Coffee Braised Pork Shoulder With Chiles And Sweet Potato Food

BRAISED PORK ROAST WITH SWEET POTATOES

Steps:

• Place the pork roast in a cast-iron or enamel casserole with a lid. Add the water, soy sauce, Tabasco, vinegar, honey and cumin. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to very low and boil gently, covered, for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, peel the yams and cut into 1 1/2-inch slices. Peel the onions and cut each into 4 to 6 pieces, depending on size. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• After the pork has cooked for 1 hour, add the yams, onions and garlic. Bring back to the boil and continue boiling, covered, on top of the stove for about 15 minutes. Uncover and place the casserole in the center of the oven. Cook for 45 minutes, turning the meat in the juices every 15 minutes. At the end of the cooking period, the juices should be dark and concentrated, the meat tender when pierced with a fork and the vegetables very soft.
• Serve directly from the casserole, cutting the meat at the table.

COFFEE-BRAISED PORK SHOULDER WITH CHILES AND SWEET POTATO

Steps:

• Place the dried chiles in a large bowl, then pour over enough boiling water to cover them. Cover the bowl and let the chiles steep for about 1 hour, or until completely soft, turning halfway through to make sure they are completely submerged. Once the chiles are rehydrated, drain, reserving the water, and scrape the seeds and veins from the chiles using the back of a spoon or a paring knife.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Liberally season the pork with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof Dutch oven or deep cast-iron pan over medium heat. Working in batches, lightly brown the pork shoulder, then remove from the pan and set aside.
• Add the onion, carrots, sweet potatoes, garlic, cumin, and paprika to the Dutch oven and stir to scrape the bottom of the pan while the vegetables begin to brown. Once they've softened and are lightly brown, deglaze the pan with the coffee and vinegar.
• Add the pork back to the pot, along with the herbs, soaked chiles, the soaking water from the chiles, and enough additional water to just cover the pork. Cut a piece of parchment paper to the shape of the pot and place it directly on top of the pork. Transfer to the oven and cook for 2 hours, until the meat falls apart easily when pierced with a fork. Remove the meat with tongs and serve.

SMOKY PORK SHOULDER WITH CHILE PASTE

Steps:

• Set pork shoulder in a deep roasting pan just large enough to accommodate it. With a sharp knife or straight edge razor blade, cut a deep 3/4-inch diamond pattern into the thick fat cap.
• Sprinkle 2 tablespoons kosher salt over the diamond cuts, then all the pepper. Rub the salt and pepper into the cuts and all over the top and sides of the pork shoulder.
• Turn the shoulder fat-side down, and sprinkle the remaining salt over the meat. Rub the salt and any pepper that has scattered in the pan into and all over the meat to have a wholly seasoned piece of meat - especially on the top, in the diamond-cut fat area. Let the seasoned roast rest on the counter at room temperature for 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, make the chile paste. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Off heat, add the pasillas, guajillos and árbols, and let them soak for 30 minutes while you gather and prepare the other ingredients. When the chiles are softened, transfer them and 1/2 cup of their soaking water into a high-powered blender. Add the garlic, scallions, cilantro, vinegar and kosher salt, and blend into a smooth, dark red-brown paste. (The consistency should remind you of jarred applesauce.)
• Pour this chile paste over the pork shoulder and massage it all over the roast, leaving a nice extra schmear on the top of the roast and, again, seasoning the diamond-cut fat cap a little more generously than the bottom. (The fat on the top is going to render slowly all through the cooking and melt down into the meat, in a self-basting way, which is why the most seasoning is at the top.) Don't worry about the excess paste; it will remain in the roasting pan to enhance the juices later.
• Build a fire in your grill, then push the hot coals to one side in a mounded crescent shape, leaving space for the roasting/drip pan that now holds the marinade-slathered meat. If using an oven, heat it to 325.
• Remove the meat from the pan, and set it to the side (I use a sheet of parchment for easy cleanup) while you prepare the grill or oven.
• To prepare the grill or the oven, add a full inch of water to the roasting pan, stirring briefly to combine it with the excess chile paste, and nestle the roasting pan into the bottom of the grill in the empty space next to the crescent of coals, or on the bottom rack of the oven.
• Place the grill rack in position over the coals. Set the meat directly onto the rack above the water-filled roasting pan so that the juices will drip into it while cooking. If using a conventional oven, place the roast, fat side up, on the rack directly above the roasting pan.
• Place the cover on the grill, open the vents all the way and let the roast cook for 3 to 4 hours maintaining a gentle 300 degrees, adding coals when needed. If the temperature spikes to 325 or drops to 275 along the way, it doesn't matter at all - open and close the lid as needed to get back on track. The goal is to slowly, gently cook the meat, giving all that fat time to melt, the skin time to crisp and the tough cut of meat (muscly shoulder) time to become tender.
• Add water to the drip pan if you see it evaporating, though I did not need to add liquid any time I tested this. The natural fats and juices drip down into the pan, commingling with the chile-paste-spiked water to create a smoky, spicy, delicious cache of pan juices for later spooning over the roast while it rests. Loosely cover the meat with foil if it starts looking too dark too soon.
• Cook until the internal temperature reaches about 165 degrees, up to 4 hours. Remove from the grill (or the oven). Remove the roasting/drip pan. Let the meat rest for 30 minutes. Spoon the drippings over the roast until glossy and moist. Slice thin.

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.