Our tent outside the Taste of Ohio

Some people ask us at the fair how we make our pork loin taste so absolutely delectable!  Trust me when I say we do nothing special with it.  We do use one of these:

Our Smokers

They are our smokers.  They give the pork a slight pinkish tint, which is good.  Most people want their steaks with a little pink in the center and pork is no different.  This is easily achievable on your grill at home.  Just grill a pork loin until it gets to around 145-150 degrees and take it off the grill.  Don’t worry about getting to that 165 degrees, the pork will continue to cook after you take it off.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes so that your pork is really juicy and cut and serve!  It’s all in the cooking temperature to get something that looks like this.

Trust me when I say we are doing nothing special. Okay except for maybe this picture!

You can find these shirts on Facebook under Ohio Hog Farmers!

What can I say… you got to have a little bit of fun!

-B

I decided to take a little break from the State Fair talk and give you some information you just might be interested in.

You can enter the National Pork Board’s “Calling All Grillers with Groupies” photo contest and win a trip to NYC! Through August 31, visit TheOtherWhiteMeat.com to submit a photo of you and your crew around the grill, along with a 50-word-or-less caption that details how you enjoy spending time grilling-up pork with your “groupies.”

One grand prize winner and guest will be flown to NYC to cook alongside celebrity chef Melissa d’Arabian during the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival, October 7-10, 2010. Prize includes airfare, a two-night stay in the Big Apple and a Char-Broil® grill.

My picture would be of my dog, Max.  He is always there within milliseconds of us starting the grill.  It’s like he senses a change in the motion of the earth when we fire up our grill to put on some pork chops.  Not only is he a groupie, but he’s also the official taste tester.  Self appointed but backed by the entire family.  If this dog ever weighs 100 pounds, it will be because we just can’t say no to those ‘feed me’ eyes.

Source

Who are your grilling groupies?

-B

I’m back from the 2010 Ohio State Fair! It was a crazy twelve days of selling, promoting, and celebrating pork production in Ohio.  I spent most of the time in the Taste of Ohio in the Pork Stand selling BBQ pulled pork, pig wings, and the best pork loin sandwich your taste buds will ever experience!

My Home Away From Home!

There you go!  That’s a picture of our pork stand!  (I could never catch someone dropping our plastic knives in front of the stand.  I just wanted to show them the trash can 10 feet behind them!!) Can’t you just feel the excitement and enthusiasm from the opportunity to provide the world with delicious pork!

The cashiers and I recorded the most asked questions from the fair this year.

What are pig wings?

One of the cashiers recorded the amount of times she got asked this question and it resulted in about 30 in one day.  This also happened to be the slowest day at the fair.  I’ll be sharing with you the inside scoop of the pig wings later.

Where can we buy that shirt?

We were all wearing some pretty sweet shirts.  Again, something I’ll be sharing later!

How did you cook the pork loin sandwich to make it so delicious?

Another question I’ll be answering but trust me it’s all in the temperature!

Can I have a cheeseburger?

I think the giant word ‘Pork’ on the banner should have been a little hint to the answer to that question…

More to come!

- B

It seems like everyone is trying to stay in a tight budget.  Unfortunately this prevents us from going out and completing our porktastic kitchen decor with a new pig spatula or pig corn on the cob holders. But then again why cut back on these kitchen necessities when we can easily fit into our budget by making a meal for a family of four under $10?  Heather’s BBQ pork recipe shows your easy and delicious it is to feed everyone in your family and still stay in the black.  Soon the cute pig spatula will be mine!

You can catch more of her recipes and budget friendly tips at Heather’s Helpings!

What are some of your recipes that help you stay on budget?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q03RKacDjU]

Every once in a while, cooking feels exactly like this: we don’t feel like we know what we’re doing; get frustrated with the options and choices; throw a bunch of things together and end up cooking an iPad instead! Okay, well maybe not the iPad, but the same feelings exist.

I have to say that Jake did do something right- slightly shocking, I know- by wrapping that iPad in bacon.  It seems today that if you want to add a little bit of flavor and culinary finesse to any recipe, it’s as simple as wrapping it in bacon.  Wrap a little bacon around a pork tenderloin, a pork chop, or even a jalapeno if you dare, and you have dressed up the main course for any situation.  All of these recipes are porktastically simple and versatile.  Go ahead and use them for your next family meal, party, or dinner for two!

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Medallions

Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin, 1 to 1 1/4 pound
4 slices bacon, hickory-smoked
Wooden picks
Salt and pepper

Cut tenderloin in 8 slices (medallions) approximately 1 to 1 1/4-inch wide. Place two slices (medallions) together and wrap bacon slice around both pieces to hold together to make pork “mignons.” Secure with wooden pick. Repeat with remaining pork medallions and bacon. Season both sides with salt and pepper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Broil or grill per directions below.

*Remove wooden pick and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Directions for Broiling: Pre-heat broiler to 500º. Broil pork mignons about 4-inches from heat source for 7 to 8 minutes per side or until internal temperature reaches 160º F.

Direction for Pan-broiling: Heat skillet or grill pan over high heat; add pork mignons. Lower heat to medium-high; cook (uncovered) for 6 minutes or until nicely browned. Turn; cook an additional 6 minutes or until internal temperature reached 160º F.

