Still hungry? Not for long: Catalan Braised Pork Shoulder!

I told you next post would be about the accompaniment to that pile of spinach you've been staring at for the last several weeks. So finally, with a fair bit of embarrassment and apologies if your spinach with raisins and pine nuts has been sitting out getting colder and slimier for the last 31 days waiting for the followup, here it is!
Falling under the category of all good things are worth waiting for and yet another hit from Anya von Bremzen's "New Spanish Table" cookbook, where all has been delicious and...so far...not one disappoint on our plates. This also only confirms what I've been saying ad nauseum that I have come to the conclusions that pork shoulder is easily the best bang-for-the-buck chunk of animal flesh going. Actually, leaving price out of it, it is one of the best cooking/eating experiences at ANY price! This particular dish is amazing, another "restaurant quality" plate of food that is thrills your palate with that perfect savory and sweet combination of flavors allied with fork tender chunks of pork shoulder. So easy, and with a luscious sauce and perfectly delectable leftover potential should you and your guests somehow not finish every bite! Oh, and don't forget some crusty bread for this most sop-worthy of sauces.
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Catalan Braised Pork Shoulder With Dried Fruit
(Porc Guisata Amb Fruita Seca)
"Moist slow cooking brings out the best in a humble cut like pork shoulder,
making it fit for the most festive occasions. The sauce, enhanced with dried
fruit and a whiff of cinnamon, is classically Catalan. Try to get
best-quality organic dried cherries and apricots, ones that have some
tartness. If you're using ordinary dried fruit, you might want to reduce the
amount slightly, so the dish doesn't come out overly sweet. Alternatively,
you can add a splash of red wine vinegar to the sauce at the end. The dish
is best made ahead; cool the pork in the sauce and slowly reheat it."- AvB

SERVES 6

ingredients:
1 boneless pork shoulder, such as Boston Butt (about 4 pounds, trimmed of
excess fat)
salt & freshly ground black pepper (kosher or sea)
2 medium garlic cloves, crushed with a garlic press
2 to 3 tablespoons light olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 cup peeled white pearl onion, thawed if frozen
1/4 cup kirsch (or brandy)
2 cups full-bodied dry red wine (with a lively acidity)
1 cup stock (beef or chicken or both)
3/4 cup pitted dried sour cherries
1/2 cup dried apricot (preferably Californian, halved or quartered if large)
1 large bay leaf
1 small piece cinnamon stick
2 fresh rosemary sprigs

method:
1. Preheat oven to 325º.

2. Using kitchen string, tie the pork shoulder crosswise, spacing the ties 1
inch apart. Rub the pork generously with salt and pepper and the garlic.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 5 to 6 quart flameproof
casserole or Dutch oven over high heat until almost smoking. Add the pork
and cook until richly browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Add the
remaining oil while the pork browns, if the casserole looks too dry.
Transfer the pork to a bowl. Add the chopped onion, carrot, and pearl onions
to the casserole and brown well, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the kirsch and cook
over high heat until it is reduced to about 1 tablespoon, about 1 minute.
Add the wine, beef stock, cherries, apricots, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and
rosemary sprigs and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the casserole to
dislodge the brown bits. Season the sauce with salt to taste.

4. Return the pork to the casserole. Cover the casserole tightly and
transfer it to the oven. Bake the pork, turning it once or twice, until it
is very tender and an instant-read thermometer registers 165º, about 1 1/2
hours.

5. Transfer the pork to a plate and cover it with foil to keep warm. Remove
and discard the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and rosemary sprigs. Transfer the
casserole to the stove top and cook the sauce over high heat until it is
slightly syrupy, 3 to 5 minutes.

6. Remove the string from the pork and discard it. Cut the pork into slices
and arrange on a serving platter. Pour the sauce over the pork and serve.

Cooks note: I picked up the dried fruit for the usual extremely reasonable prices at Trader Joe's. And if you're not using frozen peeled pearl onions then you are a prep masochist who needs counseling!- bb

Pernil...aka pork shoulder love!

Not to go all Apocalypse Now on you, but I love it when people get all shot up, blood splatters all over the landscape, and general emotional and physical mayhem ensues.........oh, wait, what I meant to say is "I loooove the smell of pork in the evening". Especially a huge honking chunk of pork product slowly roasting in the oven . In this case the star of my little production was an 8-1/2 pound piece of bone-in pork shoulder, and it turned out to be everything Mark Bittman promised in a recent NYT article. Thank god Marlon Brando wasn't around to shove it all in his gaping maw.


The pernil after (top left) and before cooking (left), all rubbed up and ready to go.









The occasion for this big bit of hog heaven (and tiresome cinematic references) was my sis's birthday dinner, which she kindly consented to let me cook for her. I already had my main course agenda planted in my mind ever since reading Bittman's story about a dish called Pernil, which is Puerto Rican spice rubbed, slow roasted pork shoulder. As soon as I read about it (and watched this video), I knew I had to make it....and soon! I really do love large hunks of animal, and luckily I have a large number of enablers who are always more than willing to help me explore this passion. With side dishes consisting of Puerto Rican rice and a bacalao and onion salad (which were both perfectly stunning accompaniments) provided by our friends J&K, this was can't miss. Although I had never cooked this particular meatiness before, I had to believe Bittman's comment that "the process is beyond easy and incredibly impressive, it feeds as many people as a medium-size ham, and the flavor is unbelievable." And it was. Crazy tender, succulent, beautifully flavored from the spice schmear and the fat that had been rendering into the meat for the six hours it spent in the oven. I don't care if I ever see another lean, bland pork loin, because it doesn't even come close to the flavor of the shoulder. Plus, our 8.5 pound piece of piggy cost a mere $17.00!! The bang for the food buck is off the charts. For those of you who have a hard time accepting compliments, this might not be your dish. But for those who love the lotion like me, try this at home next time you have a table of six or eight waiting to be wowed, and let the food love wash all over your deserving ego.

J's fab Puerto Rican rice with sneaky bits of pork loin!







Oh, and did I mention the wine we had with dinner? No? Well, wait until tomorrow.......
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Pernil
from Mark Bittman/NYT
Time: At least 4 hours

ingredients:
1 pork shoulder, 4 to 8+ pounds (or use fresh ham)
4 or more cloves garlic, peeled
1 large onion, quartered
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ancho or other mild chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil as needed
1 tablespoon wine or cider vinegar
Lime wedges for serving.

method:
1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Score meat’s skin with a sharp knife, making a cross-hatch pattern. Pulse garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, chili, salt and pepper together in a food processor, adding oil in a drizzle and scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture is pasty. (Alternatively, mash ingredients in a mortar and pestle.) Blend in the vinegar.

2. Rub this mixture well into pork, getting it into every nook and cranny. Put pork in a roasting pan and film bottom with water. Roast pork for several hours (a 4-pound shoulder may be done in 3 hours), turning every hour or so and adding more water as necessary, until meat is very tender. Finish roasting with the skin side up until crisp, raising heat at end of cooking if necessary.

3. Let meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it up; meat should be so tender that cutting it into uniform slices is almost impossible; rather, whack it up into chunks. Serve with lime.

Yield: At least 6 servings.