I don’t need to tell you about alcohol’s role in the kitchen. We did that last week. What I’d like to do instead is let my friend Matt take the steering wheel for today’s post, to describe his gastronomic experiences with whiskey in Spain. Matt lives in a little town called Boston on the other side of the country – the colder, darker, and altogether uglier side (sorry buddy). We were roommates in Sevilla, where we developed a strong relationship that carries on despite the physical distance now separating us. Matt likes eating too.
~ I’ve never been much of a chef. I go to the kitchen in thirty-second intervals, or however long it takes to grab a beer from the fridge and a bag of tortilla chips from the pantry. So when I moved to Spain, I ate out a lot. And I mean “a lot” as in at least once a day, sometimes twice. I had plenty of excuses to support my habit: I was traveling, I was experiencing local cuisine, and I was meeting real Spaniards. This is what I told my Dad when he demanded an explanation for the credit card bill. It passed (miraculously) with flying colors.
It didn’t take long for me to become closely acquainted with Spanish cuisine. Sevilla is a much more traditional city than Madrid or Barcelona, so you don’t really have any other options besides tapas bars when you’re looking for a bite to eat. After trying what seemed like everything, I narrowed down my own personal menu to a few dishes I liked more than the rest. Dishes that I could pass on to my friends, just to give them a glimpse at what life is like across the pond – as if that were even remotely possible.
With that said, I’d like to present to you an authentic dish on the menu of nearly every tapas bar in Spain. A dish that I ordered at least 25 times (from at least 20 different restaurants) during the four months I lived there. And yet, it never failed to satisfy my pallet. Not once.
Solomillo al whisky (whiskey sirloin) is a classic Spanish “tapa” made with a mouth-watering combination of whiskey, olive oil and garlic. Comfort food for the Spaniards, and so satisfying that it might send your taste buds to the land where the fiesta never ends. So grab an appetite and a bottle of Jack. You’re all invited to the party.
~ Matt
Ingredients:
1 pound pork sirloin
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp whiskey
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
juice of 2 lemons
salt and pepper
For the pork: Preheat grill to medium-high heat. In a large bowl, combine 2 tbsp whiskey, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 garlic clove, and juice of 1 lemon. Add pork and some salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes. Grill each side for 3-5 minutes, until pink throughout.
For the sauce: In a small saucepan, combine orange juice, brown sugar, garlic, and remaining whiskey, vinegar, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes or until mixture thickens. Drizzle over pork.
