Grilled Escabeche with Pork
Often the most effective marinating happens not before but after cooking. This technique, usually called escabeche, was once used to preserve food. It’s really a form of pickling: hot food was put into hot liquid containing a good deal of vinegar. Treated thus, it would keep for some time (if canned, for a long time). Since we don’t need escabeche for preserving, the postgrilling marinating time can be as little as a few minutes, but it can also be as long as overnight—it doesn’t make much difference; in either case, it produces a highly flavored, prepared-in-advance, room-temperature dish that is good as part of a buffet with a variety of other dishes (none of which should be noticeably acidic). Other cuts of meat you can use here: any cut of chicken, bone in or out (be careful not to overcook), or mackerel or other fish (typically floured and sautéed or fried before marinating).
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Start a charcoal or gas grill or preheat the broiler; the fire should be moderately hot and the rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source. As it is heating, combine all the ingredients except the pork (including a pinch of salt and a liberal grinding of pepper, at least 1/2 teaspoon) in a medium saucepan with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the onion has softened just a bit. Pour into a deep platter large enough to accommodate the pork.
Step 2
Sprinkle the pork liberally with salt and pepper and brown it on all sides until it is nearly cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meat should read 150°F), 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pork, let it rest for a few minutes to cool, then put it on the platter with the marinade.
Step 3
If you are eager to eat, wait 10 minutes or so, then slice the pork about 1 inch thick and put it back in the marinade; wait another 15 minutes or so before eating. If you have time, let the pork sit in the marinade, whole, for a couple of hours (or overnight, refrigerated) before slicing and serving at room temperature, spooning a bit of the marinade (including some onion) over each slice.