Directions for Grilling: Pre-heat grill to 400º. Place pork mignons directly over high heat. Close grill lid; grill for 6 to 7 minutes per side or until internal temperature reaches 160º F.

Ever had the urge for a pork tenderloin sandwich, but didn’t want to leave the comforts of your home to go in search for this sandwich.  Coupon Geek has the perfect option for you!  Go and check out the easy step by step directions to making the perfect pork tenderloin sandwich and impress your family.  They may never want to go out to eat again!

The weather is starting to get nice and my patio/porch/deck is getting more and more appealing. Does anyone know the difference between them because I always confuse them?

My grill has been neglected since fall and is hiding in the corner of my garage behind the snow shovel.  It is time to start getting it ready for a new season of pork chops, ribs, and roasts and put that snow shovel away for good.  (At least for the next 7-8 months… hopefully.)

You can check out how to grill fantastic pork chops on a previous post.  You may be asking yourself what is the difference between grilling and barbecuing.  This can get as confusing as the patio/deck scenario.  Well here’s the low down and you will never use them interchangeably again.

Grilling- High heat, direct method cooking meat over live flames.  Which is why you are able to get those pork chops done so quickly.

Flames= High temperature= grilling

Barbecuing- Long, low heat, smoke-cooking method using coals, smoldering logs or chunks or wood.

Your meat will cook fast with grilling so go ahead and use that for your chops and kabobs.  Patience is a virtue when it comes to barbecuing.  The cooking times can extend to 10 hours with temperatures as low as 225 degrees F.  This is great for ribs and pork shoulder.

How about we discuss barbecuing later, because I feel it deserves it’s own post.

Hold the phone St. Patty’s Day!  It’s National Agriculture Week and we are trying to do all we can at Porktastic to embrace the spirit!  So wear all those shamrocks and go ahead and drink the green bee… well, whatever the beverage of your choice may be… but go ahead and tip that beverage for the farmer too.  Here are some ways to incorporate a little pig power into your dedicated Irish celebration.

1. Stop chasing that pot o’ gold.  Pigs were a sign of prosperity in Emerald Isle back in the day, so try to grab onto a curly tail instead!
2. And like we do for every holiday, here are some ways to decorate yourself and your home with pig paraphernalia (pig paraphernalia…say that five times fast).  Decorate with this pig poster or strut your stuff with this pig and St. Patty’s Day shirt.
3. Add a little bacon to your corned beef and cabbage.  Go ahead, get a little crazy.

Do a little celebrating of St. Patty’s Day, National Agriculture week, and of course our curly tailed friend all in one feel swoop.  And may you have the luck of the Irish all week!

Today we would like to take a few moments to salute television’s biggest fan of bacon and everything else pork, Homer J. Simpson.

Ok, so he doesn’t know that pork comes from pigs, but he sure has eaten a lot of it and is quite possibly responsible for keeping all of Springfield’s invisible hog farmers afloat. And since so many pork lovers tune in to watch their kindred spirit, we’re pretty sure Homer’s eating habits are the reason for the show’s success.

Since Homer doesn’t know the most basic thing about pigs and pork (one becomes the other) we’re guessing he’s not up on other facts of modern hog farming either. Like how pigs are raised in state of the art barns that provide a stable climate year round and protection from predators and disease, or that they eat feed that has been specially formulated to meet their needs at every stage of growth. He probably also missed the memo announcing that pork is leaner than ever and that pork tenderloin is just as lean as skinless chicken breast. But we can forgive him for not knowing all that as long as he remembers farmers are doing what’s best and keeps right on eating pork!

So, Homer keep baconing up your sausage, ordering your smiley-face breakfasts with bacon noses, bacon hair, bacon mustaches, five o’clock shadows made of bacon bits and bacon bodies, and enjoying the wonderful, magical animal that gives you pork, bacon and ham, and we’ll keep watching your show for another 20 years.

Today is the most important day of the year. It is a day to stay home from work. It is a day of celebrating with family and friends. It is bigger than Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year’s and the Fourth of July combined. It is a day to honor the reason there can be delicious bacon and pork chops and swine inspired doo-dads and even a nation of Porktastic. My fellow Porktasticans prepare yourselves because today is National Pig Day.

My friends, we will be grilling, baking and slow roasting all of our favorite forms of pork throughout the day, not to mention watching our favorite famous pigs like Babe, Porky, Gordy and Miss Piggy. So come party with us! We’ll be easy to spot since we’ll be the ones decked out head-to-toe in true pig style – nose, ears and of course curly-q tail.

But, if for some crazy reason your boss won’t let you off to celebrate this holiday of holidays, we have a few ideas to help you take the party to work with you:

1. Choose your favorite pig tie or jewelry to commemorate the day.
2. Hang a string of pig lights around your office or cubicle.
3. Grill up some pork loin chops and bring enough to share with your coworkers, remembering they want to be home celebrating just as much as you.
4. Get a pig piñata filled with bacon candy.
5. Wear your favorite pig inspired tee underneath a button-up dress shirt. When everyone complains about missing Pig Day rip your top shirt off like Clark Kent and set up a completely awesome celebration of pigs and pork.

Have a Porktastic day holiday and be sure to tell us how you celebrated National Pig Day by emailing stories or pics of your celebration to Mr.Oinkers@gmail.com.