Thank you to Smithfield Prime Fresh Pork for sponsoring this post!  As always, all thoughts & opinions are my own.

Get ready for some cold winter comfort food!!!  Tender Pork Chunks in a Rich, Creamy, Flavorful Sauce.  This Hungarian Style Pork Paprikash is a hearty meal that comes together quickly & easily.

As the days get colder and the nights grow longer my taste buds change.My mind and body are craving some serious comfort foods.  Soups, stews, meat – stick to your bones kinda food.

This isn’t out of the ordinary.  It’s a primitive instinct for those that face long, cold winters.  Our bodies want fats and protein to keep us strong and healthy and during the winter months.  Although these days our diets keep us quite prepared for cold weather, this wasn’t always the case. Once upon a time, our ancestors had to face winter without the “basics” we have.  Their food would be scarce during winter months, triggering them to bulk up to survive the brutal cold.

It’s amazing, after so much time and change, that us cold weather dwellers still have the same instincts.

I surely embrace it.

My Dutch oven gets impressive usage year around – but it’s serious time to shine is during the fall and winter months.  Braised meats, soups, stews, goulash – that’s what we’re cooking up.

I’ve already proclaimed my love for pork, more than once, on this blog.  It’s my favorite meat – so flavorful, so juicy, so versatile.  Each cut is wonderfully distinctive in flavor & texture, and Smithfield Prime Fresh Pork has always been my go-to!

Smithfield Prime is a superior, quality line of all-natural fresh pork with enhanced color and marbling.  You can be confident that you’ll be serving an impressive & delicious meal with tender & juicy pork when cooking with Smithfield.

Smithfield Prime Fresh Pork is available in a wide variety of fresh cuts, including tenderloins, back ribs, spareribs, boneless and bone-in chops, butts and roasts.  These cuts can be cooked whole or just as easily be sliced or cubed for faster cooking – which is key during the busy holiday season!

When you start with a high-quality protein, you don’t need to do too much to have a restaurant-quality meal, and this Pork Paprikash is a perfect example of simple pork perfection.  The most work involved here is some cutting & dicing.  Everything gets browned & sautéed and simmered until tender.

Feel free to change this up to your tastes too.  I love mushrooms – so I add them to just about everything.  If you don’t share my shroom love, skip them.  Add a few more bell peppers, hot peppers, extra onions – whatever you like.

I usually serve this over buttered egg noodles.  I’ll cook up some spaetzle when I’m feeling extra loving or ambitious.  Potatoes are always great base too!

Cheers to the winter!

Thanks for stopping by!

Amanda ♥

You’ll find a full line of Smithfield Prime Fresh Pork at your local ShopRite.

“Shake-up” your ho-hum meals with Smithfield!  Visit here for more information, recipes & inspiration!

Hungarian Style Pork Paprikash

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

70 mins

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

Tender Pork Chunks in a Rich, Creamy, Flavorful Sauce. This Hungarian Style Pork Paprikash is a hearty meal that comes together quickly & easily. **This recipe can be easily halved**

Author: Amanda

Recipe type: Pork

Cuisine: Eastern European

Serves: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 4-5 pound Smithfield Prime Boneless Center Cut Pork Loin, cubed
• salt & pepper
• 3 - 4 tablespoons lard or oil (plus additional if needed)
• 2 large sweet onions, diced
• 2 large green peppers, chopped
• 1 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 4 tablespoon paprika (***please use good quality paprika***)
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1-1/2 tablespoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups/16 oz sour cream
• Serve with buttered egg noodles, spaetzle or potatoes

Instructions

1. In a large dutch oven or pot, heat up lard/oil over medium-high heat.
2. Cube pork loin to 1" - 1-1/2" chunks. Salt & pepper generously.
3. Brown pork, if crowded, brown in batches.
4. Remove pork & any juices. Set aside.
5. Reduce heat to medium. Add a drizzle of oil if necessary.
6. Add onions & peppers. Saute until onions are translucent - about 10 minutes.
7. Add garlic & mushrooms, saute 2-3 minutes.
8. Add stock, scraping bottom of pot for any brown bits of goodness.
9. Mix in paprika, parsley, salt & pepper.
10. Return pork to pot.
11. Stirring occasionally, bring all ingredients to a boil.
12. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 50 - 80 minutes or until desired tenderness of pork.
13. Remove from heat.
14. Let rest for 10-15 minutes. Taste, salt & pepper to taste if necessary.
15. Stir in sour cream.
16. Serve over buttered egg noodles, spaetzle or potatoes.
17. Enjoy ♥

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Smithfield Prime Fresh Pork.

