Lots of exciting things have been cooking this summer in the world of pork!  We discovered that pork can now be cooked to a lower temperature of 145⁰ F, followed by a three minute rest (for the pork, not the chef, or maybe both).  Cooking to the new lower temperature will ensure your pork is tender, flavorful and juicy. Yes, pork cooked to 145 will be slightly pink in color, but the USDA deemed pork be cooked to the new lower temperature as perfectly safe, following extensive studies conducted across the nation.

Doesn’t that mean that the pork will be raw and too pink?  Nope… Pork is actually supposed to be a little pink in the center.  If it’s white all the way through, then the meat will be dry and overcooked!  Check out the pictures below to see the difference between perfectly cooking pork to 145, opposed to the previously recommended 160.



An Overcooked Roast... Cooking to 160 Degrees is Too Long

This Roast still looks great, but take a close look at the color of the pork.  Pork that is cooked to this white looking color is actually overcooked and dry!  Find this recipe using the right juicy temperature by clicking HERE!

The Pink Color Means It Was Perfectly Cooked To A Temperature of 145 Degrees with a 3 Minute Rest

The pinkish color of this roast will make it juicy and tender to the taste!  Click HERE for the delicious details!

Hey Pork Lovers! It’s here in a flash and gone just as quick, that’s right, the Ohio State Fair is all wrapped up!  As sad as it is, most of us only get the opportunity to enjoy some of the most awesome culinary treats, such as pig wings and pork parfaits, during the 12 day stint of the fair, well not anymore!

Below are the recipes for two of the coolest pork dishes available, so be sure to thank us when you are enjoying some state fair excitement in your kitchen….in December!

Pig Wings:

Pig wings include the tender meat around the bone of the ham.  During the Ohio State Fair, we go through a lot of pig wings! Pig wings are available at some specialty grocery stores; we get ours at Gordon Food Service. We like to smoke the wings at the Ohio State Fair.  The wings come precooked from Gordon Food Service, so how you cook them is your preference (grilled, smoked, baked, or deep-fried).  Add some D. B. Yummers Barbecue Sauce to the finished pig wings and you have the perfect meal!

The Famous Pork Parfait

Pork Parfait:

The pork parfait is a perfectly ‘porky’ desert.  It includes two alternating layers of pulled pork and mashed potatoes, and then is topped off with BBQ sauce, shredded cheese and a cherry tomato.  If you need a mouthwatering pulled pork recipe to use for your pork parfait, then check out the Heimerl family’s pulled pork recipe.

Make sure you check out our last post for your opportunity to get a free cookbook full of original pork recipes!

It’s that time of year again… It’s the Ohio State Fair! We’re back to serving pork in the Taste of Ohio Café. Stop by, have an old favorite, or try something new on for size!

The Famous Pig Wings

Due to popular demand, the pig wing is BACK!  Pigs may not actually have wings, but this delicious piece of ham just might make you feel like you’re flying straight to ‘pork heaven’!

The New Pork Parfait

Never seen this unique looking parfait before?  That’s because it’s the NEW Pork Parfait!  With it’s layers of pulled pork and mashed potatoes, it’s a porklovers dream dessert!

1/2 Slab of Ribs

We didn’t forget about all of the other pork favorites!  Loin sandwiches, ribs, BBQ, they’re all going to be at the state fair…will you?

If you enjoy hearing about the unique Bacon Turtle Sausage Burger and Bacon Pie recipes, keep checking back for recipes on how you can make these great tasting and adventurous ‘fair foods’!

Alright bacon lovers, let’s see what you think about this one. Pie is good, bacon is great, so technically – we could assume that bacon pie would be nothing less than amazing! While it may seem like an odd combination, this allrecipes.com ‘dessert’ is sure to be a hit for those with taste buds that don’t mind “stepping outside the box.” You may not be able to give this one a pet name, like the Bacon Turtle Sausage Burger, but it’s certainly a new way of using bacon that will give your family a new appreciation for bacon, and you won’t even need to buy a terrarium.

Bacon + Pie = Bacon Pie

Try it out….

Ingredients:

• 12 slices bacon
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 2 cups milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup baking mix
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease glass pie plate, 10×1-1/2 inches. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
2. Sprinkle bacon, cheese, and onion in pie plate.
3. In a medium bowl, stir milk, eggs, baking mix, and pepper with fork until blended. Pour into pie plate.
4. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Let us know about your fun pork recipes!  We’d love to give them a try!

The Bacon Turtle Sausage Burger on the Grill

HERE IT IS!!!
It’s the Bacon Turtle Sausage Burger! If you read our last post (It’s a pig! It’s a turtle! No, it’s a Pig-Nosed Turtle!), then I’m sure you’ve been anxiously waiting for these juicy pork details!

Bacon Turtle Sausage Burger

Ready to go in the oven

Prep Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

8 ounces ground sausage, shaped into a patty
4 slices bacon
3 hot dogs
2 slices American cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon virgin olive oil

Directions:
1) Add Garlic salt, black pepper, worchestire and oil to the sausage burger.
2) Cut hot dogs in half, and then make 4 slits in the ends of 4 of them for feet. Use the other two
hotdog halves for the head and the tail.
3) Weave the bacon slices in a criss cross fashion (1 under, 1 over – 1 over, 1 under, etc).
4) Place sausage burger patty over bacon.
5) Press hot dogs into burger at proper places for legs, head and tail.
6) Place slices of American cheese on top.
7) Stretch bacon strips over the burger and around the hot dogs to secure it in place.
8 ) Bake in oven on cookie pan for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
9) Finish it on the grill or frying pan until bacon is crispy.
10) Serve on a bun with your favorite condiments or by itself

(NOTE: You may need to use toothpicks to hold the bacon and hotdogs in place)

Let us know what you think of it!

