This spicy dish will take some time to prepare but perhaps it'll turn into one of your recipe treasures. Peanut butter fudge from school days past should more than please.
Arthur Cheek of Baltimore wrote that he wanted a minced pork barbecue recipe similar to the one sold in the area during the 1940s and '50s. It was served, he wrote, on a square bun with a slaw on top at a now-closed carryout called the Dixie Pig in Prince George's County on Marlboro Pike.
Mr. Cheek's answer came from John A. Wiley, also from Baltimore who noted that "this is one my late mom gave to me."
Alice Wiley's Pork Barbecue
1 fresh pork shoulder (5 to 6 pounds)
1 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
20 --es Tabasco sauce
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
In a large covered pan, cover the pork with fresh water and add the vinegar and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil and simmer about 3 hours skimming off scum that forms. Turn the meat over occasionally and after about two hours cut the shoulder open to speed the cooking.
When finished cooking, remove meat to a platter. Reserve about 1/2 of the liquid, skimming the fat from it. When meat is cool enough to handle, discard the skin, bones and fat and mince it coarsely or pull it into shreds with your fingers. Return meat to the reserved liquid and add the remaining ingredients. Simmer a few minutes to blend in the flavors.
Serve on buns with finely shredded green cabbage or coleslaw and Tabasco sauce to taste.
3' "Hope you like it," wrote Mr. Wiley.*
Public school peanut butter fudge is a memory for many, particularly those who responded to requests of Brenda Adcock and Beverly Evans, both of Baltimore, who wanted the recipe for the fudge they enjoyed in school. Mrs. Adcock wrote that when "my husband and I were in elementary and high school, we couldn't wait until lunch to get a piece of the school's peanut butter fudge. We crave that taste and wonder if you could get a recipe from the Baltimore County School System?"
Many similar recipes were received such as the one from Lois Thomas of Baltimore who wrote that she obtained her fudge recipe in junior high school and believes it is the
real Baltimore County fudge. And, Betsy G. Mealy of Lutherville wrote that "I asked the ladies in the cafeteria in the Baltimore County school if they'd give me this recipe about 34 years ago because my son kept talking about this wonderful candy."
Peanut Butter Fudge
2 cups white sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
Cook first three ingredients to the soft ball stage (234 to 238 degrees) until drops in a cupful of cold water just barely form a ball and will fall apart when removed from the water.
Remove from the heat and add the last three ingredients. Beat until it begins to thicken and pour into a buttered 9-by-12-inch or 11-by-13-inch pan, the smaller the pan the thicker the fudge.
Recipe requests * Susie from Churchton would like to have a recipe for corn and black bean relish similar to the one made at the Top Side Restaurant in Galesville. "It is a delicious relish, not hot or too sweet, and seems to have some sweet red peppers in it. I'd appreciate help."
* Mary A. Nickles of Baltimore wants a recipe for a cheese biscuit similar to those served at L & N Seafood. "I understand that the restaurant has closed," she wrote.
* Jacqueline Lon Gratz of Baltimore is looking for a "Middle Eastern, perhaps Turkish, dessert, Masgatii which is made with wheat starch, saffron, rosewater and cardamom. It is a pudding-like dessert, very light and delicious," she wrote.
* Hilda Fram of Baltimore wants a recipe for a "good vegetable burger. One that is low in fat and calories. I bought some in the grocery story but they are too full of chemicals," she wrote.
Chef Syglowski, with the help of chefs and students at the Baltimore International Culinary College, tested these recipes.
If you are looking for a recipe or can answer a request write to Ellen Hawks, Recipe Finder, The Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore 21278.
If you send in more than one recipe, put each on a separate sheet of paper with your name, address and phone number. Please note the number of servings which each recipe makes. We will test the first 12 recipes sent to us.