Victory in Defeat: Revs get Porked, Riders get Pork

Saturday was my first chance to actually tailgate before a Revs game this year. I made it to the home opener, but I went to the Bruins-Rangers game at the Garden earlier in the afternoon. But with the Revs starting at 4:00, I just barely made it down to Foxboro in time to see kick-off.

I pulled another double-header, having attended the Bruins-Senators game in the afternoon. But this time I knew I'd have plenty of time to spare as the Revs game had a 7:30 kickoff.  So, as soon as the horn sounded signaling the end of the Bruins 3-2 victory, I hightailed it out of the Garden and onto the Orange Line at North Station to get my car at Sullivan Square.

As I got on 93 south, I rolled down the windows and popped open the sunroof.  It was sunny and 65 degrees. Ideal grilling weather. Even better, there weren't really any major traffic slowdowns to deal with, so I got down to the Stadium in about 30 minutes.  The only problem was that it was 4:30 and I'd had a half an hour to kill until the gates to the lot opened. So I did what I always do: hang out in the parking lot at the liquor store up the street.

So once 5:00 rolled around, I pulled into the Riders' lot. Now, as some, if not most, of you already know, the Riders have a new setup this year. Our lot has moved back to almost the same spot we used to have when Gillette opened back in 2002. So I pulled into a space along the back row and quickly set up shop. Get out the grill stand, get the grill out, uncover it and fire that baby up.

So the big question entering the week was what was I going to cook? Fortunately, the answer was easy to find. I had been gifted with a four plus pound center cut pork loin a few weeks ago by my friend Mandy. Sadly (for her) pork was no longer appealing for her in her pregnant state. So she offered it up gratis. And what's the first rule of schwag? Never say no to free schwag!

Now sometimes you could view this as dealing with house money - you can do anything you want with it and throw caution to the wind.  Or you could do it up right.  I chose the latter.  I love pork loin.  It's a perfect neutral medium, low in fat and cooks fast.  However, some of these benefits are also its undoing. It can be bland if not seasoned properly.  It can dry out like nothing.  And if a bunch of your friends keep kosher or are vegetarians, they won't eat it.  Not really a problem, but I needed a third drawback there.

I sat down in my dining room with a stack of cookbooks from my kitchen bookshelf and set out to find a couple of recipes.  Having found pounds of meat to prepare, I figured it might be nice to divide it in half and make two separate items.  I like variety.  And if one recipe didn't pull its weight, the other had a chance to make up for it.  Alas, this is the first recipe I came up with:

Grilled Pork Kebabs with West Indian Flavors
Adapted from The Cooks Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue


2 lbs boneless pork loin, cubed into 1 inch pieces

1/4 fresh lime juice

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 scallions, sliced thin

3 cloves garlic, chopped

3 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon dried or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon allspice

Place all ingredients except pork in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.  Place pork in ziploc bag or plastic container and add marinade. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for at least three hours (preferably overnight).

To cook, remove pork from marinade and remove excess.  Grill over medium heat 3-5 minutes.  Turn over and grill 2-3 minutes longer.  Remove from heat and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.  Pork should be moist with a slightly pink center.

Notes:

This marinade is very much like a modified jerk seasoning.  There's a lot more lime juice and not nearly as many spices (much less allspice, no cinnamon).  The original recipe called for half of a habenero chile.  Sadly, my local supermarket was out of them, hence the serranos.  Being cautious, I omitted the seeds and ribs from the chiles.  But I think next time I'll leave a little bit in so as to add a little more heat. The citrus flavor of the limes really shined though.  It is essential that fresh squeezed juice is used.  The brightness and acidity are key.