For the Rio Games, Coast Packing Serves Up Trio of Brazilian Recipes That Turn Lard into Gold

"Whatever your favorite event, the Olympics is a feast for sports buffs, and that isn't limited to TV programming," said Eric R. Gustafson, CEO of the 94-year-old company and an advocate of healthy animal fats in the American diet.  "While the Olympics are a global happening, Brazilian cuisine represents a definite break from typical summer fare.  These recipes will enable you to get into the spirit of the Rio Games – and they affirm our belief that natural, minimally processed food is the way to go.  It's always wise to avoid industrially-produced partially hydrogenated fats in favor of animal fat shortenings, which have the benefit of being consistently delicious and, in moderation, promoting health."   

With appreciation to flavorsofbrazil, portuguesemassa, and myrestaurant.pt, Coast extends best wishes to all the Olympic athletes and their fans.  The recipes follow:

Kettle-fried Pork (Porco Caipira no Tacho)

Ingredients
3 lbs lean pork from pork shoulder or fresh ham (trimmed fat can be used to render lard), cubed
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 tbsp salt
lard

The day before cooking, mix the cubed pork, minced garlic and salt well, and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature the following day before cooking.

Using a cast-iron Dutch oven, kettle or deep frying pan, melt the lard over medium-low heat. You should have at least 2 inches of fat in the bottom of the kettle or pan. When the fat is entirely melted, increase the cooking temperature and heat until the fat is hot but not smoking.

Add the chunks of pork, stir once or twice to completely coat the meat with fat and fry, stirring only very infrequently, until the meat is browned and crispy on all sides.  When the meat is cooked, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, and drain thoroughly on paper towels. Let cool to room temperature and reserve.  The pork can be served at room temperature, or it can be reheated in a dry, well-seasoned cast iron pan before serving.

Feijoada (Classic Traditional Recipe)

Ingredients
1/2 lb. pork ribs, salted
1/2 lb. pig's tail, salted
1/2 lb. pig's foot, salted
1/2 lb. pig's ear, salted
1/2 lb. pork loin, salted
1/2 lb. carne-do-sol (click here for instructions on how to make your own carne-do-sol)
1/2 lb. beef brisket
1/2 lb. Linguiça sausage, or other smoked sausage
1/2 lb. Linguiça sausage, spiced, or pepperoni
1/2 lb. Kielbasa sausage, or other garlic sausage
1 1/2 cups dried black beans
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch green onions
5 bay leaves
1/2 cup cachaça
1 unpeeled orange, scrubbed and quartered
1 lb. (400 gr.) pork lard
1/2 lb. thick sliced smoked bacon, cubed
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
Serves 6

The day before cooking the feijoada, place all the salted meats in a large pan, and cover with cold water. Refrigerate. Change the water every three hours, for minimum 24 hours. Drain thoroughly.

In a very large kettle or bean pot, place the beans, the meats and sausages, the cilantro and green onions tied together, the bay leaves, the cachaça, and the orange. Cover with cold water, bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue to cook over low heat. As each meat in turn becomes fully cooked and tender (test with a fork) remove from the kettle, let cool, cut into bit-size pieces, and reserve.

When the black beans are fully cooked and soft (about 1.5 – 2 hrs.), remove one cup of beans and cooking liquid, and blend until smooth in a blender. Return 1/2 cup of this mixture to the beans in the kettle to thicken the cooking liquid.

In a large frying pan heat the lard, and cook the bacon in it until browned and crispy. Remove the bacon cubes, and in the same lard, fry the garlic and onion until soft and transparent, but not browned. Remove from heat, then stir in the reserved 1/2 cup of the blended beans. Stir entire contents of frying pan plus the reserved meats and bacon, into the beans in the kettle. Let cook over low heat for 20 minutes for flavors to blend.

Serve, accompanied by Mineiro-style kale, thick slices of peeled oranges, white rice, farofa, and caipirinhas to drink.

Rojões à Moda do Minho (Garlic Wine Marinated Roasted Pork Chunks)

Ingredients
800 g skinned pork leg, with fat
3.5 dl white Vinho Verde
3 tablespoon lard
4 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper
20 baked chestnuts
350 g de belouras or bolachos (blood and flour cakes)
350 g tripe stuffed with flour
100 g pork's liver
100 g boiled blood

Chop the pork's meat in 10 cm cubes, which are put to marinate for 2 hours in the wine, the crushed garlic, salt pepper and bay leaves. Bring to heat (preferably in an iron pot) and let stew in high heat until the wine from the marinade evaporates. Add the lard and in low heat, let the meat stew until it is well seared. After that, add the paprika, previously dissolved in a bit of wine, to the sauce. Remove a bit of the fat in the pot, and fry the tripe, chopped in 3 to 5 cm pieces, and the 0.5 cm thick sliced belouras, as well as the slices of liver and boiled blood.  As these ingredients get fried, add them to the meat, to keep them warm.  Add the baked chestnuts, already peeled. Serve with fried potato cubes, lemon slices and parsley.

About Coast Packing Company
Coast Packing Company (www.coastpacking.com), a closely held corporation, is the number one supplier of animal fat shortenings – particularly lard and beef tallow -- in the Western United States.  The company sells to major manufacturers, distributors, retailers, smaller food service operations and leading bakeries.  The company participates actively in various ethnic markets – from Hispanic retail chains, with its VIVA brand, to various Asian specialty markets.  Based in Vernon, Calif., Coast Packing Company is regional, national and, increasingly, global.  In some cases, supplier relationships are multigenerational, extending back 50 years and more.

For more information about Coast Packing Company, visit: www.coastpacking.com. Follow us via social media on Facebook at www.facebook.com/coastpackingco, Twitter @coastpackingco and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/coastpackingco.

Media contact:
Ken Greenberg
Edge Communications, Inc.
[email protected]
323/469-3397

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160726/393087

SOURCE Coast Packing Company

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