Comments on: Mmm...braised pork...

Question: Mmm...braised pork...

madmethods — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 12:22:31 -0800

I picked up a pork shoulder for holiday cooking. I love braising, but have only done beef and lamb. I've dug up a couple of recipes, but none has really grabbed me yet. What is your favorite braised pork shoulder recipe?

What I have is a 7 pound pork shoulder (aka Boston Butt, etc.). Low-and-slow cooked flavorful braises are pretty much my favorite type of cooking and I have done many-hour braises with beef short ribs and lamb legs and such in beer, wine, pretty much anything. Loved those, so I'm looking for a similar treatment for the pork shoulder.

By: ottereroticist

ottereroticist — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 12:53:12 -0800

One very simple recipe for pork chile verde is a big can of jalapenos and a big can of tomatillos, run through the food processor, plus salt to taste. Brown the meat (cube it first if you like), add to green goodness, braise until meat is fall-apart tender.

By: wwax

wwax — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 12:54:57 -0800

Texas Pulled Pork. This does not taste like a traditional pulled pork in my opinion as it doesn't have a really BBQ sauce taste to it despite it including that in the ingredients and has almost an asian feel to it. I will sometimes swap out the Worcestershire for soy sauce and add ginger to it and actually prefer eating it over rice. You can easily make it more of a BBQ style with some more BBQ sauce and/or liquid smoke too, the recipes is really forgiving of playing around with it. Oh and it works in a dutch over or on the stove top too, just change the cooking times as needed.

By: purpleclover

purpleclover — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 12:55:47 -0800

Pork roast with white beans and cranberries. It's delicious.

By: cmoj

cmoj — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 13:01:03 -0800

Cube the meat. Save the bone and crack it, roast it and pressure cook it with some browned pork bits, shallots, onions, carrots, leeks, rosemary, and thyme (or whatever you feel like) for 2 1/2 hours. Strain the stock, and pressure cook your cubed pork for half an hour in the stock. Take the pork out and while you're shredding it, reduce the liquid with some achiote paste and cayenne. When it thickens, pour it into the shredded pork and you've got no-fat-added carnitas. Cilantro and onions with corn tortillas and you're ready to go.

This is more or less the Modernist Cuisine recipe, and it solicited a marriage proposal from a woman who was raised in Mexico City last time I made it.

By: MonkeyToes

MonkeyToes — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 13:01:19 -0800

Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork.

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 13:11:19 -0800

Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork.

This is a good recipe, but more sweet and less savory.

By: bifter

bifter — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 13:24:26 -0800

I made this a couple of years ago - the recipe seems to have every conceivable ingredient known to man in it, and frankly sounds weird. But it was crazy-good.

By: hoboynow

hoboynow — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 14:12:05 -0800

This is a hell of a great pasta dish that starts with a braised pork shoulder. Its inherent richness is cut nicely by the acidity from the lemon juice and the peppery heat from the arugula.

By: purenitrous

purenitrous — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 14:14:05 -0800

And just have to suggest that you google momofuko's Bo Ssam recipe. Not braised but cooked low and slow and one of the best things I've ever made or eaten.

By: homotopy

homotopy — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 14:31:12 -0800

Seconding the momofuku Bo ssäm. The pork belly dish in the same cookbook is also amazing.

By: grateful

grateful — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 15:03:04 -0800

Big fan of the braised pork portion of Tyler's Ultimate Cuban Sandwich recipe.

By: humboldt32

humboldt32 — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 15:14:27 -0800

Carnitas. I make this recipe once or twice a month.

By: houseofdanie

houseofdanie — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 15:41:45 -0800

This pernil as described by Mark Bittman is not braised, but it is a traditional holiday thing and completely delicious. Also, it's super easy, which is a plus for me on days when I have like 30 other things cooking.

Here's Tyler Florence's version.

My pernil is kind of a cross between them with my own additions (sometimes coriander, sometimes some orange zest, etc.), but the technique is roughly the same. Just so simple and GOOD.

By: MeghanC

MeghanC — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 15:56:03 -0800

I just did this last week for my partner's birthday! Here's how we did it:

Put the pork in a roasting pan, fatty side up. Add a bottle of beer, about 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 oranges (squeeze juice over the pork, then quarter the oranges and just toss them into the pan), 2 onions (quartered), and garlic (some--I used a small head and peeled and chunked it). Sprinkle the pork generously with smoked paprika, pepper, and salt--I'd suggest using more salt than you'd expect to need.

Cover the pan and put the pork in the oven at 250 for about six hours, then uncover it and let it go for another hour or so. When it's done, the meat will basically fall off the bone at the slightest provocation. (If you reach this point and you feel that the meat is inadequately browned, just turn on the broiler for a few minutes and let the outsides crisp up, then remove from the oven.) I put mine in the oven when I went to bed, and uncovered it about seven hours later--it's a forgiving recipe.

It's delicious. We ate some of it plain, and have had chunks with sauerkraut and apple, and also had some in sandwiches with barbeque sauce. If you tire of eating pork before you run out, just put the meat and juices into a tupperware and toss it in the freezer--it freezes wonderfully.

By: Space Kitty

Space Kitty — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 17:47:00 -0800

How to cook & shred a pork shoulder

Nothing that simple should be that good.

By: tomierna

tomierna — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 18:05:59 -0800

Just a week ago, I won my company's yearly holiday party with a pork shoulder recipe I made up.

Rough chop five or six onions and put them on the bottom of a large, deep aluminum pan. Cover with about 1/2 of a gallon container of manzanilla olives (no broth). Place pork on top. Fill gaps with diced tomato. Place (lots of) sprigs of oregano and cilantro or culantro in the gaps too.

Bake at 200 or so for about 10 hours.

After the baking, skim most of the fat, and place half of the shoulder in another pan, along with half of the broth and other ingredients.

Add one gallon container of small potatoes (no broth) to each pan, and mix, shredding pork.

Bake at 200 or so for another few hours.

Yum!

There's no additional seasoning necessary for this dish. The olives give you a rich, salty base, and the potatoes soak it all up at the end.

By: lalochezia

lalochezia — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 08:42:40 -0800

The Bo SSam miracle

By: jeremias

jeremias — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 10:35:56 -0800

The Bo SSam miracle
posted by lalochezia at 11:42 AM on December 23

This. This recipe is the one you want. It is extreeemely amazing.