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Chopped Pork braised with Peaches, for Georgia
Prices are getting higher as we appear headed into
inflation at the grocery store. It’s feeling once again like the recession we
experienced in the early 2000s. That’s when I started my first recipe blog. I
named it “Gourmetfauche,” which is French slang for the broke, or impoverished,
gourmet. In it I used virtually no nice cuts of beef or lamb and no shrimp or
salmon, except around St. Patrick’s Day (despite my Italian surname, I’m mostly
Irish). There was plenty of ground meat and chicken thigh.
Right now I’m feeling like I did back then. And I
created an inexpensive dinner dish with my adopted home state of Georgia in
mind: braised chopped pork with peaches. It goes well with seasoned (“dinner”)
grits and a green vegetable. It’s a little reminiscent of “Breakfast for
Dinner,” since the pork is flavored like breakfast sausage.
I initially tried a barbecue-flavored pork with the peaches, but
without the long moist smoking it wasn’t very successful or convincing with the
chopped pork. So I switched the seasonings to resemble breakfast sausage. With
grits, such as dinner grits (described elsewhere in this blog, July 30, 2023)
or simply white breakfast grits, and a green vegetable, it makes an economical
but tasty evening dinner. And it suggests, if not celebrates, Georgia.
The recipe serves four to six people. Accompany with seasoned
grits plus a green vegetable. Salad would also accompany it well.
1 pound ground pork, not too fatty
1 large peach, peeled and stoned, finely chopped
1/4 small onion or a small shallot, finely chopped
1 hot pepper, finely chopped or 3/4 teaspoon crushed dry pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
1/2 teaspoon dry marjoram or savory
1 teaspoon salt
Parsley for garnish, minced or in small pieces
In a heavy pan, place pork, peach, onion or shallot, and all
seasonings except salt. Heat and stir very frequently until the pork’s color
fully changes. Add salt, and cook over low heat for 15 minutes or until tender.
If the meat dries, add a little water. Taste and add salt if needed.
The dish can be served now, or refrigerated and reheated
(microwave or stove top). Either sprinkle with minced parsley or place a few
small pieces of parsley on top. Accompany with grits (fancier dinner grits or
simpler breakfast grits) plus a green vegetable.
