Pork Loin Skewers in Red Wine Sauce with Fig and Cranberry Chutney
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings
- Total: 3 hr 30 min (includes marinating time)
- Active: 55 min
Ingredients
Pork:
1 piece pork belly (about 1 pound), trimmed, hard skin removed and meat cut into cubes
1/4 cup salt, plus more for seasoning
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 dried bay leaves
3 cloves garlic
1 boneless pork loin (about 2 to 3 pounds), trimmed and cut into cubes
2 onions, cut into bite-size pieces
2 bell peppers, cut into bite-size pieces
Freshly ground black pepper
Red Wine Sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups red wine
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon sugar
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Chutney:
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dried figs, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch ground cloves
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Olive oil, for drizzling
Directions
Special equipment:
6 to 8 wood skewers that have been soaked in water for a few minutes- For the pork: Bring a large saucepan of water to a simmer and cook the pork belly for 20 minutes. Remove from the water and let cool.
- Combine the salt, sugar, peppercorns, crushed red pepper, bay leaves, garlic and 4 cups water in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then let cool. Place the pork loin in the brine mixture and let sit in the fridge until ready to cook, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. Remove the pork from the brine, discard the brine and bring to room temperature before cooking.
- Heat a grill or grill pan over medium heat. Skewer the pork loin, pork belly, onions and peppers and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the skewers until the pork is cooked through.
- For the red wine sauce: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and saute until softened. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine, beef broth, cranberries, sugar and rosemary. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is reduced by half. Strain the sauce and keep it warm.
- For the chutney: Combine the cranberries, figs, wine, raisins, honey, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the raisins, figs, and cranberries are plumped and the mixture is thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the green onion, lemon juice, parsley, thyme, and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Serve the pork topped with the red wine sauce and chutney.