There are millions of great pork recipes available at the click of mouse.  When I did a quick “pork recipe” search on Google this morning, my results returned 32,400,000 possible recipes to try! This brings up an important question – Have you ever read a recipe, and then flipped the page or clicked to a  new recipe because you didn’t understand one of the terms in the instructions?  I know that I’ve done it before – Recipes can be intimidating!  Believe it or not, but most of those strange and frustrating terms are normally easy to do steps in your recipe.

I’m here to help you look past those frustrating or mysterious terms and try those delicious recipes that you’ve always wanted to cook.

Roasting marshmallows, pot roast, comedy roasts; we’ve all heard the expressions, but what in the world does “roasting” mean?

While it may not seem like a confusing word, the term roasting is often used interchangeably with the word baking.  Roasting and baking are both dry heat cooking methods.  So why use the term roasting at all?  Well, roasting is sometimes considered a specialized form of baking.  Roasting is almost always done uncovered, in an open pan.  The term “roasting” is also mostly used when talking about meats or vegetables, while “baking” is mostly associated with breads, pies, cakes and casseroles.  Here at Porktastic, we believe that the term is best used when referring to pork.  That means that roasting is primarily used in reference to foods that already have a solid form or structure, like a delicious cut of lean and flavorful pork, while the word baking typically refers to the cooking process applied to food without a solid structure, such as cookie batter…how about Bacon and Peanut Butter Cookies? Mmmmm…

Bacon Can Make a Great Dessert

If you are as excited about pork as I am, you’re probably getting fidgety just thinking about getting in the kitchen and roasting an awesome piece of pork for dinner. Here’s a recipe I am anxious to try. Go…now….roast some pork!

Herb-Crusted Pork Rib Roast with Red Wine Sauce

Looks Delicious

Now that we’ve reached the middle of the summer, some people seem to be enjoying the hot days on vacation and others are relaxing next to the pool.  On the other hand, I’ve been busy trying to keep up with the all of the daytime activities of summer.  Coming from a large family, I often find myself being pulled between helping my younger siblings with 4-H projects, trying to catch up with friends and surviving the necessary chores that come along with wedding season.  I’m sure most of you can relate to this hectic lifestyle, which makes cooking seem like a challenge for all of us pork lovers.  I was beginning to forget what it was like to sit down for a nice juicy piece of pork, so enough was enough; this weekend I discarded some of my more cumbersome tasks and took a little “me time” to enjoy a delicious meal…starring pork!

Not only was I determined to cook myself a good summertime meal, I found a delicious recipe at porkbeinspired.com that took less than an hour to prepare!  When I saw the positive ratings the recipe received from viewers, I decided to grill up a delicious pair of Bacon-Wrapped Pork Chops.  No kidding, this recipe certainly deserved its high reviews!  After cooking it to 145⁰ and adding the Garlic-Mustard Butter for taste, it was like “pork chop heaven!”  This easily falls into my list of all-time favorite ways to enjoy pork chops, plus, it only took me forty minutes to prepare from start to finish!  Considering that I have never been known for being a speedy chef, this was quite a feat for me.  Give it a try, and then let us know what you think of it!

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Chops With Seasoned Butter

My new favorite pork chop recipe

Do you have a favorite summertime recipe?  We’d love to hear about it!

What’s one food that goes great with grilling, camping, tailgating or a late night snack?  The hotdog.  Like baseball and apple pie, the hotdog is enjoyed by many as a classic American tradition.  The hotdog is quick, easy, delicious and works wonderfully as an afternoon lunch or a special campfire snack.  You can make the classic hotdog by adding a bun, ketchup, and just enough mustard, or you go Coney style by adding chili, cheese and onions. The hotdog is a blank canvas – be creative and come up with the next “hot” way to enjoy a hotdog.

What is this appetizing food actually made of?  I have often had people tell me that hotdogs are made of pig snouts, leftover scraps, and things you don’t even want to think about.  I can’t help but chuckle at this age-old myth.  Contrary to common belief, hotdogs are not made from the unwanted pieces of meat. The meat trimmings are carefully selected and cut just like the meat in your grocery coolers.  They are inspected and approved by the United States Department of Agriculture to insure that they are safe for you to eat.

So don’t confuse this family favorite with something that it’ not.  Enjoy a hotdog!  Just make sure that hotdog is made of pork!

Mother’s Day is this weekend.  Just in case you forgot, don’t go to the store and buy some flowers just yet.  Mom may just appreciate a day off more than anything you could fit into a box.  If you are really looking for something fantastic for Mother’s Day check out these recipes.

Breakfast in Bed

Lunch

Dinner

Time to impress your Mom by showing off your culinary skills and by choosing a lean and delicious protein.  She will appreciate the day off and of course three delicious meals.

My entire family was home for a few days last week.  I love when this happens because my mom always goes all out at the dinner table.  Oh… and I guess it’s nice seeing everyone again. (Don’t tell my brothers’ I said that.)

This past weekend, we had a delicious pork shoulder roast and the best part was it was so simple. 

Roast in the Crockpot

Here are the directions:

1) Place pork shoulder roast in crockpot.

2) Put your favorite seasoning on pork shoulder roast.

3) Turn on crockpot and cook until 160 degrees.

That’s really it.  The meat turns out juicy, tender, and flavorful.  We even had leftovers to slice up and make sandwiches out of for the next day.  Obviously, don’t forget about out Nearly Intoxicating Pulled Pork Sandwich  that you can also make with this roast and your crockpot.  Both recipes are basically fool proof!  Enjoy!