Toasted Caraway Salt Rub Recipes

BRINED-AND-BRAISED PORK BELLY WITH CARAWAY

Steps:

• Two days before serving the pork, prepare the brine: In a large skillet over low heat, toast the caraway seeds. Cool and grind in a spice grinder. In a large plastic container, combine the caraway, fennel, peppercorns, coriander, salt, brown sugar, garlic, cider vinegar and 4 cups water. Add the pork, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. In a braising pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the pork and brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate. Add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, thyme and 2 tablespoons toasted caraway seeds to the pan. Brown the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Return the pork to the pan, skin side up. Pour in the apple cider and enough broth to cover the meat by three-fourths. Bring to a boil, then cover and braise in the oven until the pork is very tender, about 2 hours. Cool the pork in its cooking liquid and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Scrape off and discard excess fat from the braising liquid. Remove the pork and discard loose gelatin. Cut the pork into serving pieces and place in a wide saute pan with a heatproof handle. Bring the braising liquid to a boil and reduce by about two-thirds, or until it lightly coats the back of a spoon; strain. Pour just enough liquid over the pork to submerge halfway. Sprinkle with the remaining caraway seeds, then place the pan in the oven and heat through, basting occasionally. Top pork with sauce and serve with braised cabbage, a recipe for which can be found at nytimes.com/magazine.

ROAST LOIN OF PORK WITH CARAWAY, LEMON AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Set pork aside at room temperature. Using a mortar and pestle, crush garlic with 1 teaspoon salt to make a paste. Add (but do not crush) cloves, caraway, lemon juice, chili oil and black pepper to taste. Crumble in bay leaves, and mix well.
• Place pork loin rind-side down; there will be a groove running along its length where chops join with bone. Rub spiced garlic paste into groove. Rub any extra paste around pork, leaving rind dry. Coat bottom of a roasting pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and place onion disks in an overlapping line down length of pan. Place pork rind-side up on onion, and sprinkle lightly with salt.
• Roast pork for 1 1/2 hours. After 45 minutes of roasting, score apples around circumference, and if necessary, trim bottoms so they sit upright without wobbling. Arrange apples in roasting pan, and continue to cook everything together for 45 minutes.
• To serve, remove pan from heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Transfer pork to a carving board, and slice into chops. Serve each chop with a baked apple.

CORIANDER-HERB SPICE RUB

Steps:

• Toast coriander seeds in a heavy small skillet over medium heat until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a mortar or spice mill. Add peppercorns and crush until broken into coarse pieces. Mix crushed spices in a small bowl with thyme, rosemary, and salt. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

FENNEL SPICE RUB

Steps:

• Put the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns in a heavy pan over medium heat. Watch carefully, tossing frequently so the seeds toast evenly. When light brown and fragrant, pour the seeds onto a plate to cool. They must be cool before grinding, or they will gum up the blades.
• Pour the seeds into a blender and add the salt. Blend to a fine powder, shaking the blender occasionally to redistribute the seeds. Store in a tightly sealed glass jar in a cool, dry place, or freeze.