Basic Braised Pork Shoulder

FreshTartSteph — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 15:26:06 PST

I've written before about the beauty of braising a pork shoulder one day, then crafting several meals from it as the week wears on. This version is more basic than the Pork Braised with Chiles & Cinnamon, which means you can eat it even more ways. Seasoned with onions, garlic, salt, and pepper, the finished roast can be eaten as is with its rich pan juices. (Mmmashed potatoes would be a perfect accompaniment.)

Then the next day you can warm some of the pork with hoisin sauce and roll it in lettuce leaves with rice, scallions, pickled vegetables or kimchi, and a dab of chile sauce. Or ginger scallion sauce. Oh my goodness YES.

Then the next day you can warm some of the pork with barbecue sauce, and spoon it into a crusty roll with a caraway-seed studded coleslaw. You could slather ginger scallion sauce on this too, because seriously, that stuff belongs on everything.

Then for the last batch, you can fry the pork into a gloriously crispy hash along with potatoes, peppers, and onions, moistening it with pan juices as you go, topping it with a poached egg, but of course.

What are your ideas?

Basic Braised Pork Shoulder

1 boneless or bone-in pork shoulder (sizes can vary greatly)
Kosher salt
2 Tbsp. high heat vegetable oil or bacon fat
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, smashed & peeled
1 1/2 c. chicken broth or water
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Sprinkle pork shoulder on all sides with Kosher salt, rubbing it in a bit. Heat a Dutch oven (that can snugly hold the roast and has a fitted lid) over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the roast and brown thoroughly - to a deep golden brown - on that side. Flip the roast and brown thoroughly on the next side, continuing until all sides (including the ends) of the roast are evenly browned. Remove the roast to a plate and set aside.

With the pan still over heat, add the onions and garlic to the pan. Stir around for about 7-8 minutes, until vegetables are beginning to soften and look glassy. Add the chicken broth or water to the pan and top with the roast. Add a few turns of black pepper to the pan and bring liquid to a simmer. Cover pan and transfer to oven.

Bake for 3 hours, perhaps more, depending on the size of your shoulder. The pork is done when the meat is very, very tender and is easy to pull apart with a fork.

Transfer roast to a cutting board and let rest. Meanwhile, spoon fat from pan juices. Puree defatted pan juices with an immersion blender or by transferring to a stand-up blender (be careful when blending hot liquid). Return pan juices to the pan and season to taste.

Pull roast apart into bite-sized pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat, and stir into the pan juices. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature, cover and chill.

Braised Pork Shoulder with Chiles & Cinnamon

FreshTartSteph — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 09:54:11 PDT

In my excitement to braise something, anything over the past freezing weekend, I got a little carried away and bought an 8-pound boneless pork shoulder...

...for four people, one of whom (Nathan) is hardly ever home and one of whom (my mom) has barely an appetite.

But guess what? It's almost gone! I cut the roast in two, braised half, and grilled the other half long and slow. I served the braised half to our friend Marty, as well as Stacey and Cooper, for family dinner on Sunday night. I sliced the other half and gave some to Stacey, and made sandwiches for Mom and Nathan, and then nachos for Nathan, and about 50 snacks for myself...

And just like that, we'll finish off the last bit in some sort of hash tonight.

What am I trying to say? That I'm excessive in oh so many ways? No, although of course that's true. My point is that the versatility of braised meat is just endless! Braise on Sunday, with very little effort, and have several easy meals all week. It's cheap, delicious, and damn good fun.

The pic up top is the braised version, on polenta, with tomato jam, and finished with bits of crispy guanciale (cured pork jowl) gifted to me by my friend Joy Summers. She visited Mom and me last week and brought me the guanciale plus a pound of Hope Creamery butter. There is love.

Anyhow, the pork-polenta dish, inspired by my friend Molly Herrmann's stunning dish at the Tour de Farm Chicknic in July, blew minds all over this house.

Round II goes to the tacos. Crisp pork in a skillet, in its own fat (not exactly carnitas, but same effect, as in kill-me good), wrap in warm corn tortillas with your favorite taco garnishes. Yah.

Recipe for Braised Pork Shoulder with Chiles & Cinnamon at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Fresh Tart

Basic Braised Pork Shoulder

Braised Pork Shoulder with Chiles & Cinnamon