Spanish Pork Braise Recipes

SPANISH ROASTED PORK (PERNIL)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Rub pork shoulder all over with lime.
• Mash garlic into paste in a mortar and pestle or pilon. Transfer to a bowl; mix in salt, 1 tablespoon oil, oregano, black pepper, adobo seasoning, and vinegar.
• Lift skin off the pork to 1-inch from the narrow part of the bone. Make 3/4-inch slits all over the pork with a sharp knife. Stuff seasoned garlic paste into the slits. Pull skin back over to cover the pork.
• Mix remaining 1/2 teaspoon oil and sazon seasoning together in a small bowl. Rub over the skin of the pork.
• Transfer pork to a large roasting pan. Pour in beer. Cover with aluminum foil, sealing well.
• Roast in the preheated oven until slightly pink in the center, about 3 hours.
• Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Uncover pork and continue roasting until skin is golden brown and crispy, about 2 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before carving.

SPANISH PORK WITH BEANS

Steps:

• Mix the crushed garlic, 1 tbsp of the oil and 1 tsp smoked paprika together in a shallow dish and turn the pork steaks over in the mix to coat them on both sides. Heat a large non-stick frying pan and fry the pork for about 4 mins on each side to part-cook and brown them, then remove them from the pan.
• Add the rest of the oil to the pan and fry the onions, carrots and sliced garlic, stirring frequently for 10 mins until the veg starts to caramelise a little. Pour in the sherry vinegar, allowing it to sizzle in the heat, then add the peppers, bouillon, rosemary, any juices left in the dish from the pork, the cherry tomatoes, tomato purée, remaining 3 tsp paprika and beans.
• Lay the pork steaks on top, then cover the pan and cook for 20 mins until the pork and vegetables are tender. The pork will be cooked and juicy, but not fall apart. Remove the pork from the pan, stir in the parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice, if using.
• If you're following our Healthy Diet Plan, eat two portions of the pork and beans now and chill the rest for another day. Will keep for up to two days. To serve the second night, just reheat in a pan.

PORK SHOULDER PERNIL SPANISH STYLE

Steps:

• 1. Place the 8 pounds pork shoulder into a roasting pan with the fatty side up. Puncture the surface of the meat with a fork. Rub the paste into the punctures of the meat.
• 2. Mix together in a small bowl, blend minced garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, adobo seasoning and olive oil.
• 3. Cover with plastic and store in the refrigerator overnight.
• 4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Remove the plastic wrap from the pork shoulder and replace it with aluminum foil.
• 5. Cook for 3 1/2 to 5 hours, checking the meat every 30 minutes after the 3 1/2 hour mark.
• 6. Remove the foil when the pork is nearly done and allow to cook for another 20-30 minutes to become crispy on the surface.

SPANISH PORK BRAISE

Steps:

• For pork:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle pork shanks and pig's foot, if using, with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy wide pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, sauté shanks and foot until brown, about 12 minutes per batch; transfer to baking sheet. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and thyme to pot. Sauté until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add coarsely chopped tomatoes with juice, broth, Sherry, chiles, tomato paste, chili powder, paprika, cumin, and coriander. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits from pan bottom.
• Return shanks and foot, if using, to pot. Place smoked ham shanks in pot, arranging all in single layer. Return to boil. Cover pot and place in oven. Braise until pork shanks are tender, about 1 hour 40 minutes.
• Tilt pot; carefully spoon off all fat. Simmer pork uncovered over medium heat until sauce thickens to desired consistency, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Pork can be made 1 day ahead. Cool about 30 minutes. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm over medium heat before continuing.
• Meanwhile, make garbanzo beans and gremolata:
• Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add beans, garlic, and saffron. Sauté until heated through, about 5 minutes. Mix in chopped prosciutto. Sprinkle beans with salt and pepper. Mix parsley, almonds, and orange peel in small bowl for gremolata.
• Place 1 pork shank on each of 6 plates. Spoon sauce around. Spoon garbanzo beans around shanks. Sprinkle with some of gremolata. Drape prosciutto strips over shanks. Serve, passing remaining gremolata.

