| ESTIMATED CALORIC INFO | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | 3-4 slices |
| Calories from Protein | 40% |
| Calories from Fat | 60% |
| Calories from Carbs | 0% |
| Total Calories | 380 |
Today we’re gonna talk about braising.
Braising is a cooking technique that uses two different kinds of heat – moist heat and dry heat.
Braising is typically a pretty long process and is often used for what are generally considered the ‘lesser’ cuts of meat (on account of higher collagen and connective tissue which is very tough if not thoroughly cooked) – such as shoulder or top blade, brisket, shanks, ribs, etc.
Braising meats with high collagen is a wonderful solution to what are sometimes otherwise considered ‘junk’ meats, because the long extended heat of a braise breaks the collagen down into gelatin, which then mixes with the liquids that you’re braising your meat in and gives it a nice body so you can use it to create the perfect sauce for your meal.
Pressure cooking and slow cooking are also forms of braising, but for this particular dish we’re going to use a 13×9 oven-proof pan.
This recipe is from Alice Water’s 2007 cookbook – The Art of Simple Food. It’s a great book and I use it for all kinds of things – I highly recommend checking it out.
The recipe as written calls for dried ancho and chipotle chiles. Since I didn’t have any on hand, I substituted fresh jalapeños and some hot black peppers from my garden and it still turned out great. If I had used the ancho and chipotle it probably would have given the shoulder a more smoky flavor overall – an ancho chile is nothing more than a dried and smoked poblano, and a chipotle a dried and smoked jalapeño. To get them a little closer to the appropriate flavor, I roasted my peppers for a little while first.
| ESTIMATED FOOD MILES | |
|---|---|
| Pork Shoulder | 45 miles |
| Oregano | 0 miles |
| Black Peppers | 0 miles |
| Onions | 125 miles |
| Carrots | 125 miles |
| Jalapeños | 75 miles |
| Garlic | 125 miles |
| Chicken Stock | 0 miles |
| Total | 395 miles |
Prep time: at least 1 hour, plus time for the meat to temper
Cook time: 2 hours 15 minutes
(This is not your 30 minute week night meal).
Ingredients…
- one ~4 pound pork shoulder
Dry rub:
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano or marjoram
- 1 tsp ground ancho chile (or 1 minced roasted black hot pepper)
- salt, pepper
Braise:
- 2 onions
- 1 carrot
- 3 dried ancho chiles (or 3 roasted jalapeños)
- 1 dried chipotle chile (or 2 roasted black hot peppers)
- 1 head of garlic
- a few black peppercorns
- a few fresh marjoram or oregano sprigs
- 2 cups chicken stock or water
I don’t suspect that many people will have the exact same black hot peppers as I do – you can really sub in any kind of pepper you want, just bear in mind how much desired heat vs. desired sweetness you want in the final product.
First step is to let your meat temper – tempering meat is such a crucial step in cooking and yet it tends to be one of the most overlooked steps. Tempering just means letting your meat get to room temperature before cooking, so that it will all cook evenly once you put it to heat. Tempering and resting are probably the two most easily fixed common mistakes when it comes to any kind of home cooking.
If your pork shoulder is frozen, you can temper it the day before and add the dry rub then, and then refrigerate overnight. This was my process. It’s also great if you can add the dry rub the day before. But, if you’re pressed for time, you can add the dry rub the day of and leave it on the counter for a few hours. Then again, if you’re pressed for time, this is maybe not the best recipe for you.
Once tempered and rubbed, go ahead and nest it in your pan surrounded by the aromats. You should peel and chop all your vegetables, but you don’t need to do much more than a coarse chop for anything – including the garlic – because you will be sending it through a food processor after the braising.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and pour the chicken stock into the pan. Do your best to use homemade stock any time you can, but if you have to get the store bought stuff then make sure it’s low sodium so you can control the salting yourself.
The liquid should come about 1/4 of the way up the meat – add more if needed.
Cook in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, then turn the roast over and cook for another 30 minutes. Finally, turn one last time and cook for another 30 minutes.
Check the liquid throughout the process, if it gets too low you can always add more stock.
Remove the pan from the oven.
Remove the meat from the pan and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Don’t worry about your meat getting cold, as it will continue cooking for some time after being removed from heat thanks to carryover cooking.
Skim the fat off the liquid in the pan, and then take everything from the pan – garlic, onions, carrot, sauce, everything – and pass it through a food processor. Careful with the warm liquid in the processor. Strain thoroughly – I recommend straining at least 2 or 3 times for the best texture. You can check consistency by dipping a spoon and watching the liquid roll off the back of it – it should be a little slow to do so. If you want to thicken it up a bit more than it is, you can add a roux, or perhaps just some heavy cream. If you want to thin it out, just add water or more chicken stock.
Carve the pork shoulder and arrange on a warm platter or dinner plate, with sauce served over top or in a separate sauceboat.
If you can get some nice local pork shoulder to make this dish with, the end result will be absolutely heavenly.
