aroma of wood fire and smoked meats will make your knees buckle a little; stop and breathe it in, you’ve entered hog heaven.

The dining room is warm and inviting, kind of a Polished Country feel. Anyway, just look at the picture, I’m not an interior designer, I’m a kitchen guy. Lets just say that it’s a nice, casual and inviting dining room. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful.

Back to the food.

The bar offers a wide array of Bourbons, local beers, and even a few varieties of Moonshine. If you’re interested in something non-alcoholic Cochon’s Lemonade is the best I have ever had, no lie, a perfect balance of sweet and sour, I couldn’t get enough.

The back of the restaurant features a Chef’s Counter, where you can watch all of the action. They have an array of various pickles displayed on the counter as well as some potted herbs for use in the kitchen.

The entrance to the kitchen and service station showcases and stores firewood for use in the wood burning oven.

We started our meal with the Boucherie Plate, how could I not right? This day’s selection:

From Nola Cuisine

Clockwise from bottom left; Speck, Country Bologna, Country Pate, Hogshead Cheese (buried) Peppery toast points, Pork Rillette, housemade Pickles & Pickled Peppers, housemade Creole Mustard (the best I’ve had).

Detail of the speck, country Bologna, and Pate:

From Nola Cuisine

The Hogshead Cheese, perfectly spiced and delicious:

From Nola Cuisine

My entree was the Louisiana Cochon, which is pulled pork that is pattied and seared, served atop turnips and cabbage, with a wonderfully rich pork jus, and topped with crispy Cracklins’!

From Nola Cuisine

Detail of the Louisiana Cochon:

From Nola Cuisine

This dish really has a remarkable pork flavor, a smoky subtlety, and a richness that is beyond compare. I dream about this dish.

My wife had the Beef Brisket with Horseradish Potato Salad, equally phenomenal, while staying true to the casual country dishes of the south.

From Nola Cuisine

After we ate our meal I went up to the Chef’s counter to take some pictures of some meats they had curing in a temperature and humidity controlled case. One of the Sous Chefs saw my interest and invited me into the kitchen to show me around and take some pictures. I was elated. Here are some of the pics I got.

Smoked and cured legs on a speed rack.

From Nola Cuisine

A big old tub of Chow Chow in the walk in cooler. Next to it is a tub of fresh Pompano which was going to be the nights dinner special.

From Nola Cuisine

Coppa curing in the walk in cooler. Various pickles and sauces, all nicely organized in the tight quarters.

From Nola Cuisine

Below the Coppa, housemade Tasso, and below that housemade bacon.

From Nola Cuisine

Legs in different stages of cure in dry storage.

From Nola Cuisine
From Nola Cuisine

A just delivered pig waiting to be butchered.

From Nola Cuisine
From Nola Cuisine

I can’t thank the gentleman who took me on a tour of the kitchen enough, it was a wonderful experience that I will always remember. I’m blown away by the things that these guys and gals are doing at Cochon. This is a huge undertaking, and there is a lot of work involved, hats off to the Chefs and their staff, this place is a labor of love and it shows. I can’t wait to come back.

Here is a video of Chef Stephen Stryjewski butchering a pig and making hot sausage with warm peaches.

For more great pics of some of the food at Cochon check out Jason Perlow’s Cochon post at Off The Broiler.

Also:

Robert at Appetites has a great review with pics here.

Cochon is located at:

Cochon
930 Tchopitoulas Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 588-2123
Email: info@cochonrestaurant.com

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which provides links to all of the recipes on this site!

Related Posts:

Andouille Sausage Recipe
Chaurice Sausage Recipe
Cochon Butcher right around the corner in the same building as Cochon
Pickle Meat Recipe
Boudin Recipe

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