What a Wonderful Surprise – Honey is Used in Mexican Cuisine
I was watching the Food Network the other day and saw that a traditional chef from Mexico was using honey to sweeten his sauces. Of course, as Bee Wild’ unabashed foodie, I had to research this notion, and to my surprise honey is used in cooking all over Central and South America. I am including an article from the MexConnect blog that gives great background information on honey use in traditional Mexican cooking: http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/3286-honey-a-sweet-maya-legacy.
So, of course, I had to share one of MexConnect’s recipes with honey, and we would like to acknowledge Karen Hursh Graber for her amazing blog and recipe:
Ingredients
- For the pork:
- 1 3-pound boneless pork loin roast
- 3 large cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander, preferably freshly ground
- ¼ cup olive oil
- freshly ground pepper as necessary
- For the sauce:
- 4-5 ancho chiles, seeded, deveined and soaked in hot water until soft
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- salt to taste
Instructions
- With a sharp knife, make deep slits in the roast. Mix the garlic, ground coriander, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to form a loose paste. Rub the paste all over the roast, pushing into the slits.
- Let the roast rest at room temperature while you pre-heat the oven to 400º F. Roast the pork at 400º for 15 minutes, lower heat to 325º F, brush with remaining olive oil and, using a pepper mill, grind pepper over the surface of the meat. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast reads 155º. (See NOTE below.) This should take 1-1 ½ hours, depending upon your oven. Tent the roast loosely with foil and let it rest while you make the sauce.
- For the sauce, place the chiles, honey and lime juice in the blender, with enough of the chile soaking water to move the blades, and puree. In a bowl, mix the puree with the chopped cilantro and salt to taste. The sauce should be fairly thick.
- Slice the roast and spoon sauce over the slices. Serves 8, with leftovers.
Notes
Although 160ºF is the recommended internal temperature for cooked pork, this is more applicable to fattier cuts. The loin has virtually no marbling and tends to dry out if cooked to this temperature.
