Meal Prep Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder Food

SLOW-ROASTED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• In a food processor, combine the peppercorns, garlic, and cloves and puree. While the motor is running, drizzle in the oil until a paste is formed. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the garlic paste into a small bowl.
• Place the pork butt on a work surface and season all over generously with salt. Rub all over with the garlic paste. Place in an oven-safe roasting bag and close with a twist tie. Place in a large roasting pan, and cook until tender, about 5 hours.
• Remove roast from the oven. Slip the oven-roasting bag off the meat and discard. Transfer the cooking liquid to a medium saucepan. Skim the fat from the cooking liquid with a ladle or de-greaser. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer to thicken the juices slightly.
• Raise the oven to 400 degrees F. Return the pork, in the roasting pan, to the oven. Continue roasting, basting frequently with the simmering cooking liquid, until well-browned, about 30 minutes. If there is any cooking liquid left, pour it over the pork.
• Remove pork from the oven and let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. With the pork drippings you may make a vinegar sauce using this formula: for every 1/2 cup of drippings, whisk with 3 tablespoons vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Either carve the pork into thin slices, or, using 2 forks, pull into small pieces. Serve with the vinegar sauce on the side.

SLOW ROASTED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Season the pork shoulder with salt and pepper.
• In a Dutch oven or casserole set over moderately high heat, heat the oil until hot. Add the pork and brown on all sides. Transfer pork to a platter and discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from pan. Add leek, carrots and celery stalks to pan and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add garlic cloves, shallots, thyme, parsley and salt and pepper and cook the vegetables until golden. Transfer vegetables to platter. Deglaze pan with balsamic vinegar and reduce by 2/3. Add port and cabernet and reduce by half. Return pork and vegetables to pan, add stock and tomato paste and bring to a boil on top of the stove. Cover pan with foil and lid and transfer pan to a preheated 350 degree oven. Cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until very tender. Remove pork from oven, remove lid and loosen foil. Let cool for 1 hour in cooking liquid at room temperature or in refrigerator overnight.
• Discard all fat from surface and transfer pork to another pan. Strain cooking liquid and add enough to just cover pork. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until heated through.
• Meanwhile, reduce remaining cooking liquid over high heat until liquid is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with salt and pepper. Cut pork into 1 1/2-inch thick slices. Swirl butter into sauce.

SLOW ROAST SHOULDER OF PORK

Steps:

• The day before, use a very sharp knife to score the skin of the pork in a criss-cross fashion at 1cm intervals. (Ask your butcher to do this if you prefer.) Combine the garlic, paprika, oil, lemon juice and 1 tsp salt in a mixing bowl. Rub this marinade all over the pork, cover and leave in the fridge for 12-24 hrs.
• The next day, heat oven to 220C/ 200C fan/gas 7. Put the potatoes in a roasting tin to make a trivet for the meat, trimming them flat if you need to. Sit the pork on top, then pour any marinade plus ½ a cup of water over the pork. Cook for 30 mins to start the crackling crisping up. Now turn down the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2, cover the tin with foil and cook for 3½ hrs. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 30 mins. Serve with apple sauce, see below.

SLOW-ROAST SHOULDER OF PORK

Steps:

• The day before, pat dry the pork with kitchen paper. In a food processor, whizz together the garlic, paprika, oil and lemon juice with 1 tbsp salt. Rub pork with the marinade and refrigerate for 12-24 hrs.
• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Place potatoes in a large roasting tin and sit the pork on top (the potatoes act as a trivet). Pour over any marinade with 300ml water, cover with foil and cook for 5 hrs.
• Remove the foil and increase oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cook for a further hr.
• Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 20-30 mins. To serve, lift off pieces of the crisp skin, then take 2 forks and slowly pull the meat apart. You can cut the pork into hunks if you want but I like it all in stringy bits, ready to go with whatever accompaniments you choose.

SLOW-ROAST PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix the treacle, cider vinegar, paprika, cumin, mustard powder and chilli powder until smooth. Using a sharp knife, make deep slashes in the skin of the pork shoulder to cut through the skin and fat layer, but not the meat. Place the joint, skin-side down, in a large dish and rub the spice paste into the meat (not the fat). Turn skin-side, cover tightly with cling film and put in the fridge overnight, or for 24 hrs to give the pork maximum flavour.
• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Transfer the pork, skin-side up, to a deep roasting tin, rub 1 tbsp sea salt onto the skin and pour 500ml water into the bottom of the roasting tin. Cover tightly with foil and roast in the oven for 5 hrs.
• Remove the foil, turn up the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and cook for a further 1 hr 30 mins or until the pork is very tender and the skin has turned to crispy crackling.
• Once the pork is ready, take it out of the roasting tin, cover with foil and leave to rest. Pour the juices from the roasting tin into a jug and leave to separate. Pour off the fat layer and transfer the remaining juices to a large sauté pan. Simmer over a high heat, stirring, until reduced to a rich gravy.
• Once rested, cut the pork into pieces - it should pull apart with very little effort - and break the crackling into shards. Serve the pork and crackling with the gravy poured over and mustard mash, honey-roasted carrots and quick pickled red cabbage on the side (see goes well with below).