Stuffed Acorn Squash with Caramelized Onion, Sausage, Apple and Parmesan Cheese

 Serves 6 - About 1 1/2 hours

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This was a recipe inspired by my friend Emily. Full of fall flavors, but not limited to fall, these Acorn Squash are stuffed with lots of hot pork sausage (not actually very hot) celery, caramelized onions, garlic, apples and flavored with thyme, rosemary and sage. There's some time involved in making this, but really it's all in assembly and prep and all that can be done in advance with about 15 minutes actual cook-to-finish time.

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Ingredients

3 Acorn Squash
1 Large Yellow Onion, diced
1 Pound Ground Hot Pork Sausage
2 Apples, finely diced
2 Stalks of Celery, finely diced
1 Cup of Parmesan Cheese
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Ground Sage
1 tsp Ground Rosemary
2 tsp Ground Thyme

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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, use a sturdy knife to slice the top of the Squash with the stem off. Try to get as close to the stem as you can. Then split squash in half and scoop out seeds and innards. Before the next step, have your onion diced and ready to go.
2. Rub your preferred cooking oil (vegetable, canola, olive) over the exposed inside area of each squash half, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once that is done, set them face down (skin side up) on a lined (or greased) baking sheet. At the same time, put a medium sized skillet on medium heat.
3. Put Squash in oven and leave to cook for about 40-55 minutes, or until skin is tender when touched with a fork. Then, add diced onions to pre-heated pan along with a neutral cooking oil. Season with seasoning salt/salt pepper and turn heat down to medium-low.
4. While your squash is roasting, you're caramelizing your onions, which will also take about 45-55 minutes. Stir every five minutes or so and keep heat medium-low. You're looking for an amber-ish color and to your whole onion to reduce down to about a quarter of what you put in. Use this time to prep your celery.
5. Once your Squash is fork tender, take out of oven and set aside for the time being. Once onions are to desired caramelization, also set aside.
6. In a large skillet over medium heat, coat the bottom of the pan in oil and put in your hot sausage. As it cooks, break apart with spatula until it's fairly small bits. Leave to cook until all or almost all brown, about 5 minutes. During this time, dice up your apples, skin on.
7. Add celery to sausage, leave to saute for another 2 minutes.
8. Add in your diced apples, garlic and the onions from your other pan, leave to cook for about 3-5 minutes.
9. Stir in 3/4 Cup parmesan, sage, rosemary and thyme. Let cook until parmsean starts to melt. About 1-2 minutes.
10. Take mixture off heat. Turn your squash halves over and spoon mixture into Squash halves. Try to fill them as much as possible, though you might have leftovers depending on size of Squash centers.
11. Return stuffed squash face side up to oven and bake for another 15 minutes or so.
12. Remove from oven and top with remaining, 1/4th cup parmesan. Enjoy!



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What I Could Do Differently

You could very easily switch out the hot sausage for breakfast sausage and have a just as tasty and even more fall-flavored meal.

Bourbon Maple Syrup Brined Pork Tenderloin with a Bourbon Maple Syrup and Honey Mustard Glaze

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Serves 2-4I make Pork Tenderloin a lot for work, but I was actually nervous about making it at home because at work I'm making about 16 at a time and have never made just one. Truth be told, this recipe came about because I have roughly 7 different kinds of maple syrup at home and I wanted to use one for something that wasn't pancakes. While my usual go-to for pork tenderloin is an apple-based sauce (I'll be doing one for fall, don't worry!) I wanted to experiment with a slightly different style than I usually go for while still being an absolute flavor winner for pork. Brining the pork with maple syrup and a hickory smoked sea salt really make sure that hickory-bourbon-maple flavor was present throughout the meat and not just relying on the glaze to deliver that punch.

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Ingredients

1 Pork Tenderloin (1.5-2 lbs.)
1 Quart Cold Water
1/4th Cup Hickory Smoked Sea Salt
1/3 Cup and 2 Tbsp. Bourbon Barrel Aged Pure Maple Syrup
6 Cloves Garlic, minced or crushed
3 Tbsp. Fresh Ginger, Chopped
1 Tbsp. Black Pepper
2 Tbsp. Honey Mustard
2 tsp. Dried Rosemary
2 tsp. Dried Thyme
1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

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Directions

1.  Make the Brine. In a large bowl, combine Water with 1/3 Cup of the syrup, Garlic, Ginger, Black Pepper, Rosemary Thyme and Red Pepper Flakes and stir until thoroughly incorporated.
2. Add the Pork to brine bowl and make sure it is fully submerged in brine. Cover with plastic wrap or lid and leave in fridge 5-10 hours. More than 10 hours and it could end up being too salty.
3. Preheat Oven to 325 degrees and remove Pork from Brine and thoroughly rinse off in cold running water. Pat dry.
4. Quickly mix together in a small bowl the remaining 2 Tbsp. of Syrup and the Honey Mustard, set aside.
5. Heat up an oven-safe skillet on medium heat on the stove top and pour in just enough neutral cooking oil (Canola, Vegetable) to cover the bottom.
7. Season your pork on all sides with salt and pepper and place in your hot pan.
8. Sear your pork on the stove top on all sides, about 10 minutes, a nice golden brown color.
9. Once seared all the way around, take the whole skillet and place it in the oven. Cooking time will vary by size of the tenderloin, but we're looking for the perfect internal temperature of 145 degrees. For me, I had a 1.5 lb. tenderloin, and this took about 10 minutes.
10. Take your pan out of the oven and brush the Syrup and Honey Mustard mixture over the pork, return to Oven to let set, about 5-10 minutes. For me it was about 5.
11. Remove Pan from Oven, take pork out and place on cutting board, letting rest for about 10 minutes.
12. Slice pork into medallions and if you have any of the Syrup and Honey Mustard mixture remaining, drizzle over top of the sliced medallions.