PORK CHOPS A LA MADRILENE (SPANISH PORK CHOPS)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 425 F.
• Finely chop the garlic, parsley, and onion. Combine them together in a medium mixing bowl.
• Season with the paprika, pepper, and salt. Moisten the mixture with 3 tbsp. of olive oil. Don't add too much oil; it should be a fairly thick consistency.
• Grease a roasting pan with oil or line it with aluminum foil. Season the chops, covering them with the mixture and place in roasting pan . Spoon any remaining onion mixture between the chops.​
• Roast in a hot oven for 12 minutes. Turn chops over, piling the onion mixture on top of the chops again and roast another 12 to 13 minutes. If pork is cooked, but onion mixture is not fully cooked, quickly saute onion mixture in a heavy-bottomed frying pan until cooked.
• Serve the pork chop and herb sauce on top. Add mashed potatoes or roasted paprika potatoes on the side for a wonderful Spanish dinner.
• Enjoy!

BRAISED IBERIAN PORK CHEEK WITH PORT WINE AND HONEY

Steps:

• Smash the garlic in a mortar and pestle and add in the thyme, honey, parsley and a tablespoon of water. Continue to smash some more until you achieve a nice paste.
• Pat the pork cheeks completely dry with paper towels and then cover the pork cheeks with the paste and season with kosher salt and pepper. Let them marinate for at least an hour before cooking.
• After allowing them to absorb the flavors for about an hour, quickly dredge the pork cheeks in flour (they shouldn't be coated in flour, just a hint should remain).
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan on a medium high heat.
• Sear the pork cheeks (about 30 seconds per each of its 3-4 sides) until all sides are browned.
• After each cheek is seared, remove from the pan and reserve.
• Dice the onion and red pepper to a small dice.
• Peel the shallots and cut each one in half.
• Cut the carrots into thin round slices.
• Transfer the oil used to sear the meat into a large, heavy pot. Add a little more oil if necessary to completely cover the bottom about 1 cm.
• On a low heat, sauté the onions, peppers, shallots and carrots for 15 minutes.
• When the vegetables are golden, add the pork cheek and the 2 cups of port wine (any port will do, although there are various varieties of port wine and each will leave you with a slightly different dish)
• Add the bay leaf and, over a medium heat, allow everything to reduce 50%, about 15 minutes. Make sure to stir while it is reducing or it will stick.
• Peel the potatoes (if using large potatoes cut them into bite size chunks).
• Peel the apple and dice it to a medium dice.
• Add the beef stock to the pot and cook over a low heat for about 1.5 hours, until the carrilladas are completely tender. Twenty minutes before taking it off the heat add the potatoes and apple to the pot.
• When everything is fork tender, take off the heat and serve.

BRAISED PORK BELLY (红烧肉/HONG SHAO ROU/RED COOKED PORK)

Steps:

• Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the ginger, scallion, and blanch the pork belly pieces over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
• After five minutes, clean the pork under running water and keep them dry with cloth or kitchen towel. Reserve some blanching water and pass it through a wire mesh strainer.
• Heat the sugar and oil in a nonstick pan. When the sugar turns to amber color, add the dried pork pieces into it.
• Pan-fry the pork for two minutes until all the sides are sear and colored.
• Add the pork, soy sauce, ginger, scallion, wine, star anise, and blanching liquid enough to submerge all the pork pieces to a pot.
• Braise the pork over low heat with the lid on for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is soft and tender. Turn the heat to medium and boil it uncovered until the braising liquid has reduced to a thick sauce.
• Dish out and garnish with thinly sliced scallion. Serve.

SPANISH PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Mix sazon seasoning, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano together in a small bowl.
• Rinse roast and pat dry. Separate the fat from the meat with a sharp knife, starting at the wide end and going to the narrow end; don't cut it off all the way.
• Season the inside of the fat a little bit. Make very deep slits all over the meat and rub seasoning all over, making sure it goes into the slits. Pull the fat back up and over the meat. Wrap roast with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• When ready to cook, remove roast from refrigerator. Unwrap and place in a deep roasting pan. Let sit for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 30 minutes. During this 30 minutes the roast will reach room temperature (total of 1 hour out of the refrigerator).
• Place roast in the preheated oven and cook for 1 hour. Reduce heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C); cook roast until meat is tender and can be easily pulled apart with a fork, about 6 more hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).