The Dutch Oven Challenge!

It has been Brought!

Like I mentioned in my last post, Andy J at the Back Porch Gourmet issued me a challenge in the dutch ovens.  We would give each other a list of three ingredients that would need to be used in a completely original recipe.  He gave me Pork, Oranges, and Curry.  I gave him Fish, Dill, and Potatoes.

The whole idea, as I understand, isn't really to see who's the best.  We really can't taste each other's dishes.  The idea is just to push us out of our comfort zones a bit and see what we can each do.  And to have a little fun in the process.  I tried a little trash talk, but really, I'm not too good at that...

I was really feeling out of the zone.  It was strange.  Since the original challenge stated the the recipe needed to be "wholly original", I didn't even go online for ideas.  I just mulled over ideas in my head, and got some great suggestions from Jodi.

Here's my result:

Dutch Oven Orange Curried Pork Chops

12" dutch oven
15 coals below
20 coals above

• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 2 med onions, chopped
  
• 5-6 green onions, chopped
• 4-5 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 canful water
• 1 canful rice
• salt
  
• pepper
  

• Pork chops
• kosher salt
• curry powder

• 1 jar orange marmalade
• zest of 1 orange
• juice of 1 orange
• cinnamon

I started out by chopping up and mincing all of the veggie ingredients in the first set.  I mixed all of the first set in the dutch oven.  Pretty easy, so far.

In the next set of ingredients, I had to make some choices.  I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to put the curry directly on the meat, or include it in the glaze.  In the end, I decided to put it on the meat.  I rubbed the meat, both sides, with kosher salt and curry powder.  Then I layered the pork chops over the veggies, rice, and liquid.  I had about 8-9 actual chops, so I had to overlap them in a circle.

Finally, I mixed the marmalade, the zest, the juice, and the cinnamon into a glop and spooned it onto the meat.

I put that out on the coals.  It cooked for about an hour.  Some of the rice in the middle ended up not fully cooked, so I probably should have gone longer.  There was still some liquid that could have been absorbed.

I served it up with a twist of orange, and sprinkled with minced mint leaves.

In the end, it was a really interesting flavor.  The rice, and even the meat, had a rich creaminess that I'm sure came from the coconut milk.  The spices gave it a very interesting flavor, one that I'd not tasted before, so it was neat to have something almost completely new.

So, thanks Andy!  Here's his response!





Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.