Honey Mustard Jerk Pork with Crostini sticks

  Appetizing...

If you’re a pork eater you must love Jerk pork. Jamaican Jerk pork is absolutely delicious when done right. Thyme, pimento, scallion, peppers are staples in our kitchen, as they serve the base for a good jerk marinade. We make jerk pork and especially jerk chicken all the time. This time I wanted to make an unconventional jerk sauce, and since Ive recently been obsessed with honey mustard, what better than a honey mustard jerk sauce.

One thing I believe is a must when cooking large cuts of meat is brining. I have Tyler Florence and Alton brown to thank for this brine. Alton was the one who told me about the technique in the first place and Tyler brined some pork shoulder in almond milk a few months ago and that gave me the idea to use milk instead of just water. The pork is super juicy, its unbelievably succulent and tender. The brine really soaked though the whole thing, it tasted perfectly seasoned. Its a really time consuming recipe, but its is worth every second....just look at the next pic!

At least 40 appetizer servings

Ingredients (printable recipe)

Brine

5lb pork shoulder (mine was bone in)

1 cup salt

2/3 cup sugar

2 cup buttermilk powder

1 tablespoon allspice

1 whole onion

6 – 8 thyme stems

2 cups hot water

12 cups cold water

  

Marinade

 4 tbsp Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp Sugar

1 tbsp Salt

1 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp Soy sauce

1 Onion

3 sprigs Thyme leaves

5 cloves Garlic

1 tsp. Ginger

2 stalks scallion

1 tbsp Allspice

1/2 Scotch bonnet (1 whole one for more spice)

½ tsp. cayenne  pepper

2 tbsp oil

Sauce

Left over marinade

Pork reduction (au jus)

½ cup Dijon mustard

¼ cup Honey

Instructions:

• In a large container dissolve buttermilk powder, sugar and salt in the hot water
• Add thyme, allspice and Cold water. Mix and ensure everything is dissolved
• Add the pork and cover, store in refrigerator overnight.
• After brining, wash and dry thoroughly, score the skin with a sharp blade
• Grind together all the marinade ingredients in a blender then massage it unto the pork. Let it sit for 4 hours
• Remove excess marinade form the pork before grilling. (i kept mine in the refrigerator until it was time to make the sauce)
• Place the pork on a grill skin side down and allow to sear do this for all sides
• Place pork into a covered roasting pan with tray and water underneath to catch the drippings.
• After 2 hours of cooking strain most of the drippings from the pork into a pot with the marinade, honey and mustard. Put the meat back in the oven for another 1 ½ hours
• Cook sauce until thick and saucy then set aside
• After the last hour of cooking remove the cover and baste the pork in the Dijon sauce
• Caramelize at 500 for 5-8 minutes
• Allow to rest for 15 minutes before chopping up

For Crostini sticks

• Cut bread into thin strips and brush with oil and sprinkle with salt on all sides
• Bake at 425 until crispy and golden brown on all sides 

Brined washed and dried

Grilled on all sides

Greedy Tips

• I use buttermilk powder since its not as perishable as the liquid. 
• Let the meat rest well after its out the oven so the juices can settle and they won’t run out when cut
• General rule of thumb is 1 hour cooking time per lb of meat
• Crostini is a baguette (French bread) sliced thin, oiled and either grilled or toasted with toppings on it. I had no French bread so I used hard dough bread. 

Xoxo Greedygirl