Citrus Pork and Charred Sprouts
Pork loin in an orange-ginger glaze, sprouts blistered in the same skillet, cooked at the truck.
- calories
- 540
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 49
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total time
- 45 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
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Dairy free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Pork loin | 1 lb | sliced into 1/4-inch strips at home, marinated in the bag |
|---|---|---|
| Soy sauce | 3 tbsp | 2 tbsp in the marinade, 1 tbsp in the sauce |
| Rice wine vinegar | 1/4 cup | |
| White sugar | 2 tbsp | |
| Orange juice | 1 tbsp | a shelf-stable juice box covers this and leaves you a drink |
| Orange zest | 1 tsp | zest at home, it dries out fine |
| Ginger | 2 tbsp, grated | or 2 tsp ground |
| Garlic | 1 clove, minced | |
| Lemon juice | 1/4 cup | bottled is fine |
| Honey | 1 1/2 tbsp | carry in a squeeze bottle, it will not pour cold |
| Vegetable oil | 2-4 tbsp | |
| Brussels sprouts | 1 lb | halved at home |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp | |
| Mandarin oranges | 1 cup | canned, drained |
| Cashews | 1/2 cup | toasted |
| Red pepper flakes | 1/4 tsp | optional |
Method
- At home, whisk sugar, vinegar, orange juice, 2 tbsp soy sauce, zest, ginger, and garlic. Pour it over the sliced pork in a freezer bag, work it in, and pack the bag flat in the cooler.
- In a second small bottle, shake lemon juice, the last tablespoon of soy sauce, and the honey. That is the finishing sauce.
- At camp, get a cast iron skillet hot over the fire or on a grill grate. Add 2 tbsp oil and wait for it to shimmer.
- Drain the pork out of the marinade and sear it in a single layer, in two batches if the pan is crowded. Three or four minutes a batch. Pull it onto a plate.
- Add more oil, then the sprouts cut side down with the salt. Leave them alone for five minutes so they blacken, then stir and cook another five until tender.
- Return the pork, pour in the finishing sauce, and cook it down two minutes until it coats everything.
- Kill the heat. Fold in the mandarins, cashews, and pepper flakes.
This is a car-camping dinner because it needs a hot skillet with real surface area and a cooler that holds pork. The work is front-loaded: slicing, zesting, and mixing two liquids happen at the kitchen counter, so camp is searing and stirring. The marinade doubles as transport — the pork sits in it the whole drive, which is why 30 minutes in a fridge is not part of the plan.
The sear order matters more than the timing. Pork out first keeps it from steaming grey while the sprouts render. The sprouts need direct, undisturbed contact with hot iron to char, and stirring them early gets you boiled sprouts instead. The honey-lemon sauce goes in last and off the pork’s fond; add it earlier and the sugar burns before anything is cooked.
Packing
Pork marinates in its bag in the cooler and is good for two days; put it on night one or night two, not later. Sprouts, cashews, and the canned mandarins ride outside the cooler. The finishing sauce and the oil go in small squeeze bottles so nothing gets measured in the dark.
Variations
- Swap the pork for firm tofu pressed and drained at home. It takes the marinade in half the time.
- No fire grate: this runs fine on a two-burner white gas stove, one pan, same order.
- Cook rice or instant noodles first, hold them in a pot cozy, and spoon the whole thing over.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/citrus-pork-with-charred-brussels-sprouts