Going against my instincts to cook a pretty exotic fruit stuffed pork steak.

No, I have not become a vegetarian or a vegan or anything else beginning with ‘v’. No, my instincts about stuffed pork steak was honed and formed many years ago. Back in the day, pork steaks were stuffed with breadcrumbs, parsley and some scant seasoning. They would then be cremated “…to be sure the meat is cooked”. Dry pork steak stuffed with even dryer breadcrumbs makes me think of eating a piece of wet leather retrieved from a sawmill floor. Not that I have ever done such a thing. Though, I think you get my drift….

Having cooked Char Sui Pork using a pork steak, I got to thinking about other ways one could possibly cook a succulent pork steak. The meat of the pig works well with fruit so, my dull creative brain decided that we should give Pretty Exotic Fruit Stuffed Pork Steak a whirl. I ended up serving it with a couscous for some exotic effect (or possibly affect, if I am honest).

The ingredients for my exotic fruit stuffed pork steak.

 The ingredients (exotic and not)

• 2 pork steaks
• A handful or two of raisins
• 2 handfuls of dried apricots
• 4 or 5 shallots
• 16 dried figs
• About the same amount of walnuts as raisins
• Enough brandy to soak the figs
• About the same volume of breadcrumbs as walnuts or raisins
• A tablespoon of honey
• A couple of teaspoons of fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and pepper to season

First thing to do is to soak the figs in brandy. Do this a few hours before anything else.

The dried figs are brought to a level of some decadence by soaking them in brandy.

Next you need to do a fair bit of chopping. Chop the apricots and walnuts.

We all like a nice chopping shot. So, I thought I would oblige.

Do likewise with the shallots.

The shallots need to be sliced nice and thin. This is exotic, remember. Thin = exotic, doesn’t it?

Do likewise with the dried figs.

You agree that this is exotic stuff, don’t you?

Reserve the brandy and add the honey.

Lovely brandy and honey marinade for the meat. To help keep it moist and exotic.

Fry the finely chopped shallots in some olive oil.

The sign of a good frying pan. Nice, even heat distribution.

Mix together everything (including the frying oil) except the brandy mixture, the pork steaks and the thyme in a big mixing bowl.

Now, that’s an exotic stuffing mixture, if ever one saw one.

Now comes the bit most people hate doing. Remove the membrane and all the white bits from the steaks.  This is best shown in a photo.

The camera shows exactly what has to be done here. Man or woman up and do it. Do it all!

Then cut the pork steak almost all the way through, cut through the sides to flatten it out ready for stuffing.

Some pretty accurate slicing needed to get this right.

Flatten the steak with the side of the knife to make it easer to stuff.

Flattening it this way adds to the surface area without destroying the meat.

Sprinkle the thyme on the meat and season it.

The first layer of flavour is the thyme, placed next to the meat for infusion.

Spoon on the exotic stuffing mixture.

The mixture is good enough to eat on its own at this stage. Don’t do it.

Do some exotic folding and tying using cotton food grade string. Follow the idea in the photo.

This caused more trouble than the photo would imply.

Brown the steaks in the frying pan.

My pan is only big enough to do them one at a time.

Transfer to an oven dish and bake them in the oven for half an hour at 190º C. Baste it occasionally with the honey / brandy mixture.

Totally gratuitous meat shot. Jus tin case you wanted one.

Let the meat rest for ten minutes, covered in foil before carving and serving.

They looked pretty exotic at this stage of things.

As stated above, and for those who rush to the end of the post, we served with couscous spiced up with some red chili and red onion and then poured the brandy / honey pan juices over the meat.

Pork does not get much more exotic than this.

I am glad I went against my instincts. I baked a big tinfoil parcel of the stuffing separately and served it on the side. Do go pretty exotic and try this delicious dish. We served it with a couple of glasses of this little French number. Just about right with the fruity pork.

Don’t ask why I left the lens cap in the photo. I have no excuses.