When we began writing our first cookbook, The Joslin Diabetes Gourmet Cookbook, pork was then considered to be a medium-fat meat with about 75 calories and 7 grams of fat per ounce. At that time pork producers began to respond to consumers' demands for lower-fat foods and started to develop leaner pork through changes in the feeding and breeding of pigs.
By the time we almost finished the manuscript, data as to the lower calorie and fat content of the leanest cuts of pork influenced the dietitians at Joslin Diabetes Center to rethink their Joslin Exchange List and move pork from the medium-fat category to the lean category which provides 55 calories and 3 grams of fat per ounce. Indeed, today's pork has 31% less fat than the pork of 20 years ago. This was considered a significant change in the diabetic exchange list, one that was validated by the American Diabetes Association shortly thereafter who also moved pork into the low-fat category. We considered that change a boon for us and other good cooks who like to prepare the "other white meat."
This is not to say that you can start eating bacon or pork sausage again. These still contain a too high fat content for anything other than for occasional consumption, and then only if approved by your physician. But there are eight cuts of pork that have a total fat content between that of a skinless chicken breast and a skinless chicken thigh. Listed from the lowest to highest total fat content, these cuts include pork tenderloin, boneless sirloin chop, boneless loin roast, boneless loin chop, loin chop, boneless sirloin roast, rib chop, and boneless rib roast (Chef's Prime). If you're wanting to use bacon for flavoring in cooking, opt for Canadian-style bacon: A 2-ounce serving contains 86 calories and 3.9 grams of fat.
To keep the fat low, use low-fat cooking methods when cooking pork, like grilling, broiling, stir-frying, and pan-broiling to maximize flavor while keeping added fat to a minimum. When broiling, grilling or roasting on a rack, don't use the meat drippings as they contain natural fat. Use a nonstick skillet with a little juice or broth when cooking thin cuts of pork by pan-broiling or dry sautéing. When stir-frying, use a cooking spray or a small amount of flavored oil. You can marinate pork for flavor and juiciness with juice or wine-flavored vinegar marinades instead of oil-based marinades. Pork also responds superbly to dry rubs (look in prior 'cooking tips' articles for recipes) before grilling, broiling, or roasting.
Now to this month's menus and recipes featuring "the other white meat."
Our first menu features a favorite at our house-barbecued pork. Since it's too cold outside to use a smoker, we devised a way to get authentic flavor using our trusty crockpot. You'll need a rack that fits in the bottom of your crockpot so the natural fats can drip away. You'll find the liquid smoke near the ketchup in most supermarkets. The liquid smoke adds the flavor of smoking over wood chips without the mess. The sauce simmers on the stove, then is finished with the pork during the last 30 minutes of cooking time. The recipe makes enough for twelve servings so plan to serve this when you have extra mouths to feed. If not, you'll have leftovers for the next day or you'll need to freeze some for later use.
We're serving our pork on a toasted poppy seed Kaiser roll along with a fabulous cole slaw that's garlicky and sweet. The slaw recipe came from a colleague who did the food styling for one of my cookbooks in the Heartland Cooking series by Reader's Digest. Her husband is the executive chef aboard a jet owned by one of the world's largest corporations and has served the slaw to industrialists, kings, and sheiks around the world. I've adapted the original recipes to contain less fat without sacrifice of flavor. Dessert is a fresh apple with a small wedge of nonfat or low-fat cheddar cheese. One small apple equals 1 carbohydrate (fruit) exchange.
(for the recipes, click on The Recipes or click on the individual recipe above)
Our second menu features skewers of boneless pork tenderloin, florets of cauliflower, and red bell peppers, seasoned with garlic, curry, cumin, and coriander. We've eaten a similar dishes made with lamb and chicken in Indian restaurants. There it was cooked in a tandoori oven, but we found our indoor electric grill or a broiler works fine. Serve this over basmati rice with Cilantro Chutney made from a recipe we were given by the chef at Kismet, our favorite Indian restaurant in Connecticut. The dessert is orange slices sprinkled with a few fried raspberries-quick, lovely, and so delicious. Thanks to airfreight, we get excellent fresh raspberries all winter long at reasonable prices. Frozen raspberries will turn to mush when fried. If you can't find fresh, just toss the frozen ones directly on the orange slices, omitting the frying.
(for the recipes, click on The Recipes or click on the individual recipe above)
Sometimes it's difficult to buy white veal, but pork is always available and makes a tender scaloppini. For out third meal, we just slice the pork loin thin and pound it to about 1/4 inch and have it made. Make sure you remove any visible fat. If you can purchase Italian cheese to eat with the pear, do so. The taste is deep and you will use less.
(for the recipes, click on The Recipes or click on the individual recipe above)
Our last menu is easy enough for family fare, but so special in flavor that you'll also want to serve it to guests. The wild mushrooms are the secret ingredients. The dessert comes out our need to use more of the grapefruit that we received for Christmas. The result is a delicious way to end the meal.
(for the recipes, click on The Recipes or click on the individual recipe above)
