These smokey pork ‘fries’ are easy-to-eat, hand-held pork shoulder bites made with apple cider, dijon mustard, buckwheat honey, herbs, spices, and cornmeal.
Paired with a homemade Honey BBQ Ketchup that perfectly complements the smokey flavor of the pork french fries, this is a decadent appetizer or small plate meal.
Recipe and image courtesy of the National Honey Board.
Ingredients
For the Honey BBQ Ketchup
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 cup Buckwheat honey
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 ounces molasses
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the Smokey Pork Fries
- 1 pork shoulder (or substitute pre-made pulled pork of choice for easy prep)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup Buckwheat honey
- 1 ounce liquid smoke
- 1 cup apple cider
- 3 ounces Dijon mustard
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups flavorful pork or chicken stock
- 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup white cornmeal (grits)
- 2 ounces butter, unsalted
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 lb. all-purpose flour
- 2 quarts peanut oil, for frying
Preparation
Honey BBQ Ketchup
- 1 Place a 2-quart saucepot on medium heat and add the water, tomato paste, honey, sugar, cider vinegar and molasses.
- 2 Bring to a boil and cook slowly for about 10 minutes. Season the sauce by adding the garlic and onion powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Reduce sauce slowly until desired thickness. Strain, cover and cool in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Smokey Pork Fries
- 1 In a medium size stainless steel bowl, season the shoulder piece with salt and pepper. Add the honey, liquid smoke, cider and mustard and coat the pork all over. Place in a zip lock bag and marinate for about 2 hours.
- 2 When pork is ready, place it in a small roasting pan with the marinade, add the water and slowly roast in a pre-heated 275-degree oven for 1½ hours, or until the pork is tender. Let it rest on a table for 30 minutes then start to pull the shoulder into shred-like pieces. In a 2-quart saucepot, add the stock and pulled pork shoulder and bring to a boil.
- 3 With a wire whisk, slowly add both types of cornmeal, butter and parsley to the pot and stir until it is all mixed nicely together. When all the water is evaporated, pour the mixture onto a small 10"x10"sheet pan and smooth the top to about a height of ¼".
- 4 Chill mixture for about 2 hours. Take pan out and turn it over onto a cutting board. Trim all 4 sides and cut into ¼" strips, then into 3" strips.
- 5 Dredge about 10 fries in the flour and deep fry in the peanut oil at 360 degrees until the fries are nice and crispy. Remove fries from oil and season with some sea salt.
- 6 Place hot fries in a fry cup and serve with a side of the Buckwheat honey BBQ ketchup.
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