Blackened barbecued pork fillets
Although it's hard to define what "proper" American cooking is, I've been inspired by the food from the Deep South, where there is an incredible amount of smoking, salting, barbecuing and spit-roasting going on - really intelligent cooking. This is a recipe inspired by the kinds of flavours I tasted when I was in Texas. Skewers are useful for this recipe. They hold the four fillets together, making it easier to turn over when on the barbecue or under the grill. It also makes serving slightly easier because when you come to slice the fillets up, you can do it between the skewers, giving you pork "lollipops" of blackened meat, which is quite fun. But if you don't have them, you can just use your tongs. When you've made this once, I guarantee you'll make it at least once a year as it's so damn good. Great with salad, spiced beans, corn on the cob or rice.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 12 of 14 ingredients — the other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 12 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Pork | 100g cooked | 242 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Fennel | 1/2 bulb (87g) | 27 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Cumin | 1 tsp ground (2.1g) | 8 |
| Clove | 1 tsp ground (2g) | 7 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Thyme | 1 tsp dried (1.4g) | 4 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Seed | not in our table | 0 |
| Coriander | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2 cloves
- 1 heaped tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
- zest and juice of 1 orange
- 1 small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked and very finely chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and very finely chopped
- 150 ml Heinz organic tomato ketchup
- 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 4 x 400 g higher-welfare pork fillets
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 handful of fresh coriander, leaves picked and chopped, optional
- juice of optional 1 lemon