Pork shoulder

Another super easy recipe that can be the foundation for a few versatile meals (plus, it leaves lots of leftovers, which is always a bonus).

First: in general, a pork shoulder is also referred to as a "pork shoulder butt" or "pork blade shoulder," so don't be fooled.

The particular cut you'll be looking for goes by many names, many of which employ the word "butt" (which makes me giggle, but that's just me): Boston butt = Boston roast = pork butt roast = pork shoulder Boston butt = Boston-style shoulder = Boston shoulder = Boston-style butt = fresh pork butt

Conceptually, it's useful to know that this cut is pretty fatty and flavorful, and so the goal is to cook this "slow and low," which is to say that you throw it in the oven at a low temperature for a long time.  My understanding (feel free to correct this), is that this  allows the meat to break down to the point of being fork tender, plus it gets to simmer in the fat as the fat breaks down under the heat, which keeps things moist and delicious.

What ultimately happens is that the meat breaks down to the point where you can pull it apart, and thus the dishes that this yields will be of the "pulled pork" variety.  This is obviously good for barbecue sandwiches and tacos, but there are myriad other applications.

Without further ado:

Ingredients:

1. Pork shoulder (note: it can weigh as much or as little as you would like.  I usually go with 4-5 pounds.  Size, obviously, affects cooking time).

2. Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

3. One can of Rotel with green chiles (possible substitutes include: a garden-variety can of diced tomatoes; a can of chipotle peppers in sauce; 1/2 cup of chicken broth)

4. 1-2 bay leaves

5. 5-6 whole cloves of garlic (if you like garlic; you could also use small, chopped onion - ca. 1/4 cup)

6. Olive oil or canola oil (1 - 2 tablespoons)


Steps:

1. heat oven to 250 degrees.  Make sure that your dutch oven will fit on the middle rack (or as close as you can get it to the middle position).

2. Rub kosher salt and pepper on each side of the pork shoulder.

3. In a dutch oven, heat oil (1 - 2 tablespoons) over medium-high heat until just smoking (1-2 minutes).

4. Brown each side of the shoulder, somewhere between 3-4 minutes.  The goal is for a nice, brown crust to form on each side, but not for the meat to burn.  Note that this is when things start to smell really good.

5. Add remaining ingredients (rotel, bay leaves, garlic/onion), put the lid on the dutch oven, and stick the shoulder in the oven. Check every so often to make sure that there's sufficient liquid in the pot for the meat to be braised.  I've never had this be a problem, but if it looks super dry, then add a little chicken stock (maybe half a cup). 

6. Let that sucker cook for several hours.  I'm not very scientific about this.  Say, four? three and a half? four and a half?

Basically, you cook the shoulder until it can readily be pulled apart (either with fork or tongs...don't use your fingers, as that will burn you).  Again, the pork should come apart really easily.  You should always be concerned about internal temperatures of meat, of course, in an effort to avoid food-borne illness.  But, if you've cooked the meat to the point that it is "pull-able," you'll be good to go.

What to do with your pulled pork:

1. Tacos:

A profoundly easy, and delicious meal.  I would recommend using soft, corn tortillas.  You need to heat them (put them on a high-heat skillet for about 30 seconds per side).

Also, you should do an extra step with cooking the pork.  Once it's shreddable, break the pork up into smaller chunks and set your oven to broil.  Place the chunks on a cooking sheet lined with foil and broil the meat for around 5 minutes.  This will give each chunk a bit more of a crust (which will be awesome).

Some good taco fixings include: finely shredded lettuce and/or cabbage, cheese, diced tomatoes, freshly chopped cilantro, finely chopped purple onion, home-made guacamole, avocado slices, salsa (green is best, i think), pico de gallo, freshly roasted corn, sour cream, fruit (say, mango, pineapple,  apple?), lime juice, chopped japapenos or other chiles...

2. Barbecue

This is probably the easiest.  Just break the pork apart into fairly fine shreds.  Place on a bun, add your favorite barbecue sauce, and boom: delicious barbecue sandwich.

