Its C-O-L-D outside! Well, actually its pretty nice today. But the wind is blowing, and the leaves are all nearly gone from my trees! This distresses me. Comfort food to the rescue!!
I discovered a recipe similar to this a few years ago in the Martha Stewart Living Magazine, I have made some changes over the years, making it my own, and its become one of our favorite fall time meals.
Here's what you will need:
1 & 1/2-3 lb pork shoulder or 'butt'
3 slices of bacon
1/2 of a medium onion, diced
1/2 medium/large apple (any kind works)
1 & 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp fennel seed
2 tsp coriander seed
salt & pepper
1 & 1/2 cups wheat beer
[Here I used a seasonal beer. If you are uncomfortable using alcohol for cooking, you can use a non-alcoholic apple beer. It is VERY delicious! A ginger ale would also work.]
First things first! Chop up the bacon strips into little pieces and give the pork shoulder a generous rub down of salt and pepper.
[For the next step, I highly recommend you break out a cast iron skillet. Other kinds of pans loose their heat much quicker and therefore are not as good for giving large hunks of meat the good quick sear we are looking for when we braise. If you dont have one, buy one soon! Put it on your Christmas list or something!! They are a little pricey, mine was 20$(so not that much really), but its worth it because they last your whole life if you take care of them.]
Get your skillet nice and hot and throw in those bacon bits!
This is about the time when all the boys come to investigate.
While you are busy trying to fend off the hordes of bacon-hungry men with your spatula, try to focus! Put the coriander and fennel seeds into a pan on medium heat and get them a toastin'. It should only take about 5 minutes, but when you can smell the sweet and licorice aromas take them off the heat and let them cool.
As soon as the bacon is crispy, use a slotted spoon to scoop the bits out of the frying pan and into the... crock-pot. Drain out the majority of the bacon grease into a clean can or cup. Leave about a tbsp (just eyeball it!) in the pan for the next step and throw in the onion.
The onions should act like little sponges, soaking up all the leftover bacon-y goodness.
......MEANWHILE.....
Your toasted spices should be cooled enough. You will need to grind them up somehow. I use this nifty little coffee grinder turned spice grinder. It works great!! (Thank you Grandma!) In the past I've used a blender or a Magic Bullet, those also work well.
Use 3/4 of the ground spices as a rub on the pork shoulder. Give it a good rub down, he deserves it.
Just as soon as those onions start to brown just a little, give them the same treatment as the bacon and throw them in the crock-pot. At this point you should add a little of that bacon grease back to the pan and turn the heat up. As soon as your pan is smoking-hot turn it back down just a little to medium-high.
Now you are ready to rock! Sear the pork shoulder fat-side-up for 2-3 minutes or until it reaches a dark brown, then flip it. Remember, we are trying to cook only the very outside layer of the meat to seal in the moisture for the rest of the cooking process. This will also give your pork an amazing flavor in addition to the buttery texture.
While that sears, prepare the crock pot by adding 1/4 of the apple-thinly sliced, the remaining (about 1 tsp) spice misture, 1/2 tsp of salt, and the brown sugar to the onion and bacon.
Once the pork shoulder has been braised on all sides, remove it from the frying pan and place it into the crock pot.
Now, turn down the heat, stand back, be brave, and pour the 1 & 1/3 cup beer (or other liquid) into the frying pan. Stir frequently while scraping the bottom of the pan. Allow that to simmer for 2 minutes and then pour the remaining liquid into the crock pot.
[This is a technique used by the pro's called deglazing. Usually used for making sauces, it is a process in which the liquid will dissolve and absorb the flavors and burnt bits of what was previously cooked in the pan. =YUM]
The larger your roast is, the longer this will take. Mine was 1.5 lbs and it took 3 hours. Worth it!
I served my braised pork shoulder over creamy parmesan polenta(recipe coming soon) and garnished it with slices from the remaining apple, sprinkled with salt and sautéed in the tiniest amount of butter for 3-4 minutes. And OF COURSE a salad too!
If polenta isn't your thing(you probably havent tried it), this would also go well with mashed potatoes, rice, or on a sandwich!
Thank you for reading! I hope you like it, please comment if you try it and let me know what you think!
No comments:
Post a Comment