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What I Could Do Differently

As previously mentioned it in my Apple Cider Brined BBQ Pulled Pork recipe, I picked up this Hickory Smoked Sea Salt from a specialty store. I believe if you have a cooking specialty store it might be available there, and I am sure you can get some online. However, I feel like this recipe will work just as good without it and you can just substitute in Kosher Salt in the brine instead if need be.

The bourbon barrel aged maple syrup is another craft specialty item, which I got from Costco. This recipe can be made without it as long as you have a good pure maple syrup, but if you're on the fence about buying a specialty-flavored pure maple syrup, you can just add regular pure maple syrup and put a shot of Bourbon in your brine instead.

As with most of my recipes, this is really just an excuse for me to play with different flavors I have laying around in my kitchen. If you know you like a flavor that goes well with pork, feel free to try out different variations. For example, I also happen to have a locally produced Apple Cider syrup from a nearby farm and while it's not going to give you the same flavor combo, I could see subbing in that Apple Cider Syrup and a shot of bourbon in the brine in place of this bourbon maple syrup for a similar profile and just as tasty tenderloin.

This recipe easily scales, as most of the ingredients are just in the brine. I know in my bowl I had room (and enough liquid) for at least a second tenderloin of similar size. More than that and you'll probably need to double the brining amounts however. As for glaze, just double the amounts of Syrup and Mustard for each additional tenderloin and for cook time probably add another 10-ish minutes per loin, but you should be using a meat thermometer to be the ultimate judge of time for pork. As long as you're pulling them out when they hit 145 degrees, you're good.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork with Hard Apple Cider Brine

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So a BBQ Pulled Pork recipe is something I have been tinkering with over the years. I got a good slow cooker BBQ Pulled Pork recipe several years ago and have tweaked it over time. Something I never saw with Pulled Pork was a brine of hard apple cider, so I combined the two.

If you are unfamiliar, a brine is pretty simple. Essentially you are soaking a meat in an acidic base plus adding extra flavors with it. The acidic base of the brine helps break down the cell walls of the meat, leaving your finished product more tender, more juicy as it absorbs liquid from the brine, and imparts a little extra flavor with what you put in it. Two of the biggest brines in popular culture are a buttermilk brine for fried chicken and teriyaki marinades. Brining has become a huge bonus to my cooking here at home and I hope you try it out for yourself if you never have...maybe even with this recipe!

So for this recipe you'll need a 4-6 pound boneless pork shoulder, a slow cooker and something large enough to hold the pork plus brine in. I used a large mixing bowl, it just needs to be something you can submerge the pork and keep enclosed for a minimum of 6 hours to overnight.

For the Brine You Will Need:

5 Cups of Hard Apple Cider
5 Cups of Water
3/4 Cup of Salt
1/2 Cup Sugar
4 Rosemary Sprigs
2 Bay Leaves
1 Yellow Onion Sliced
6 Cloves Garlic
1 Tbsp Paprika
1/4th tsp Cayenne

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This part is pretty simple. Take your container for brining, be in a large plastic bag or a mixing bowl and add the ingredients. If in a container whisk together to ensure everything is evenly distributed before adding the pork, then add the pork and cover with plastic wrap. If in a plastic bag, add the brine, then the pork, then seal it and gently shake/press everything around to make sure it's all covered. Then put it in the refrigerator for a six hour minimum to overnight maximum. 

For The Rub You Will Need:

 

1 Tbsp Packed Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
*1 Tbsp Hickory Smoked Sea Salt*

Take these above ingredients, stir together in a small bowl and set aside. Take out your container of brine and remove the pulled pork, saving one cup of the brine for slow cooker. You then want to give the pork a good washing in the sink, then pat dry with paper towels. For the next part you want to make sure the pork is dry so it will accept the rub. Then use your fingers to take the rub mixture and spread all over the pork. It doesn't need to be a thick coating, but make sure the entire surface of the pork is covered. The next step is adding it to the slow cooker.

* the hickory smoked sea salt I have is a specialty item I have and I used it to help impart a smoky flavor in the pork since I'm using a slow cooker. If you do not have it, I'm pretty sure regular kosher/sea salt will do just as well*

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Slow Cooker Base:

2 Medium Yellow Onions Thinly Sliced
4 Garlic Cloves Sliced or Minced
1 Cup Chicken Broth
1 Cup Brining Liquid

After Cooking -- 2 Cups BBQ Sauce I used a combo, one cup sweet, one cup spicy/tangy

So this is where it all comes together. Add your onions, garlic, chicken broth and reserved brining liquid to the base of the slow cooker. Then add your pork and cover with lid. Cook on 4-6 hours high or 6-8 hours low. Pull your meat out, it will be super tender so try to get any pieces that fall off. Drain out your liquid out of your slow cooker so that it is empty. Shred with your preferred method, then add the shredded pork back into the slow cooker and stir in that two cups of BBQ sauce. Then it's ready to eat! I added an additional step of taking it back out and putting it on a sheet pan in the oven on 350 for 15 minutes to try and get it a little crispy. Serve with extra BBQ sauce either by itself or on your favorite buns of choice. I used potato rolls.

What I Would/Could Do Differently:

This recipe is super versatile, and I am confident you could do this same recipe with chicken in place of pork. I originally wanted Brioche buns for my finished product but when it came time to shop for ingredients there were none in stock. Since this is such a savory dish I like pairing it with a sweet bread, so Hawaiian or Brioche buns would be my first choice, but potato rolls worked nicely. You should also toast up your buns with a little butter before serving for an extra crunch and bite of flavor. On the day I did this recipe however, everyone was very hungry and we agreed we couldn't wait any longer.

Hope people try this and enjoy!