Pork Kabob (1875) ★★★★★

12:00 AM 1870s , 19th century , 5 stars , british isles , gluten-free , pork , victorian 1 Comments

I realize I'm a few days late here, but I thought that in celebration of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, I would try and feature some British fare this week. I tend to focus mainly on North American recipes, just because they're prolific. In the future I'm going to try and contribute some more international recipes as well.
By the way, I'm not sure what a "dumpling apple" means in this context, but I discovered that there is a (are?) species which originated in the United Kingdom. I found both a Norfolk Dumpling and a Scotch Dumpling. The Norfolk Dumpling apparently went extinct sometime around 1920, but an old tree was recently found growing in the garden of a former rectory in north Norfolk.
And did you know that since 1903, approximately 93 percent of the varieties of crops we had have become extinct? For example, in 1903 there were 497 varieties of lettuce; by 1983 there were just 36.


Original Recipe:
2. Pork Kabob. - Select 4 pork chops, not too fat; peel 2 dumpling apples, and cut 2 slices from the centre of each, avoiding the core; a Spanish onion into slices, select 4 of the largest; attach small skewers to each chop a slice of apple and a slice of onion; fasten them together with twine, and roast before a bright fire for half an hour, basting well. Serve them quite hot, with some fresh mustard, soluble cayenne, salt, and mashed potatoes.

The Verdict:
Mr. Man said this was really delicious. He even ate the slice of apple on top, and this was right after I asked him to eat the leftover fresh apple and he stuck up his nose at it! He loved the sauce too, but that's no surprise because he loves mustard and cayenne. I thought it was delicious as well, although we slightly overcooked it.


Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Things a Lady Would Like to Know)

4 PORK CHOPS
2 APPLES
1 SPANISH ONION
MUSTARD
CAYENNE
SALT

1. Peel the apples (I didn't, just because it looked prettier). Standing the apple upright on its bottom, slice off the smaller end pieces. Then cut thin slices from each side, making sure to avoid the core. Do the same with the onion, being careful to keep the rings intact.
2. Use toothpicks to skewer 1 slice of onion and 1 slice of apple to each pork chop. Tie each bundle up with butcher's twine to hold everything together.
3. Grill over medium to medium-high heat for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 170F (Note: I didn't baste these, but if you want to, using the mustard might be good). Alternately, You could try doing this in the oven. Serve with mashed potatoes and mustard in which cayenne and salt have been mixed to taste.