Pork Shoulder Aldiavolo Recipe Epicuriouscom

PORK SHOULDER AL'DIAVOLO

Steps:

• Using the tip of a knife, lightly score fatty side of pork; season all over with salt.
• Coarsely grind peppercorns, coriander, red pepper flakes, oregano, and mustard seeds in spice mill or with mortar and pestle; set spice mixture aside.
• Heat oil in a small saucepan over low heat; add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant and barely golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon zest, paprika, and reserved spice mixture. Let marinade cool.
• Rub marinade all over pork, working some marinade into interior of roast. Tie pork at 1" intervals with kitchen twine. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill at least 8 hours.
• Let pork sit at room temperature 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Unwrap pork, place on a rack set inside a roasting pan, and roast until golden brown and fat has just started to render, 40-50 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F and continue to roast until meat is very tender, 1 1/2-2 hours longer.
• Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest 30 minutes before slicing.
• DO AHEAD: Marinade can be made 1 week ahead; cover and chill. Pork can be seasoned 3 days ahead; keep chilled.

SLOW COOKER PORK SHOULDER WITH ZESTY BASIL SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook the pork: Mix garlic, oil, mustard, brown sugar, salt, pepper, oregano, and paprika in a small bowl to form a paste. Rub all over pork, then transfer to a resealable plastic bag or slow cooker insert and chill overnight.
• Place pork in slow cooker, cover, and cook on low until meat is fork-tender but not yet completely falling apart, 7 1/2-8 hours.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce: Mix shallot, basil, oil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt in an airtight container. Cover and let rest up to 3 hours at temperature or up to 2 days in refrigerator. Stir in lemon juice just before using.
• Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Slice and transfer to a platter. Drizzle with sauce and serve with additional sauce alongside.
• Do Ahead
• Pork can be rubbed 2 days ahead; chill in an airtight container. Sauce, without lemon juice, can be made 2 days ahead; chill in an airtight container.

SLOW-COOKED PORK SHOULDER WITH BRAISED WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Pork:
• Sprinkle pork all over with 3 Tbsp. or 5 tsp. salt. Tear 4 bay leaves and 1/4 cup sage leaves into small pieces and scatter over pork. Place pork on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap; chill 12 hours.
• Let pork sit at room temperature 1 hour. This will help it cook evenly.
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high. Cook pork, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 15-20 minutes. Transfer pork to a large plate.
• Remove pot from heat and pour off any fat. Discard fat and any leaves in pot; wipe out pot. Add remaining 2 Tbsp. oil to pot along with garlic, juniper berries, peppercorns, sage sprigs, and remaining 4 bay leaves. Cook over low heat until garlic just starts to brown around the edges, about 1 minute. Pour in wine and vinegar. Return pork to pot, placing fat side up, and cover with parchment paper, tucking edges down around sides of pork (this prevents it from drying out). Cover pot with a lid, transfer to oven, and cook pork 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300° and cook, turning pork every 30 minutes or so and adding a splash of water if braising liquid is reducing too quickly, until meat is very tender and pulling away from the bone, 2 1/2-3 hours.
• Let pork sit until cool enough to handle. Remove bones; discard. Shred meat into 2"-3" pieces, removing any excess fat (it should pull apart very easily but still hold together in pieces). Transfer meat to a large saucepan and strain braising liquid over; discard solids. Cover and keep warm over lowest heat until ready to serve.
• Beans:
• Combine tomato, garlic, sage, beans, and 2 Tbsp. oil in a large pot. Pour in cold water to cover by 1 1/2" and bring to a simmer over medium heat, skimming foam from surface as needed. Reduce heat so that liquid is at a very gentle simmer; cook until beans are almost tender but still slightly starchy in the centers (you want them to be about 75 percent cooked), 35-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 300°F while the beans are still cooking.
• Remove beans from heat; season with several generous pinches of salt and add remaining 1/4 cup oil. Transfer to oven and bake without disturbing beans (you want a film to form on the surface) until tender, 15-25 minutes. Finishing the beans in the oven ensures that they are evenly cooked and creamy. Turn off oven and leave beans inside to keep warm until ready to serve.
• Greens and assembly:
• Working in 2 batches, cook spinach in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender and no bite remains, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and let cool slightly, then squeeze out excess water.
• Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a medium skillet over medium and cook garlic, stirring, until softened and barely golden, about 1 minute. Add spinach and stir just to coat leaves in oil and warm through.
• To serve, spoon beans plus a bit of their cooking liquid onto plates. Arrange several pieces of pork and spinach over beans. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
• Do Ahead
• Beans can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool in liquid; cover and chill. Reheat gently before serving.

PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Trim away any bone slivers from the exposed meat. Remove any visible excess fat. Square up the long sides of the shoulder to make it neat and uniform.
• Place the pork shoulder in a large aluminum pan. (There's no skin to hold the liquid in, as there is on a whole hog, so the pan is necessary to catch the excess liquid.) Inject the shoulder with 2 to 3 quarts of the hog injection, all over the shoulder in about 1-inch squares. Let the injected shoulder sit, loosely covered, in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
• Turn the shoulder upside-down in the pan, so that any excess injection that might remain infuses the meat. Let it sit upside-down for 15 to 20 minutes.
• In the meantime, heat a smoker to 250˚F.
• Take the shoulder out of the pan and sprinkle the rub all over it, making sure to get the area by the shank. Place the shoulder, in its aluminum pan, in the smoker and cook for 3 hours.
• Remove the shoulder from the smoker. Pour the apple juice into a clean aluminum pan, and transfer the shoulder to the pan. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in the smoker. Cook for 6 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 205˚F.
• Remove the pan from the smoker. Discard the foil. Brush the hog glaze all over both sides of the shoulder. Return the shoulder to the pan, put the pan back in the smoker, and cook for 1 more hour while adding no more heat to the smoker and allowing the internal temperature of the smoker to drop. The shoulder will effectively rest in the smoker this way.
• Remove the pan from the smoker, and serve. Where I'm from, a pork shoulder is not sliced-it's pulled apart in chunks. There are a couple of different ways to do it, with knives and tongs and such, but the very best-and easiest-is with your hands. Wearing heavy-duty gloves, simply pull the meat apart gently and let your guests have at it. You can put it in a sandwich just like this, or you can chop it up after you've pulled it, if you like.
• I used to wonder why this part of the shoulder was called "Boston" anything, since it's so associated with Southern barbecue. The folks from the National Pork Board say it plain: "In prerevolutionary New England and into the Revolutionary War, some pork cuts (not those highly valued, or 'high on the hog,' like loin and ham) were packed into casks or barrels (also known as 'butts') for storage and shipment." So, the way the hog shoulder was cut in the Boston area became known in other regions as "Boston butt."
• Here's a tip from my competitive barbecue cooking that you can use in your backyard. I make a little solution I call "half and half." It's equal parts vinegar sauce and water, and I heat it up until it's hot but not boiling. Then I dip pieces of shoulder in it before I put them in the judging box. Why do I do this? Because it keeps the meat from drying out and getting cold. You always want your meat to stay moist and warm. You can do this at home, too. Before you serve any meat like brisket or pork shoulder, toss it with a little half and half and then put it on a platter. Better yet, apply the solution to the back side of slices of brisket and pork before you place them on a platter. This technique will keep your meat from drying out.

PULLED PORK

Steps:

• In a 5-to 6-quart slow cooker, combine onion, oregano, bay leaves, chipotle, adobo sauce, tomatoes (and puree), salt, and pepper. Add pork and turn to coat completely.
• Cover and cook on high until meat is pull-apart tender, about 6 hours. Transfer pork to a bowl; shred with two forks. Return pork to pot, and toss with sauce. Discard bay leaves.
• Serve pulled pork with rolls, coleslaw, and pickles.