Maple Glazed Rack of Pork

1) Maple Glazed Rack of Pork

2) Quinoa with Kale, Cranberries & Halenda’s Hot Csabai Sausage

3) Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Pine Nuts & Halenda’s Double Smoked Bacon+ Glazed carrots + Bring on the Holidays!

I’ve partnered with Halendas to create three delicious festive dishes.

Ingredients

2 x 6-bone Frenched Rack of Pork (3 to 4 lbs/rack) – fat cap removed
3 tablespoons dry rub (use your favourite pork rub or try the blend below)
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
¾ cup pure maple syrup

Preparation

Remove the roasts from the fridge and pat dry with paper towels. Wrap each individual bone in tin foil (purely for presentation – totally optional). Using 1½ tbsp of dry rub/roast, season all sides of the roasts. Place the roasts on a rack over a sheet pan and let sit at room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. (Short on time? The pork can be cooked at temperatures up to 350°F, but lower and slower will result in a more tender & juicier roast!)

Combine the vinegar & Dijon mustard in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down to a very low simmer, add maple syrup and whisk to combine. Keep glaze warm over very low heat.

Place the roasts in the oven. Cook, uncovered, until the internal temperature (not touching the bone) reaches 135°F, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Baste the roasts with the maple syrup glaze and return to the oven for 10 minutes, baste again and let cook until the internal temperature has reached 145°F (it won’t take long). ** when glazing the roasts add a little water to the sheet pan to keep the maple syrup from burning as it drips **

Remove the sheet pan from the oven and loosely cover with foil.

Let rest 15 minutes before cutting into individual bone portions. Serve with remaining warm glaze.

Dry Rub

3 tsp sweet paprika
1 ½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp rubbed sage
½ tsp chipotle pepper powder
½ tsp Chinese 5 Spice
¼ tsp cinnamon
Mix well – makes 3 tbsp

Quinoa with Kale, Cranberries & Halenda’s Hot Csabai Sausage

Ingredients

2 Halenda’s Csabai Hot Smoked Sausage (10 oz), cut into ½” cubes
2 shallots, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 celery stock, diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 cup hard apple cider
1 cup water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
½ cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups chopped kale, lightly packed

Preparation

In a large pot, cook sausage, shallots, carrot, celery and sage over medium-high heat until just browned, about 8-10 minutes.

Add cider, water, quinoa and salt and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits then cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until liquid is just absorbed, about 20 minutes.

Stir in kale and cranberries, cover, remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes.

Uncover, fluff with a fork and serve.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Pine Nuts & Halenda’s Double Smoked Bacon

Ingredients

1 ½ lbs brussels sprouts
8 slices Halenda’s Double Smoked Bacon, thick slices, diced
¼ cup olive oil
¾ cup (175 mL) pine nuts
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation

Remove root end and core from brussels sprouts, then run the sprouts through a food processor with a slicing disk attachment (if you don’t have one, you’ll need to slice the brussels sprouts thinly with a knife, so plan a little extra prep time!)

Heat a large skillet on medium heat, then add bacon. Sauté until beginning to crisp. Drain bacon fat, add olive oil, then add sprouts and sauté for 3 minutes. Cover pan and cook 2 minutes longer or until sprouts are crisp-tender.

Toss in pine nuts, sauté 1 minute and season with salt and pepper.