Oreilles de Cochon (Pig's Ears Pastries)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven (at least 10 inches)
• •Deep-fry or candy thermometer
• •Rolling pin
• •Spider strainer or slotted spoon
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the dough

   Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. The nutmeg is subtle but essential. It rounds out the sweetness and gives these pastries their old-fashioned character. Add the cold butter pieces and work them into the flour with your fingertips or a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal with some pea-sized bits remaining.

2. 2

   Add wet ingredients

   Beat the eggs lightly in a small bowl, then whisk in the milk and vanilla. Make a well in the center of your flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir with a fork, pulling flour from the sides into the center, until a shaggy dough forms. It will look rough at this point. That's fine.

   Room temperature eggs incorporate more easily and create a smoother dough. Pull them from the refrigerator thirty minutes before you start.
3. 3

   Knead until smooth

   Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for three to four minutes until it becomes smooth, supple, and slightly elastic. You're not developing serious gluten here like bread dough, just bringing everything together. The finished dough should feel soft but not sticky, like a tender pasta dough. Wrap tightly in plastic and rest at room temperature for thirty minutes. This rest relaxes the gluten and makes rolling much easier.

4. 4

   Roll the dough thin

   Divide the rested dough into four equal portions. Work with one portion at a time, keeping the others covered. On a well-floured surface, roll the dough as thin as you can manage, about 1/16 inch thick. You should nearly see the counter through it. Thin dough fries crisp. Thick dough stays chewy in the middle. My grandmother Evangeline could roll this paper-thin, and that's what we're after.

   A pasta machine makes this work faster if you have one. Run the dough through on progressively thinner settings until you reach the second-to-last setting.
5. 5

   Cut the pastries

   Using a sharp knife or pizza wheel, cut the rolled dough into strips about one inch wide and four inches long. These do not need to be perfect rectangles. Irregular edges fry up more interesting, with extra crispy bits along the ragged parts. Traditional cooks cut them freehand, and so should you. Let the cut strips rest uncovered for five minutes while you heat the oil. A slight skin forming on the surface helps them puff.

6. 6

   Heat the frying oil

   Pour oil into a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven to a depth of about one and a half inches. Heat over medium-high until the oil reaches 350 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Test with a small scrap of dough. It should sink briefly, then rise immediately and bubble vigorously. If it sits on the bottom, the oil is too cold. If it browns within seconds, back off the heat.

7. 7

   Fry until golden and curled

   Working in batches of four or five strips, slip the dough into the hot oil. They will sink, then rise and begin to curl and twist into their distinctive ear shapes. Use a slotted spoon or spider to gently turn them so they brown evenly on all sides. The whole process takes about two minutes per batch. You want a deep golden color with darker spots on the curled edges. Lift them out and drain on a wire rack set over a sheet pan.

   Do not crowd the pot. Too many at once drops the oil temperature and produces greasy, limp pastries instead of crisp, airy ones.
8. 8

   Warm the cane syrup

   While you fry the remaining batches, warm the cane syrup in a small saucepan over low heat until it flows easily, about three minutes. Do not let it simmer or boil. Warm syrup coats the pastries evenly without making them soggy. Steen's cane syrup is the Louisiana standard. Accept no substitutes if you can find it.

9. 9

   Dress and serve

   Arrange the warm oreilles de cochon on a serving platter. Drizzle generously with the warm cane syrup, letting it pool in the curves and crannies. Scatter the toasted pecans over the top. Dust with powdered sugar if you like, though traditionalists skip it. Serve immediately while the pastries are still slightly warm and shatteringly crisp. These are best eaten within an hour of frying.

Chef Tips

• •Steen's Pure Cane Syrup is the only choice for authentic flavor. It's been made in Abbeville, Louisiana since 1910. If you cannot find it locally, order it online. Pancake syrup is not a substitute.
• •The dough rolls easier if you let it rest. Thirty minutes is minimum, but an hour is better. Rushed dough fights the rolling pin and shrinks back.
• •Toast your pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about five minutes. Raw pecans taste flat. Toasted pecans add another dimension.
• •If the oil temperature drops below 325 degrees, stop frying and let it recover. Low-temperature frying is the enemy of crisp pastries.
• •These do not store well. The cane syrup softens them within a few hours. Make them the day you plan to serve them, as close to serving time as practical.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made one day ahead, wrapped tightly, and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature for thirty minutes before rolling.
• •Pecans can be toasted up to three days ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
• •Fried pastries are best served within one hour. Do not attempt to make these ahead or store them overnight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 40g)