Catalan Braised Pork Shoulder With Dried Fruit Food

SUCCULENT BRAISED PORK

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Pat the pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
• In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, and working in batches brown the meat on all sides until a golden crust forms. Transfer the pork to a plate. To the pan add the onion, celery, and carrot and sweat until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sweat another 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes to cook off the raw flavor and caramelize it. Sprinkle with the flour and cook another 2 minutes to cook off its raw flavor. Whisk in the wine and reduce it by half. Return the pork to the Dutch oven, then stir in the beef stock, parsley stems, and bay leaves. Add the water if liquid does not come up to the top of the pork. Do not cover the pork with liquid. Cover the pan and place it in the oven to braise until the meat is fork tender, about 3 hours. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.

ITALIAN BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Rinse and dry pork roast. Season all sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add roast to the hot skillet; turn and sear until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer roast to a large lidded baking dish, leaving pan drippings in the skillet.
• Add carrots, onion, shallot, and garlic to the hot skillet and reduce heat to medium. Saute in the pan drippings until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes; do not overcook.
• Pour red wine, beef broth, and tomato puree over the roast in the baking dish. Add sauteed vegetables, parsley, and thyme.
• Cover and bake in the preheated oven until meat pulls apart easily, 2 to 3 hours.

CATALAN BRAISED PORK SHOULDER WITH DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325º.
• 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.
• 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.
• Return the pork to the casserole. Cover 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.
• 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.
• 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.

BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Using a spice grinder, grind the coriander and cumin seeds until they are a fine powder.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the pork shoulder with the ground spices and salt, then tie each piece so they cook evenly.
• Coat a Dutch oven with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Brown the first pork on all sides. Remove the pork from the pan and reserve. Ditch the fat in the pan and give a few drops of new oil. Repeat with the second pork and remove.
• Lower the heat to medium and toss in the fennel and onions and season them with salt and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper. Cook the onions and fennel until they are soft and very aromatic, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer.
• Add the wine and reduce by half. Stir in the mustard and add the bay leaves and thyme. Return the pork to the Dutch oven and add stock to the pan until it comes halfway up the side of the pork. Add salt if needed. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover and put the Dutch oven in the preheated oven.
• After 1 hour, turn the pork over and add more liquid to the pan if the liquid level has gone down. Cover and return to the oven for 1 hour.
• Turn the pork back over and return to the oven without the lid and cook for 45 more minutes. The liquid should concentrate.
• Remove the pan from the oven, remove the pork and reserve for 15 minutes, tented with aluminum foil. Skim any excess fat from the pan and reduce the pan juices, if needed.
• Slice the pork and serve with onions, fennel and juices.
• Wine Pairing Suggestion: Pinot Grigio

BRAISED PORK BELLY WITH BORLOTTI BEANS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Toss the pork in the flour with some seasoning. Heat the oil in an ovenproof casserole dish and fry the pork for 10 mins until golden, then transfer to a plate. Tip all the veg into the pan with the rosemary, bay leaves and garlic, and cook on a low heat for 10 mins until softened. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a minute, then add the wine. Pour over the stock, then bring to a simmer and stir in the fried pork.
• Cover, then cook in the oven for 1 hr. Remove from the oven, stir through the beans, cover again and return to the oven for 30 mins, or until the pork is very tender. Leave to cool a little, then scatter over the parsley, lemon zest and reserved celery leaves.

BRAISED PORK IN ORANGE SAUCE (CARNE DE PUERCO A LA NARANJA)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot, add pork cubes and saute over medium-high heat until cubes start to brown, about 10 minutes. The cubes may give off a lot of water; if so, continue cooking and stirring until water evaporates. Add caramel coloring and continue cooking and stirring until pieces are a rich brown. Do not let caramel coloring burn.
• Add all the remaining ingredients except the flour and orange juice paste. Stir to mix well. Then add flour paste and mix well so there are no lumps in the sauce. Lower heat to barely simmering, cover pan and leave to cook 1 hour or longer, until pork cubes are tender and sauce is thick and unctuous.
• Serve immediately, removing bay leaves, cinnamon stick and fresh thyme sprig. Garnish with thin slices of unpeeled orange or orange wedges, and serve with rice and beans, and West Indian vegetables, such as yams, yautia and malanga.

BRAISED PORK SHOULDER ROAST WITH SWEET 'N SAVORY STUFFING

Steps:

• Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large Ziploc bag and put in the meat. Let it marinate in the refrigerator several hours or overnight, turning it occasionally. Remove from fridge and bring to room temperature before proceeding.
• Remove meat from the marinade and pat it dry with paper towels. Reserve the marinade.
• For the glaze, combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to simmering. Cover and reduce heat to low and cook until apples are very soft, about 15 minutes. Strain, reserving liquid.
• Pulse apple mixture in food processor until thick but blended. Set aside.
• For the stuffing:.
• Pound the garlic to a puree with some salt and pepper. Combine the remaining stuffing ingredients, except the fruit puree, until the mixture is the consistency of a paste.
• If the meat does not have a deep enough pocket for the stuffing, cut so that there is a thick top flap (that will be covering stuffing when tied). Smear the herb paste on the inner surface of the meat, leaving a ½ inch border. Then layer the fruit paste on top of the herb paste. Tie up the meat to enclose the stuffing.
• Rub the meat with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
• Place the meat in a large roasting pan and sear it in a pre-heated 425' oven for 30 minutes or until the surface is golden brown.
• Remove the meat to a Dutch oven just large enough to contain it.
• Strain the marinade into the roasting pan and heat, stirring to deglaze the pan juices. While deglazing, heat up beef stock to a boil.
• Pour the heated marinade over the meat and add enough boiling stock to come one-half or two-thirds the way up the side of the meat. Cover the pot and place it in a 325' oven for about 1 ½ hours, basting the meat occasionally. During the last ½ hour, remove the lid, brush on ½ of the glaze and increase the temperature to 375'.
• Transfer meat to a warmed platter and tent with foil to rest for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid from the pot into a small saucepan and simmer, until the sauce is reduced.
• Remove strings from the meat, slice it or cut it into wedges and serve with the sauce. Excellent served with mashed potatoes.