Matilda, Maple, and Garlic Pork Shoulder with Crispy Skin
Serves 4 to 6 to 8
- 6 to 8pounds bone-in, skin on pork shoulder
- 3tablespoons fennel seeds, toasted, crushed
- 14pieces garlic cloves, crushed
- 3tablespoons kosher salt
- 1/2cup olive oil
- 1teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4cup grade b maple syrup
- 1big bottle of Matilda, or another malty fruity ale
- 2teaspoons malt vinegar
After allowing the meat to come to room temperature, use a sharp knife to score the skin, making 1/2 inch stripes over entire surface. Preheat oven to 450. Toast fennel seeds in a skillet over medium heat, until fragrant (3 minutes); crush using mortar and pestle, set aside. Place garlic and salt in empty mortar mortar and grind together to make a paste. Slowly add olive oil, then sprinkle in cayenne, black pepper, fennel.
Rub about 1/3 of the paste over the skinless side of the meat, then place skin side down on a roasting pan in lower third of oven. Cook for 30 minutes. Meanwhile stir the syrup and vinegar into the remaining paste.
Turn the oven down to 225. Carefully flip the shoulder (use a clean towel), then use a rubber spatula to spread the remaining paste over the shoulder, pushing it into the scored skin.
Return to oven and cook for 18 hours or longer (you can put it in the oven at bedtime and leave it in until you serve it as an early supper the next day, which is what I did; I just turned it all the way down to 150 for a couple of hours late in the afternoon), pouring 1/3 of the bottle of beer over it at several intervals, and basting with the drippings 2-3 times. Seriously. Before serving, turn up the heat to 450 for ten minutes if the skin is not crispy enough. Put it on a platter, and let people pull off pieces, like wild animals. They will fight over the skin.
Serve with my Fresh Fennel and Red Pepper Chow-Chow (under "condiments"), and mashed sweet potatoes with apples. Leftover pork, Chow-Chow, and spicy mayo sandwich on ciabatta: very good idea.
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Cochinita Pibil Recipe
Yield: Serves 4-6, depending on appetite.
If for some reason you don’t eat all your cochinita pibil at one sitting, it will keep for several days in the fridge. Achiote is an essential ingredient for this recipe, there is no substitute.
Ingredients
3-4 pounds pork shoulder
1 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed if possible
1/2 cup lime juice, juice of 4-5 limes
1 teaspoons salt
3 ounces of red (rojo)
achiote paste, available in Latin markets
Pickled red onions (optional), for garnish
Dry Mexican cheese (queso seco), for garnish
Chopped cilantro, for garnish
Lime wedges, for garnish
Method
1 The night before or the morning before you plan to serve this, mix the orange and lime juice with the achiote paste and salt in a blender until combined. Be sure to rinse the blender soon afterwards, as the achiote stains. Cut the pork into chunks of about 2 inches square. Don’t trim the fat, as you will need it in the braising to come. You can always pick it out later. Put the pork in a non-reactive (glass, stainless steel or plastic) container, then pour over the marinade mixture. Mix well, cover and keep in the fridge for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours.
2 Cooking this takes 3-4 hours, so plan ahead. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large casserole with a double layer of heavy-duty foil, or a triple layer of regular foil – you want a good seal. (Traditionally, cochinita pibil is wrapped in banana leaves, which add a wonderful flavor to the pibil. So, if banana leaves are available—you may be able to get them at the same store as the achiote paste, or at an Asian market—consider using them. Just heat the leaves first to make them more pliable.) Pour in the pork and the marinade and close the foil tightly. Put the casserole in the oven and bake for at least 3 hours. You want it pretty much falling apart, so start checking at the three-hour mark.
3 When the pork is tender, take it out of the oven and open the foil. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon to a bowl, then shred it with two forks. You don’t have to shred the pork, but I like it this way. Pour enough sauce over the meat to make it wet.
To serve, either use this as taco meat or eat it the way we do: Over rice, garnished with cilantro, lime wedges and queso seco, a Mexican dry cheese a little like Greek feta. Pickled red onions are a traditional garnish, and if you like them, they’re good, too.
Read more:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/cochinita_pibil/#ixzz3XXWDcCdm
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Cider-Braised Pork Shoulder with Caramelized Onion and Apple Confit
Serves 4
- 2 1/2pounds pork shoulder (butt) - boneless and tied
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 4large yellow onions, halved, thinly sliced
- 1/4cup Calvados brandy
- 1large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, cut in 1/2" cubes
- 2garlic cloves, chopped
- 1teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1cup apple cider
- 1cup chicken stock
- 1tablespoon Dijon mustard
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Pat the pork dry and season with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a large oven-proof pot or Dutch oven with a lid. Brown pork on all sides, turning with tongs, 6-8 minutes per side. Transfer pork to plate.
Pour off excess fat from pot. Add onion and 1 teaspoon salt. Sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are very soft ad deep golden brown, 18-20 minutes.
Add Calvados and stir to deglaze pan. Add apple, garlic and thyme. Cook, stirring, 30 seconds.
Return pork to pot, nestling it down in the onions. Add cider and chicken stock. Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce heat to 325 F. Braise until meat is very tender, 2 1/2 - 3 hours.
Return pot to cooktop. Transfer pork to a cutting board and remove kitchen strings. Boil onion and apples until thickened and liquid slightly reduced, 1-2 minutes. Stir in mustard. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cut pork in serving pieces and arrange on serving platter or individual dinner plates. Spoon onion apple confit over and around the meat.
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Braised Pork Shoulder with Oranges, Fennel and Olives
Serves 4
2pounds Boneless Pork Shoulder
Olive Oil
1/2Large Red Onion, diced
1/2teaspoon Fennel Seeds
1tablespoon Tomato Paste
1Fennel Bulb, cut in 1/4"-1/2" wedges, a few fronds reserved
1cup Dry White Wine
4Small Blood Oranges (or any thin-skinned orange), quartered (or cut in eighths if using larger oranges)
1/2cup Flavorful Black Olives (such as Kalamata)
2cups Chicken Stock (preferably homemade, low-sodium if using canned)
Preheat oven to 325°.
Cut the pork shoulder crosswise into 4 even pieces. Secure each piece with kitchen twine so they will stay together while braising. Season with salt and pepper. Heat about 2 Tbsp. of olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy, lidded pot. Brown the meat on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Remove meat from pan and transfer to a rimmed plate. If there is more than a thin coating of fat in the bottom of the pot, drain some off. If the pot seems too dry to sauté onions in, add a little oil.
Sauté the onion in the Dutch oven until softened, about 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt. Add fennel seeds and tomato paste to clear spots; toast the seeds and caramelize the tomato paste, about 1 minute. Stir to combine with the onions. Add the fennel wedges, season lightly with salt, and sauté, coating with tomato paste and onions, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the oranges and olives and return the pork to the pot, along with any accumulated juices. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. When the liquid reaches a simmer, cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Braise until the meat is tender and just starting to fall apart, about 2 hours. Flip the meat halfway through.
Transfer the pork, fennel, oranges, and olives and to a rimmed plate or bowl. Remove the string from the pork and tent with foil.
Meanwhile, place the Dutch oven on the stove over medium-high heat. Simmer until the liquid has reduced slightly, about 10 minutes. Taste and season, if necessary, with salt and pepper.
Divide the pork, fennel, oranges, and olives between warm plates (or serve it family style on a large platter). Spoon the reduced braising liquid over the meat and garnish with fennel fronds, if desired.
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