If a platter is more your style, eliminate the bun.  Serve with slaw, barbecue beans, and potato salad.

3. Other, possible uses

• Finely shred the pork and add it to a marinara sauce, to make a hearty ragu sauce.  Place over pasta and add freshly grated parmesan or romano cheese. 
• Serve, unsauced, with a plate of comfort food: greens, mashed potatoes, cornbread, fried green tomatoes, mac & cheese, etc.

Roasting Vegetables, Generally

Ok pal, I can't think of a more elemental or easy cooking technique than roasting vegetables.  There are all sorts of methods and ingredients that you can bring into the mix to make things complicated, but at essence, all you need to make something delicious is: (1) a vegetable to roast, (2) salt and pepper, and (3) olive oil.

Things I think about when doing this are usually just taste and texture.  I personally like baking the vegetables until they've got a little bit of burn on the outside and are soft on the inside without being mushy.  Often, the roasting will bring out a sweetness, as well as a mellowness, to the vegetable in question (especially carrots). As you experiment with different vegetables, you'll develop your own sensibilities and you'll come to really appreciate the changes in flavor that roasting brings.  This is one of the fun things about cooking: you learn that doing different things to food can drastically change the way you experience it (which observation, I guess, should be pretty obvious in the context of cooking, but anyways...).

So, here's the template recipe (some variations follow):

Ingredients:

1. roasting vegetable

(some examples: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry/grape tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, diced sweet potatoes, baby bok choy, brussels sprouts, asparagus)

2. olive oil

3. salt and freshly ground pepper

To Cook:

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees, Fahrenheit

2. Place vegetables in a roasting pan or on a cookie sheet.  (Note: I personally like to chop whatever I'm roasting to the size that I'm going to ultimately serve them)

3. Coat vegetables in olive oil, evenly.  You can either drizzle the oil onto the vegetables and then toss them, or yuo can get a mister for your oil.  I don't recommend drowning the vegetables in olive oil.  The goal is a pretty light coat (otherwise, the end result will feel really heavy and greasy...note that this isn't always bad)

4. Sprinkle the veggies with salt and freshly ground pepper.  I usually have a pretty heavy hand with this.  I'll sprinkle, then toss the veggies, then sprinkle again.  I like salt.  What can I say?

5. Place the pan in the oven; shift them around, occasionally (once or twice, total) and just wait until the vegetables are done.

You can gauge this by (1) sight, (2) smell, (3) trial and error.  The thickness of the vegetable will, of course, play into how long it takes to cook, but otherwise, it's just a matter of knowing what you like.  For something like asparagus, that's relatively thin, I'd say it hovers in the 10 minute range; for broccoli, start checking on it around 20 minutes; a little more than than for brussels sprouts; etc.

Some Exceptions: Beets and Corn

Both roasted beets and roasted corn are really great sides, but you shouldn't use the above method.  Instead, heat the oven just the same, but prep these guys accordingly:

Beets - (1) cut the ends off, (2) wrap the beet completely in tin foil.  Stick the beets on a pan or sheet and stick that in the oven (they'll leek out a certain amount of water and sugar in the course of roasting, which will gunk up your oven if you don't have something to catch it).  Give them about 45 minutes (more or less depending on their size).

Once you can put a small knife or a fork in them easily, they're done.  Let them cool for a bit, unwrap them, and then peel off the skin.  It should come off easily, but again, let them cool or else you'll burn your fingers.

Bonus recipe - Warm Beet Salad: roast up some beets (say, 4).  Once they're out of the oven (and still pretty warm) peel them and cut them into eighths.  Toss the beet pieces in a bowl with (1) vinaigrette dressing, (2) blue cheese or goat cheese crumbles, and (3) some kind of chopped nut (I prefer walnuts or pecans).  This will blow your mind.

Corn - assuming it's an unshucked ear of corn, no further prep is necessary.  Just stick it in the oven and rotate, occasionally.  The outer layer will crisp up, and once it's evenly (and lightly) burned, you can pull out the corn, shuck it, and eat it.