Publications
Crunchy pork pops
These tender, crunchy bites taste better than takeout! Serve them straight out of the pan with a sticky dipping sauce or use as the filling of a decadent tortilla, the perfect party fare.
Serves 4 (generous portions)
Preparation: 35 minutes, plus marinating time
Cooking time: 3–5 minutes per batch
- 500g boneless pork (neck or shoulder is ideal), cut into 1.5cm cubes
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 10ml smoked paprika
- 5ml dried mixed herbs
- 5ml Cajun spice mix (or your favourite mix)
- 375ml buttermilk
- 375ml self-raising flour
- 10ml baking powder
- oil for deep-frying
- sweet chilli, plum or spicy tomato sauce to serve
1. Season the pork generously with the salt, pepper and spices. Add the buttermilk and mix well. Marinate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight in the fridge.
2. Allow the marinated pork to reach room temperature. Mix the flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Spoon some of the seasoned buttermilk from the marinated pork into the flour and mix to form delicate crumbs. You can use a fork or simply rub the buttermilk into the flour using the tips of your fingers, like you would for scones.
3. Dip the buttermilk-coated pork cubes into the crumb-flour mixture to form an even coating. Use a fork or work carefully with your fingertips. Place the dusted pork on a wire rack and continue until all the pork is coated.
4. Heat the oil until a cube of bread floats to the surface and starts to bubble. Fry the crumb-coated pork pops in batches until crunchy and golden-brown on all sides. Drain on kitchen paper.
5. Serve the crunchy pork pops with your favourite sticky dipping sauce.
Crunch wraps with pork pops
Serves 4 (generous portions)
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes per crunch wrap
- 5 large tortilla wraps
- burger mayonnaise (or your favourite)
- 2 small Gem lettuce heads, shredded
- 20 fried pork pops
- 2 tomatoes, finely diced
- 500ml grated cheese
- olive oil for shallow-frying
1. Cut one of the tortillas into quarters and set aside.
2. Place a whole tortilla on a clean working surface and generously spread with mayo all the way to the edges. Put a quarter of the lettuce in the middle of the wrap. Place 5 pops on top and sprinkle with a quarter of the tomatoes. Lastly, top with 1/2 cup of grated cheese and place one of the extra tortilla quarters on top of the filling to cover.
3. Fold the mayonnaise-covered wrap up over the quarter tortilla and filling, folding into pleats as you go along to form a neat parcel. Quickly turn the tortilla over so the folded side is in on the bottom and repeat the process with the rest of the wraps and filling.
4. Heat a dash of olive oil in a pan and gently toast the filled wraps, one at a time, until golden-brown on all sides. Serve warm while the cheese is melted.
