Cacao Powder
Day 4 of Spicemas
The difficulty, I suppose, with an advent calendar is that we tie Christmas to baking, and hot cocoa, and sweet things all month long. It really isn’t a big surprise to find that the spices are more geared in that direction. What it is, though, is a fun challenge for me to take that gearing and add a little twist in a different direction!
Cacao powder is less processed than the more familiar cocoa powder. Which means it retains a bit more of the bitterness than cocoa - and certainly is nothing like most chocolate preparations which contain rather a lot of sugar. This means that I can easily use it in a savory preparation. My immediate thought was chili, since my chili always has a bit of chocolate in it. Not enough to taste chocolatey! Just enough to be a earthy undertone backing up the symphony of chilies and alliums along with the rich meats that have cooked long and low and slow. However, the menu plan for the week has chili on for Friday, and I didn’t want to hold this post until then. I looked at what was in the refrigerator, and spotted the tablitas I’d pulled out, then realized I had no plan for them.
Tablitas are a thin crosscut of ribs, meant to be cooked quickly over high heat. Generally on a grill, but I won’t be doing that today - I’ll sear them off on a very hot pan indoors. They are quite fatty, which means they will take up flavor well. Ideally, I’d have rubbed or marinaded them the night before, but due to having recently acquired a vacuum sealer (again, but that is a different story) I could short-circuit the process and get them ready for lunch.
Cacao Rub
Sufficient for about 2 lbs. of meat, which would be about four tablitas, or 4-6 pork chops, or a couple of steaks… you get the idea.
1 tbsp cacao powder
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic, granulated
1 tsp salt
I used liquid smoke both to cheat the flavor of the grill, but also to just slightly moisten the meat for better rub adhesion. I brushed the tablitas with it on one side, probably using less than a teaspoon.
After mixing up the rub, I coated both sides of the meat with it, then put them and any extra rub into a vacuum bag before sealing that up. I set this aside for about four hours in the refrigerator. You can do this with a ziploc, excluding as much air as possible, and letting it sit for several hours in the fridge before searing it.
These will cook through quickly on the grill or a hot pan, just a few minutes on a side will be enough. Let rest for a few minutes more, then pull or cut the meat off the bones, and eat with a tortilla to hold onto it!
Cacao and chili play so very well together. This was delicious - rich, unctuous, and just a bit of heat from the peppers in it. It helped to start with good local beef, I’m sure, but we were talking about it as we cleaned up after our meal, and this would be beautiful on pork as well. I may try that with a sous vide cook and sear after, see how well that works. For me, spices spark inspiration, and I want to compose dishes that use them either as a solo, or in harmony with others as this rub is. It doesn’t taste like chocolate, but it does… just not at all sweet. It’s bring it’s own flavor to the heat and fat and it’s savory, all right!
