Mango (or Pineapple) Pork (or Chicken)

This recipe has gone through many iterations over the years and has now evolved as one of those either/or recipes that you can fix one of several ways. At our house, Hubby is very fond of mango and he loves this made with pork. But it can be made with chicken as well.

Adding to the flexibility of the recipe is the fact that you can use mango juice or pineapple juice or a combination of the two. In fact, there are several tropical juices that would work well, including passion fruit juice…it works best with high acidity juices, although I don’t recommend citrus juices.

The meat in this dish is braised, a way of cooking the meat with moisture to prevent it from drying out, a common complaint with pork chops and chicken breasts. This keeps pork chops (or a pork loin) and chicken breasts moist and juicy while infusing them with the flavour of the cooking liquid. At the end of the preparation, you cook down the liquid to create a sauce to pour over the meat and which can be used on accompanying rice or potatoes.

It’s a low maintenance dish, meaning you can let it simmer on the back of the stove while you prepare the rest of the meal. This is a household favourite!

Mango Pork/Pineapple Chicken
Ingredients:
4 lean, boneless pork loin chops (or four deboned chicken breasts) (I use pork chops)
1 tbsp olive oil
½ onion finely chopped
3 roasted garlic cloves, mashed
1 cup mango, pineapple, and/or passion fruit (granadilla) juice (I use mango)
½ cup white wine
1 tsp pulverized or finely grated fresh ginger
¼ to ½ tsp chili powder
1 to 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Trim all fat from edges of pork.

Heat oil in bottom of heavy skillet (make sure this skillet has a well-fitted lid).

Sauté onions until soft. Move the onions to the side of the pan and add the meat. Cook on high heat, searing the meat to seal in the juices. Using tongs, turn the meat and also sear the sides.

Once meat is seared, add remaining ingredients. Bring to a full boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, turn meat and cook another 10. Now pierce meat with fork and watch for juices…if they are clear, meat is done. If they are pink, cover and cook another 10 minutes.

Remove meat to heated plate and turn fire up full. Stir pan juices constantly and allow the liquid to boil off until juices become thick and sticky. Pour over meat and serve.


Photo by Ninjapoodle, Flickr