Wintermotivation Soulfood and Cuba Libre
Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald
Pulled pork from the oven, jerk style.
OMG! February! It's the second month of the year again, which demands quite a bit of motivation from us, here in northern Europe. Actually, everything was green. Training again since November. December was marked by the #festive500 and long runs. New Year's Day, straight back on the bike and continued to run relentlessly. Stability, stretching: all in! The form curve shows an upward trend and then this: sub-zero temperatures, ice and snow. Even jogging is moderately inspiring now. Swimming or the spinning class are not alternatives in 2021 for well-known reasons. That means intervals on the roller. With or without Zwift, it remains a dubious pleasure. But the training plan wants to be fulfilled. It desperately needs a light at the end of the tunnel. How about soul food and Cuba Libre? Summer vibes! Thank the boys from Undone! Their Sugar Can Type is nothing to drink straight. However, it does add that serious rum note to a cold cola.
Important addendum from 2024
Fentimans Curiosity Cola would be a perfect choice. It combines herbal notes with a balanced sweetness, but unfortunately, as I discovered afterwards, the carbon dioxide content is too low. This is produced here more like draught soda during fermentation. In terms of taste, it's a great alternative, but for a classic Cuba Libre, a standard Coca-Cola is the better choice.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)The Pulled Pork comes appropriately Caribbean in jerk style. But not just as meat in a burger - mixed with sweet potatoes, seasoned with barbecue sauce, breaded in panko and then fried, it becomes the ultimate soul food bomb! It's worth every interval session on the roller, no matter how hard.
The barbecue sauce:
Preparation approx. 90 minutes
Resting time 8 hours
2 cloves of garlic
1 small tin of peeled tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp light sugar syrup e.g. Monin
3 tbsp honey
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ground cumin
Pepper
chilli powder
50 ml apple vinegar
50 ml Worcestershire sauce
Salt
Peel the garlic and press it through a garlic press. Bring to the boil in a saucepan with the peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, syrup, honey, bay leaf, cumin, some pepper and chilli. Let it boil down for about 30 minutes, stirring several times. Pour in 1/4 litre water, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Boil down for another 45 minutes, season with salt. Remove the bay leaf. Cover and leave the barbecue sauce to marinate in the fridge for about 8 hours.
The marinade:
Marinating time: 48 hours.
1 onion
1 bunch of spring onions
8 cloves of garlic
4 red Bird Eye Chilly, because they are often easier to get, otherwise Habaneros
1 bunch thyme, plucked
1 bunch coriander, roughly chopped
1 bunch of parsley, coarsely chopped
1 piece of ginger, approx. 10 cm
7 tbsp lime juice
5 tbsp oil
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sea salt
4 tbsp liquid honey
2 tbsp allspice, crushed
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
3 bay leaves
Roughly chop the ingredients for the marinade and mix in a blender. Rub it into the neck of pork. Then place in a sealable plastic bag and marinate for 48 hours.
The Pulled Pork:
1.2 kg pork neck roast
150 ml apple juice, sparkling wine or white wine
25 ml vinegar
500 ml strained tomatoes
3 sweet potatoes
3 eggs
2 tbsp milk
50g flour
150g panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
Oil for frying
Preheat the oven to 120°C.
Remove the meat from the bag. Place in an open roasting pan. Pour in the juice and vinegar.
Cook the meat for about 6 hours until tender, turning once after 3 hours.
Pick the meat apart with two forks and mix with 300ml barbecue sauce and the sweet potatoes. Be careful not to make it too soggy. Shape into oval croquettes and chill for another 30 minutes to firm up.
Whisk the eggs and milk together. Then coat the croquettes first in flour, then in egg. Then coat in panko and fry in fat. Serve warm or cold.
The drink:
1/2 lime quartered
1/3 undone
2/3 cola
Ice
© Oliver Schwarzwald