Sexy peppercorns

Two years ago I brought Cassie to a bassoon day at VCU in Richmond. It was a good excuse for me to have breakfast and spend a beautiful morning wandering around Carytown with my buddy Ed. One of the stores we stopped in was Penzeys, a great spice shop. Being a fan of all things pepper, Ed looked through the selection of peppercorns and bought some of his favorites, the Tellicherry Peppercorns.

Fast forward to about a month ago, when I got a cryptic email from Ed with no text, just the subject line "so you don't like the tellicherry pepper, eh?" I emailed back that I was confused, but no clarity was forthcoming from Ed, who told me only that it would come to me as I mulled it over, but that it "could take days."

Within a week, I got a package from Ed with this inside:

I called Ed and he explained that these are Kampot peppercorns, which are grown only near Kampot, Cambodia. Kampot pepper is apparently prized by chefs like Anthony Bourdain, who says "[i]t's got a floral dimension that's really something special," and Michael Laisknois, a pastry chef who uses the pepper in desserts because it has "a certain sweetness to it rather than straightforward heat."

I was intrigued and wanted to try it in some dishes that really showcase the pepper as a star ingredient. The first thing that came to mind was obviously pasta cacio e pepe. So one night last week when Mom and Cassie were both eating out, I made a big pot of spaghetti for Brad and me. I put a good handful of the Kampot peppercorns into my mortar and pounded them lightly with the pestle until they were just cracked:

The bouquet wafted up immediately, spicy but quite floral and very interesting. I dosed the finished pasta heavily with the cracked pepper and it was fabulous: strong, but complex and not at all overpowering. I looked forward to the next dish I could feature the pepper in.

In a wonderful bit of serendipity, last week's edition of "Genius Recipes," one of my favorite columns on Food52, featured a "genius, speed-demon method for crispy pork shoulder" in a recipe that uses a lot of black pepper. Yesterday, I swung by the Timbercreek Market and picked up some pork shoulder (aka butt or Boston butt), which is actually a cheap ($6.99 a pound; that's cheap for anything at Timbercreek), "surly" cut of meat:

It was morning when I went to Timbercreek, so I had to treat myself to one of their yummy biscuits, too. 😉 When it was time for dinner, I pounded the Kampot peppercorns in my mortar, along with some Sichuan peppercorns and a pinch of red pepper flakes, and tossed the cubed pork with it. You can see from the raw meat just how much pepper is in this dish:

But it was so good. Again, spicy, but very flavorful and not overpowering. It's times like these I'm thankful for you vegetarians in our family. More for me (or Mom and me, in this case), as Grandpa Guy likes to say. Mom and I scarfed it all in one sitting, and will happily do so again the next time I make it. Dylan loves pepper, so this is definitely one for him to try, especially since it's quick and simple, too. (The original recipe is from Nigel Slater as one of his "midweek dinners" for The Guardian.)

Salt and Pepper Pork

Adapted from Dinner (2017) by Melissa Clark via Food52 (adapted from Nigel Slater in The Guardian)

If you can't find the Sichuan peppercorns, skip them or use some more black pepper—the dish will still be good, just not as aromatic or tongue-tingling. Food52's adaptation of this recipe says not to use a nonstick skillet, but I think that's a mistake. The second time I made this, I used a nonstick skillet and 99% of the pepper remained on the pork, rather than having a lot stick to the bottom like it did when I made this in a stainless steel skillet.

1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns, or to taste (see note)
a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound boneless pork shoulder/butt, trimmed of tough gristle (keep most of the fat) and cut into 1-inch cubes
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons peanut, canola, or sunflower oil
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, like Maldon
a few crisp iceberg or romaine lettuce leaves, shredded
a few torn cilantro or mint leaves
lime wedges

   1. Using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle, coarsely grind together the peppercorns and the red pepper flakes. You can also put everything into a ziplock bag and pound it with a meat pounder or the bottom of a heavy skillet. Whatever method you use, don't overdo it; you want everything to be only coarsely ground. In a medium bowl, toss the pork cubes with the pepper mixture and fine sea salt. Let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
    2. Heat the oil in a wok or 12-inch nonstick skillet (see note) over medium-high to high heat. When the oil is shimmering, swirl it around the pan, then add the seasoned pork. Sprinkle the flaky sea salt over the pork. Stir-fry until the pork cubes are golden brown all over, moving them quickly around the pan so the pepper doesn't burn, about 5 minutes.
    3. Serve the pork over rice, or on its own, with the crisp lettuce, a few torn leaves of cilantro or mint, and a squeeze of lime. It's also good tucked into a piece of warm, soft flatbread with the lettuce, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime, sort of like a taco. Serves 2 or 3.