Chef Johns Paper Pork Shoulder Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S GARLIC-STUDDED ROAST PORK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Cut about 6 holes per side into pork roast with a sharp knife and insert garlic clove halves into the holes. Rub roast with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season all sides of roast with kosher salt and a generous amount of black pepper, Italian seasoning, rosemary, and cayenne pepper. Place into a roasting pan.
• Roast in the preheated oven for 3 hours. Turn off the oven with roast inside and leave it to rest for 1 hour. Refrigerate meat overnight.
• Cut cold pork into 1/2-inch-thick slices. If any garlic appears on the cut surface of the meat, pick it out so it doesn't burn. Season slices with salt.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat and sear pork slices in the hot oil until browned and crusty, about 10 minutes per side.
• Toss lettuce with tomatoes in a bowl and drizzle with red wine vinegar; toss again to coat.
• Heat beans in a saucepan over low heat. Layer about 1/3 cup white beans into a large, shallow soup plate; top beans with a slice of pork shoulder and about 1/4 cup lettuce mixture.

CIDER-BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Generously salt all sides of the pork shoulder chunks. Heat oil in a heavy pot over high heat. Brown pork shoulder pieces until surface is seared and crusty, about 3 or 4 minutes per side. Transfer browned pork to a plate. Add onions to oil and reduce heat to medium and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook and stir about 2 minutes. Add torn sage leaves; cook until onions soften and begin to brown, stirring frequently. Pour cider into pot; stir to deglaze bottom. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir in cider vinegar. Reduce heat to low.
• Transfer pork shoulder pieces to cider mixture. Cover; simmer gently on low 1 hour. Remove lid and turn pieces over. Cover; simmer on low until meat is fork tender, 1 to 2 more hours. Transfer pork to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
• Raise heat to high and bring sauce to a simmer. Whisk in creme fraiche. Simmer until liquid is reduced by half and is slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in a pinch of cayenne. Transfer pork back to pot; reduce heat to low. Baste pork with sauce while it heats through and becomes perfectly tender, and the sauce is as thick as you want it, about 15 more minutes.

CHEF JOHN'S PUMPKIN-BRAISED PORK

Steps:

• Cut pork into large chunks. Place in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, cayenne, thyme, fennel seeds, rosemary, and shallots. Mix thoroughly and cover pork with parchment paper. Refrigerate to let flavors develop, 8 hours to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Add flour to pork and mix to coat. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook pork in 2 batches until browned, about 3 minutes per side.
• Insert the tip of a knife at a 45-degree angle into the top half of the pumpkin. Slowly cut all the way around to remove the 'lid'. Scrape seeds and fibers off the bottom of the lid and inside of the pumpkin using a large spoon or ice cream scoop.
• Line the bottom of a baking pan with parchment paper and place pumpkin on top. Stuff the pumpkin with the browned pork; pour in cider. Cover with the top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pork is very tender, about 4 hours. Pour in a little more cider after a few hours in the oven, since a lot of it evaporates. Remove from the oven and let rest; brush pumpkin with some of the rendered fat from the bottom of the pan.
• Scoop pork onto serving plates and cut out pieces of pumpkin to serve alongside. Combine remaining rendered fat with cooking liquid from inside the pumpkin. Let sauce rest for a few minutes so you can skim off most of the fat. Spoon sauce over the pork.

CHEF JOHN'S PORK AL LATTE

Steps:

• Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into a skillet, place over medium heat, and cook bacon, stirring often, until crisp and bacon fat has rendered into the skillet, about 5 minutes.
• Season pork cubes generously with salt and black pepper. Remove bacon from pan and set aside, reserving fat in pan. Turn heat to medium-high and brown pork pieces in bacon drippings until well browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer meat to a bowl, leaving pan drippings in skillet.
• Turn heat to medium and stir in chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Cook and stir onion until translucent and slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir garlic into onion and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Pour chicken broth and creme fraiche into onion mixture; whisk until smooth. Scrape up and dissolve any browned bits of food on the bottom of the skillet. Bring mixture to a simmer.
• Return bacon to sauce and stir in 2 tablespoons chopped sage. Place pork pieces into simmering sauce along with any accumulated juices from the meat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until meat is almost tender, about 1 hour.
• Raise heat to medium and cook uncovered until pan sauce reduces and thickens and meat is very tender, about 20 more minutes. Stir red pepper flakes into sauce; adjust seasonings to taste.
• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat; drop whole sage leaves into the hot oil and cook, lightly tossing leaves in the oil, until crisp, 10 to 15 seconds. Drain sage leaves on paper towels and crumble over pork.

CHEF JOHN'S BREAKFAST SAUSAGE PATTIES

Steps:

• Place pork, fennel seeds, orange zest, salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg into a bowl and stir very lightly with a fork to combine. Do not overmix. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Check seasonings before using: Shape about 2 teaspoons sausage into a small patty and fry until brown in a skillet over medium heat. Let cool 1 to 2 minutes and taste for seasoning.
• Cover a cutting board with plastic wrap. Divide sausage into 6 equal pieces, roll into a balls, and wrap each ball with plastic wrap. Press flat into patties and discard plastic.
• Place a heavy skillet, such as a cast iron skillet, over medium-high heat. Cook patties in hot skillet until meat is no longer pink in the center and the sausage is browned, about 3 minutes per side. Serve immediately.

CHEF JOHN'S PULLED PORK BBQ

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 210 degrees F (100 degrees C).
• Sprinkle dry rub generously on all sides of pork roast and place meat into a heavy pan or Dutch oven.
• Pour 1/4 teaspoon of liquid smoke flavoring into each of two 6-ounce ramekins; fill ramekins with 1/2 cup water each. Place ramekins into the Dutch oven on either side of the roast. Place lid onto Dutch oven.
• Roast pork in the preheated oven until very tender, 12 hours. Remove roast from Dutch oven, place onto a work surface (such as a cutting board), and separate the meat from the bone using your fingers. Discard any large pieces of fat.
• Roughly chop pork with a large knife or cleaver; drizzle with 3/4 cup barbeque sauce. Season with salt and black pepper.
• Spread about 1 tablespoon barbeque sauce onto each bun and pile pork on buns to serve.