Chili Pork with Feta and Raspberries
Grilled pork loin, a slug of sambal, and salty crumbles over dried berries. Car camp cooking with almost no ingredients.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 8 oz
- cal / oz
- 53
- protein
- 44 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Foil packet
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Pork loin, cut into steaks | 600 g | about 1.3 lb, sliced at home |
|---|---|---|
| Shallots | 8 | peeled before the trip |
| Neutral oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Chili paste | 4 tsp | sambal oelek; keep it in its own jar |
| Feta | 125 g | buy it in brine, it keeps longer in the cooler |
| Freeze-dried raspberries | 1/2 cup | fresh berries turn to jam in a pack |
Method
- Thread a shallot onto each skewer, then the pork steaks, then another shallot. Push everything tight so the meat cooks evenly.
- Salt and pepper both sides and brush with oil.
- Grill over direct heat, two to three minutes a side, until the outside is marked.
- Move the skewers to the cool edge of the grate for another two or three minutes to finish through.
- Pull them off, spoon chili paste over the meat, and let it sit a minute.
- Crumble the feta over the top and scatter the raspberries. Eat off the skewer or slide it onto a plate.
This is a car-camp dinner, not a pack-in one. Pork loin needs a cooler, and there is no way around that. What makes it worth carrying is the ingredient count: four things on the grate and two things sprinkled on after.
The shallots on either end of the skewer are structural. They hold the steaks pressed together so the meat cooks as a block instead of curling and drying at the edges. Finishing over indirect heat matters for the same reason: lean pork goes from done to tough fast, and the cool side of the grate lets the middle catch up without punishing the outside. Chili paste goes on off the heat so it does not burn, and the feta stays raw because it does not melt so much as leak. Fresh raspberries do not survive a cooler, so the freeze-dried version does the job here. They soften on contact with the hot meat and give you the sour note the fat and salt need.
Packing
Slice the pork and peel the shallots at home so camp work is skewering only. Meat and feta ride at the bottom of the cooler; chili paste, oil, and salt travel in the kitchen box. Metal skewers pack flatter than wood and do not need soaking.
Variations
- Swap the chili paste for harissa or gochujang if that is what is in the box.
- Foil-packet version for a fire: layer everything but the feta and berries, seal, and bury in coals for fifteen minutes.
- Serve with instant mashed potatoes if you need the calories up.
https://www.matprat.no/oppskrifter/kos/grillet-svinebiff-med-chili