Recipes

Grilled Pork Steaks with Sweet Corn Pudding and Fig Mustard

Grilled pork steak
Image by GLINTstudios

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yields

6 servings

    Ingredients
  • ¼ cup cane vinegar
  • 1 cup cane syrup
  • 1 pound fresh figs, cleaned, stemmed, and diced, divided
  • ½ cup Creole mustard
  • ¼ cup Dijon mustard
  • 6 ears corn
  • ½ pound butter, divided
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves picked
  • 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1½ cups dry polenta or grits
  • ½ pound Creole cream cheese (can substitute mascarpone cheese)
  • 7 pork steaks, cut 1-inch thick (approximately 2 pounds total)
  • 1 tablespoon Creole spice
  • Salt to taste
  • ½ cup honey
steps
  1. For fig mustard, bring the cane vinegar and cane syrup to a simmer in a small saucepot over medium-high heat. Reduce liquid by half, then fold in half of the diced fresh figs, stirring continuously to prevent burning. The figs will break down, releasing their moisture.
  2. Set heat to medium-low and reduce liquid again by half. Once fig syrup is reduced, remove pot from heat and stir in mustards, followed by remaining figs. Set aside.
  3. For sweet corn pudding, place a folded towel in the center of a baking pan. Set one end of a corn cob on the towel to prevent cob from sliding. Holding the other end up, cut kernels from the cob, allowing kernels to fall into pan. Next, flip the knife over and run the flat edge down the cob to push out all of the remaining juice into pan with kernels.
  4. In a 3-quart saucepot over medium heat, add one tablespoon of butter into pot followed by the shallot, garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Sweat the aromatics until translucent, then add corn and corn juice to the pan.
  5. Cook mixture over medium heat for three minutes. Pour 1½ quarts water into pot and raise heat to high. When mixture begins to simmer, whisk in dry polenta. Continue whisking until mixture begins to thicken, then reduce heat to low and cover. Let cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
  6. Remove pot from heat and whip in remaining butter and Creole cream cheese. Season with salt to taste and leave covered in a warm place.
  7. For pork steaks, set a grill pan over medium heat (if using an outdoor grill, turn gas to medium-low). If grilling over charcoal, let flames die down and use outer rim of the grill. In a medium bowl, evenly coat steaks with Creole spice, followed by salt, and then honey. Lightly oil grill pan and place steaks down. Flip steaks every 5 minutes for roughly half an hour.
  8. After 30 minutes, brush steaks with a healthy coating of fig mustard. Cook for an additional 4 minutes, then remove and rest for 5 minutes.
  9. To finish, cut steaks into 1-inch thick slices and set over a healthy spoonful of corn pudding. Serve warm with a side of fig mustard for dipping or drizzling.
  • Recipe By
    Michael Gulotta of Maypop, MoPho, and Tana in New Orleans
  • Contributing City
    New Orleans
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