A simple method to produce tender, delicious, perfectly smoked St Louis Pork Ribs. Smoking doesn’t have to be intimidating or complicated!

Today I’d like to talk a little about smoking.

If you’re a beginner or novice you’ll find the more you read about it the more you might end up confused.  Each and every barbecue enthusiast has methods they swear will produce the best finished BBQ.

So what’s the novice to do?  Understand the process, temperatures & science of it all and get to smoking.  Take a little advice from everyone, use your creativity & knowledge and make it your own process.  Have fun and keep on keeping on until you find your perfect method.

My perfect method is simplicity.  A simple rub and that’s it.  No brines, no injecting, no mops – just rub it down and smoke away.  Smoking is a lazy day activity for us.  We prefer to keep things as laid back and uncomplicated as possible.

Tastes vary.  The amount of smokiness one prefers will vary.  Get a feel of how much wood chunks will give you the amount of flavor you’re after.  Understand more is not better and too much smokiness is NOT a good thing.  Start small and simple, say a whole chicken, to experiment with amounts to get the flavor you’re after.

Onto our St. Louis Pork Ribs.  Easy peasy – anyone can do this!  I rubbed them down with a dry rub, filled the water pan with an apple cider vinegar & beer mix, kept the temp at about 225° and smoked for about 6 hours.  That’s it.

How to tell when your ribs are done?  These ribs are not so much smoked to temperature – it’s more of a feel & visual thing.  First off, ribs falling apart are overcooked.  Now, if this is how you enjoy them, then go ahead and smoke them until they fall off the bone.  I promise you though, you can do better.  The perfect rib should be tender & juicy with a bit of chew and easily pull off the bone but not fall off.  In comes the “Bounce Test”.  Pick up ribs with tongs, and bounce gently. The center surface of the ribs should crack slightly.  Yay – they’re done.  If they fall apart, they’re overdone – boohoo.  If they’re rubbery and don’t crack in the center, they’re not done.  I know this all might sound ridiculous – but when you see it, it’ll make perfect sense 😉

I prefer to keep the sauce off the ribs until served.  Some like their ribs smothered in sauce, some like to dip and others like them plain.  Serve sauce on the side and everyone will be happy.

That’s it folks.  It really is easy to make perfectly tender & delicious smoked ribs at home.  Have fun & thanks for stopping by!

-Amanda-

Want to smoke a beef brisket?  Check out my BBQ Beef Brisket!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Smoked BBQ St. Louis Ribs

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

6 hours

Total time

6 hours 15 mins

 

A simple & basic method for tender & delicious smoked St. Louis Pork Ribs.

Author: Amanda

Recipe type: Pork

Cuisine: BBQ

Serves: 4 - 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 racks St. Louis Ribs, 2.5 - 3 lbs. each rack
• 4 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
• beer & apple cider vinegar (if using water pan)
• wood chunks
• BBQ sauce (to serve)

Instructions

1. Set up smoker. Smoking temp should be set up and maintained between 225° - 230°. Start this about an hour before smoking.
2. Prep ribs. Remove membrane from the underside of ribs.
3. Combine salt, pepper and spices.
4. Rub down ribs, front and back, with spice rub. I like the rub to sit at least half an hour before smoking.
5. When ready to cook:
6. Add beer & apple cider vinegar to water pan (if using). We used about 2 beers and about ¼ cup apple cider vinegar. You could use just water if you liked.
7. Throw ribs in, meat side up/bone side down & cover.
8. Add a handful of wood chunks and get to smoking.
9. Continue to smoke for 5-6 hours, maintaining temp at 225° - 230° and adding another 2 handfuls of wood chunks during course of smoking.
10. Check ribs after 4½ - 5 hours of smoking.
11. Pick up ribs with the tongs, and bounce gently. The center surface of the ribs should crack slightly. If not, smoke for another 30 mins to - 1 hour and test again. I know this "test" sounds crazy if you haven't seen it before - but when you see it, it will make perfect sense. Also, the meat should easily pull from the bone but NOT be falling off.
12. If you'd like to add sauce and smoke for a few minutes, now's the time. I prefer to not sauce up my ribs and serve sauce on the side instead.
13. Remove, let rest for a few minutes & enjoy 🙂

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