For this month’s special at John Harvard’s, we will be enjoying the fruits of our spring labor. Well, the herbs of our labor actually. If you’re a home gardener like me, you will love this herb-infused recipe. All through July, our staff will be serving up a grilled bone-in pork loin finished with a fresh herb butter and served with fried Cajun corn on the cob and herb roasted fingerling potatoes. The emphasis of this special will be fresh herbs and farm fresh vegetables that will become available from your local produce provider or local farmer’s market.
To start, let’s make the herb butter for the pork loin. This is such a versatile butter that can be used on any meat or seafood you grill throughout the summer. This recipe calls for a pound of butter (you can freeze the extra). Once the butter is soft, add a tablespoon of Worchester sauce, a teaspoon of Tabasco sauce, ¼ cup chopped parsley, 1/8 cup chopped thyme, 1/8 cup chopped rosemary, one freshly squeezed lemon, and salt and pepper. Here at John Harvard’s, we use all fresh herbs, but if you can’t find them fresh, the dried versions will work just fine.
Next, make the Cajun butter for the corn on the cob. Once again the recipe calls for 1 pound of butter (freeze the extras and use them throughout the summer), ¼ cup chopped cilantro, 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, 1 teaspoon honey, ¼ cup Frank’s red hot, 1 freshly squeezed lime, and salt and pepper.
Cook the potatoes. Always start your potatoes in cold water. If you can’t find fingerling potatoes, you can substitute with red potatoes. I like to season my potato water with a splash of oil, salt and pepper, and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary; this will help add a nice herby flavor to your potatoes. Once they are soft, rinse them and place in the fridge to cool.
Husk the corn on the cob, soak it in cool water and set aside.
For the recipe here at John Harvard’s I use bone-in pork loin, but pork chops from your local butcher would make for a tasty dish as well. Season the pork with salt and pepper and grill it on medium heat for about 7-10 minutes per side. Make sure the internal temperature is 165° before you take them off and let them rest.
Take the fingerlings you cooked earlier in a mixing bowl with some of your herb butter and bake them at 375° for about 10 minutes.
In a sauté pan heat some oil for your corn. (Be careful while frying your corn - it will pop and spit a bit.) Once it is golden brown, remove it from the pan and coat it with the Cajun butter you made.
Now for the best part … let’s put it all together! Place a few potatoes on a plate, and arrange your grilled pork finished with herb butter and your Cajun corn on the cob. Viola! Dinner is served!
BEER PAIRING: STB TANGIER
Tangier is brewed as a Session India Pale Ale with spicy citrus aromas and stone fruit flavors. These flavors, with the addition of lightly roasted malts and brilliant hop bitterness, make Tangier a beverage as refreshing as it is exotic. The approachable 4.6% ABV yields more time to enjoy the synergy between the tangerine peel and spicy, citrusy, Azacca Hops. Enjoy Tangier in celebration of your epic adventure.
So fellow gardeners, as the sun goes down and we turn off the grill, I hope you’re able to sit back with an icy cold Southern Tier Tangier or a piece of key lime pie
