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Pork pilaf in a cauldron over a campfire

Pork Plov in a Cauldron over a Campfire

The tastiest, most vibrant plov, with the aroma of woodsmoke! Here's another wonderful recipe for a picnic or an outdoor get-together. Food cooked over a campfire always has a special flavor and aroma, and this cauldron pork plov is sure to win everyone over!

Pearl

Recipe author

Pork pilaf in a cauldron over a campfire

Watch the video

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Pork

1.5

Rice

Carrots

Onion

600

Vegetable oil

0.5

Cumin

Barberries

Turmeric

Garlic (2 heads)

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 20 % 8 g

Fats 25 % 10 g

Carbohydrates 55 % 22 g

206 kcal

GI: 14 / 86 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

The core ingredients for plov are rice, meat, carrot, and onion. The zirvak (the base for plov) is built to your own taste—you can make it spicy or aromatic and add dried fruit, barberries, turmeric, cumin, and so on.
Step 2:

Cut the pork into medium pieces. Neck (shoulder), boneless shoulder, or belly all work great for plov; if the meat has a little fat marbling, the dish turns out even tastier. Peel and wash the carrots and onions. Break one head of garlic into cloves, peeling some and leaving others in their skins. Rinse the garlic under running water.
Step 3:

Cut the onion into medium pieces and the carrot into sticks. Choose the size of the sticks to your liking—here the carrot was cut large.
Step 4:

Light the fire and set the dry cauldron over high heat to warm it up well. Pour in the oil and let it heat for five to ten minutes, ladling the hot oil up over the sides of the cauldron (careful—don't burn yourself!). Add the pork to the boiling oil.
Step 5:

Stirring constantly, sear the pieces for about seven to ten minutes, until golden.
Step 6:

Add the onion to the meat. Stirring again, cook the contents of the cauldron for a few minutes. At this stage the fire under the cauldron needs to be strong, so the food fries rather than steams.
Step 7:

Add the carrot to the cauldron and fry for about five more minutes.
Step 8:

The last components of the zirvak are garlic and spices. Add the cumin, barberries, and garlic to the cauldron, pour in half a cup of water, salt to taste, stir, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes. Bring the fire down to moderate now so the vegetables braise.
Step 9:

Uncover the cauldron and gently stir the zirvak. Now it's the rice's turn.
Step 10:

Rinse the rice several times under running water. Spread it in an even layer over the plov base and scatter the turmeric evenly across the surface of the rice.
Step 11:

Nestle a whole head of garlic into the middle of the cauldron (as in the photo). Pour in hot water so it covers the rice by about half an inch (1–1.5 cm). Cover the cauldron and cook for about 20 minutes (cooking time depends on the rice you use—check the package directions, and if the rice needs longer, leave the cauldron over the fire longer).
Step 12:

The key is not to leave the rice too long under the closed lid, or you'll end up with mush instead of plov. Open the lid and gently stir the plov. If there's still liquid in the cauldron, toss a couple more sticks on the fire and leave it until the water cooks off. Your delicious plov is ready!

Ideally, plov is made with lamb, and the zirvak with rendered tail fat. This recipe is a simplified pork version, and it comes out no worse than an authentic Uzbek plov. At our picnic for a big crowd, a cauldron of it vanished in a flash! Serve it with fresh vegetables or achichuk (a tomato-onion salad). Try it and enjoy the most fragrant, delicious cauldron plov! Bon appétit!