Rendezvous Pork Shoulder Food

SIMPLE ROASTED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Using a pastry brush, spread the mixture all over the pork shoulder.
• Set the meat on a rack set into a roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 325 degrees F. Continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the shoulder reads 185 degrees F, about 4 hours. Remove the pork from the oven and let stand until cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes.

PINEAPPLE PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the pork shoulder generously with salt and pepper. Sear in the hot oil until well browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove to a large plate. Add the onions, peppers, chiles and garlic to the pot and stir to combine. Let cook for a few minutes to soften. Add the pineapple chunks and juice from the cans and deglaze, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the chicken stock and honey. Bring to a simmer, then return the pork to the pot, turning it a couple of times to ensure it is covered in the sauce.
• Transfer to the oven and cook, uncovered, until fall-apart tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Remove the pot from the oven. Remove the pork to a large sheet pan. Shred the meat and set aside.
• Skim any unwanted fat off the top of the braising liquid. Return the pork to the pot and stir to coat well and combine, to serve as desired. It works well over nachos, as a pizza topping or in lettuce cups.
• Alternatively, you can allow the meat and braising liquid to cool separately. Portion the pork in desired amounts into resealable plastic bags. Divide the braising liquid and drained pineapple among the bags. Seal and freeze. Thaw and reheat the desired amount when ready.

ALL-PURPOSE PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Rinse the pork, place on a cutting board, pat dry with paper towels and rub in the salt and pepper. Set the pork in the bowl of a slow cooker, scatter the onion over the pork, sprinkle in the garlic and add the wine. Cook until the meat easily pulls apart with a fork, about 5 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
• Turn off the slow cooker and transfer the pork to a platter. Use two forks to shred the meat.
• If you don't have a slow cooker, you can braise the pork shoulder in a 325 degrees F oven for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours.

ROAST PORK SHOULDER WITH ROAST VEGETABLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 400°.
• Rinse and dry the roast; leave the entire layer of fat on the top. Place it in the roasting pan, and sprinkle salt on all sides, patting the crystals so they stick to the meat and are evenly distributed. Pour on the olive oil, and rub it all over the roast. Set the roast, fat side up, in the center of the pan.
• Scatter all the chopped vegetables and seasonings-except the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt-around, and toss everything together with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. If you are using water as cooking liquid, toss the 1 teaspoon salt with the vegetables; if using broth, less or no salt is needed, depending on the saltiness of the broth (taste to determine). Pour the white wine and 2 cups or more broth (or water) into the side of the pan so the cooking liquid is 1 inch deep, coming well up around all the vegetables.
• Set the pan in the oven and roast for an hour, then open the oven and bring the roasting pan up front, turn the vegetables over, and rotate the pan back to front, for even cooking.
• Roast for another hour or hour and a quarter (depending on the size of the roast); the internal temperature should be 170 degrees or a little higher. The meat should be browned all over with dark edges; the top (especially the fat) should be crisp and caramelized. There will still be a considerable amount of juices in the pan, and the vegetables should be cooked through and lightly browned. The dish is ready to serve now, unless you want to glaze the roast or get it darker and more crisp, in which case raise the oven temperature to 425° and proceed as directed later.
• Lift the pork out of the roasting pan with a large spatula, or by holding it with towels, and rest it on a platter while you start the sauce. If it's not going back in the oven, set the roast on a warm corner of the stove, covered loosely with foil.
• With a potato masher, crush the cooked vegetables in the juices, breaking them up into little bits. Set the sieve in the saucepan, and pour everything from the pan into the sieve, including any flavorful caramelized bits that can be scraped up. Press the vegetables and other solids against the sieve with a big spoon to release their liquid, then discard them. Let the liquid settle, and when the fat rises, skim it off. Set the saucepan over high heat, bring the juices (you should have 3 to 4 cups) to a boil, and let them reduce, uncovered.
• For further browning, return the roast to the roasting pan, including its juices. When the oven is at 425°, set the pan on a higher rack and roast until browned and crusty. This could take just a few minutes or 15 or more; check the meat frequently, and turn pan if browning unevenly.
• When the roast is out of the oven, let it sit for 10 minutes or so before serving. I like to remove the blade bone, which is visible on the side of the roast. Insert a long knife blade into the meat so it rests on the flat bone; draw the blade along the bone, following its contours, and the meat will lift off. Arrange the boneless pork on a warm serving platter.
• To finish the sauce, cook until the strained roasting juices have reduced by half, or to a consistency you like. Thicken it, if you wish, with bread crumbs (see box, page 335). Moisten the roast with some of the sauce and pass the rest.
• This pork roast is delicious with the usual mashed potatoes, but it is equally good with the Potato, Parsnip, and Scallion Mash (page 361), as well as with any of the skillet vegetables beginning on page 266.
• Or, as I like it, serve simply with its own roasted vegetables.
• When I was testing this roast pork recipe at the Vermont home of my editor, Judith Jones, her cousin dropped by with jugs of the maple syrup he produces on his nearby farm. With the pan sauce on the stove and the pork ready for its last blast of heat, a taste of the syrup inspired this glaze. Though the roast will be wonderful without it, a coating of maple syrup (mixed with mustard to balance the sweetness) gives it a dark-golden veneer and a tantalizing layer of flavor too. (Crusty pieces will be in high demand when people taste the meat.)
• For a regular-size roast, whisk together 2 tablespoons maple syrup-preferably the strong, dark cooking grade of syrup-with 2 tablespoons Dijon or other sharp mustard. After you've started the sauce and the pork is back in the empty roasting pan, brush it all over with the glaze-a thin coat is fine. (If you have a big roast and run out of glaze, just mix up more.) Roast, as instructed, for 5 to 10 minutes more, or until the roast is dark and caramelized.