Puerca Mediterannea

When Larry smokes, he smokes. He fills up the smoker with all kinds of meats and just goes crazy. The last time he pulled out the smoker was for Christmas Eve, and once again, his smoker was filled with all kinds of meat, including a pork loin. Once it was smoked, we put it in the freezer to pull out again and use later. And later just came. I prepared it in a Mediterranean style, or as I call it, Puerca Mediterranea.

Basically the pork was cooked with a reverse sear. Larry smoked it first, so it was already cooked, and then I seared it in a combination of butter and olive oil in a very hot skillet for 3 minutes per side to give it a nice crust. After searing it, I put in the oven at 375* F for about 20 minutes to make sure it was hot all through the center. Oh it was so good too. It was crispy on the outside and juicy, tender and moist on the inside, and loaded with flavor.

Let the pork set for a few minutes before slicing.

I couldn’t just serve pork and nothing else though, could I? Of course not. And again, I had some leftovers that needed to be used, so I did what I do best, and recreated with them. While the pork was resting, I made my topping.

I had some leftover Insalada Mediterranea from when I made my calzones. Un Insalada Mediterannea I added some more onions, garlic, red bell pepper, sweet Peruvian peppers, white wine, lemon balsamic vinegar, lemon and regular olive oil and fresh ground black pepper and salt and used that as my topping for the pork.

Once the pork was seared, and in the oven to make sure it was completely cooked, I deglazed the pan with about 1 cup of dry white wine, then added the onions, peppers and garlic and cooked until they were tender, or about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

I added the rest of the vegetables with some more olive oil, and the lemon olive oil and lemon balsamic vinegar and continued to cook for about 5 more minutes, again, stirring frequently.

When the pork had set and was ready to slice, I sliced it into thin slices, served it over couscous and then topped it all with my Mediterranean vegetable mixture. I served it all with a chilled chardonnay on the side, but a light or medium bodied red would have also gone nicely with this dish too.

Delicious or should I say Delicioza! As I always say, play with your food. Leftovers never have to be boring, nor do they have to be the same old same old. They can be just as fun and exciting as the firstovers. You just have to be creative and use your imagination a bit. 🙂

Have a great day Everyone. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.