Braised Pork Shoulder With Buttered Spaetzel

 

Braised Pork Shoulder

                          Buttered Spaetzel

This is a perfect Sunday afternoon lunch. Serve it with a big green salad to keep things light, and, of course, some chilled cider!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp (30 mL) vegetable oil
4 lbs (2 kg) pork shoulder, bone-in (preferably blade roast, but picnic cut will also work)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tsp (10 mL) Hungarian paprika (not the hot variety)
1 tsp (5 mL) fennel seeds
1 cup (250 mL) celery, coarsely chopped
2 cups (500 mL) onions, coarsely chopped
1 cup (250 mL) carrots, unpeeled and coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh sage, leaves left whole
2 cups (500 mL) hard cider (apple juice or regular cider can also be used)
1 cup (250 mL) water
1 tbsp (15 mL) cornstarch
¼ cup (60 mL) water

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium, season pork generously with salt and pepper, brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove pork to a plate.

Stir in paprika and fennel for about 30 seconds. Add celery, onions, carrots, garlic and sage and cook for 5 minutes over medium.

Return pork to pot along with cider and 1 cup (250 mL) water; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 3 hours, flipping once per hour until meat is very tender.

Carefully remove pork and keep covered with foil. Strain the cooking liquid and return it to pot. Stir cornstarch together with ¼ cup (60 mL) cold water until dissolved. Stir this mixture into cooking liquid. Bring to a boil while stirring, reduce heat to medium, and continue cooking until liquid has reached a sauce consistency. If it has thickened too much, “loosen” it with some water. Re-season sauce if necessary.

Slice pork into large pieces and serve with sauce and spätzle (recipe follows).

Serves 6

BUTTERED SPÄTZLE
These are easy to make once you get the hang of “dropping” the dumplings into the water. Get someone to help if it’s the first time! You can use a spätzle press or push the batter through a colander with large holes. Have the pork ready to serve before starting the spätzle and have all components ready before starting.
Ingredients:
4 eggs
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp (1 mL) grated nutmeg
2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh parsley, very finely chopped
⅔ cup (150 mL) milk
¼ cup (60 mL) melted butter
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs and salt together using a fork or hand blender. Gently stir in the flour, nutmeg and parsley.

Begin to beat in the milk until well-combined. At this point the batter can be covered; rest until needed.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, lower heat slightly to a gentle boil. Begin to“drop” the spätzle into gently boiling water by “pushing” batter through the holes of the colander with a rubber spatula. As the bits of batter fall from the bottom of the colander they will land in the water and cook into small pieces. Work in batches if needed. Cook spätzle for about 3 minutes, they will rise to the top and can be scooped out with a slotted spoon.

Toss in a bowl with the melted butter and season generously with freshly ground black pepper. Serve with pork and cider sauce.

Serves 6

Carolina Style Pulled Pork

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

8 hrs

Total Time

8 hrs 15 mins

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Barbecue

Servings: 12 people

Ingredients

• 6-7 pound bone in pork shoulder

For the rub

• 2 Tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 Tablespoons coarse black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons smoked paprika

For the mop sauce

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup beer
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

For the BBQ sauce

• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons salt
• 1 Tablespoon black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes

Slaw (optional)

• 1/2 head green cabbage shredded
• 1/4 head purple cabbage shredded

Instructions

1. Preheat your smoker for indirect smoking at 250 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the rub and apply liberally on all sides of the pork shoulder. Place the rubbed shoulder in the smoker and close the lid. 
3. In a glass bowl, combine all the ingredients for the mop sauce. Apply the mop sauce to the pulled pork every hour. Smoke the pork shoulder, while mopping hourly, for 8-10 hours or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 200 degrees F.
4. Remove the shoulder from the smoker, cover tightly with foil, and allow to rest for an hour before shredding and serving. 
5. Make that BBQ sauce! In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients for the BBQ sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes. Cool completely and set aside to serve with the pork. If you want to make the slaw, pour about a cup of the BBQ sauce over the shredded cabbage in a large bowl and toss gently to combine. 
6. Remove the shoulder from the foil and shred. Discard the bone and any gristly pieces and pull the rest of the meat into shreds. Moisten the meat with some of the BBQ sauce and mix together. Serve with buns, slaw and additional BBQ sauce.

Grilled Cheese, Apple And Pork Sandwich

Grilled Cheese, Apple And Pork Sandwich

Ingredients:

1 2- to 3-lb pork shoulder
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 lime, juiced
1 lemon, juiced
2 oranges, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 medium onion, minced
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
3 Granny Smith apples, cored
2 baguettes
8 oz Gold cheese
12 oz Gruyère cheese
12 oz Swiss cheese
1/4 cup butter
Grainy mustard, Dijon or mayonnaise (for serving)
Directions:
Combine first 11 ingredients in a zippered bag. Refrigerate for 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 360°F. Place pork and marinade in roasting pan. Roast 2 1/2 to 3 hours, basting every 30 minutes. Allow pork to cool. Slice thinly.

Slice baguette lengthwise and butter inside and out. Slice cheeses and layer on both sides of baguette. Thinly slice apples and lay on top of cheese. Lay sliced pork over the apples. Fold baguette and slice into desired number of sandwiches.

Toast or press each sandwich in a panini grill until cheese melts and meat is warmed through. To grill multiple sandwiches at once, preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).  Wrap sandwiches in greaseproof paper and place on baking sheet. Place another baking sheet, topped with a heavy ovenproof dish, on top of sandwiches. Heat 15 to 20 minutes until cheese melts and meat is warm.

Serve sandwiches with mustard and mayonnaise on the side.

Makes approximately 4 sandwiches, about 8-inches each, with plenty of leftover pork.

Italian Pork And Tomato Stew With White Beans

ITALIAN PORK AND TOMATO STEW 

WITH WHITE BEANS

Serves 4 to 6.
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder or butt
1/2 pound Crimini  mushrooms, cut in half
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-28 ounce can ready-cut Italian-style tomatoes, undrained
1 cup dry red wine, such as Chianti or Merlot
2 ounces (1/2 cup) smoked ham, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried crumbled rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried crumbled oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried crumbled thyme
2-14 1/2 ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained
    (S and W brand small white beans)
 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

1. Trim pork of most fat and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Place pork in a 4-quart Dutch oven or saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for about
5 minutes or until meat releases its juices. Uncover the pan and boil until juices are almost gone; then cook, stirring often, until drippings are dark brown, 10 minutes.

2. Add mushrooms, onions and garlic to the pork. Cook until onion is softened, stirring often, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine, ham, rosemary, oregano and thyme. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until meat is tender when pierced, about 1 1/2 hours. Stir in the beans and heat through. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

(serves 5-6)

Ingredients
4-4 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, cut in half, if 

   necessary
2 yellow onions
1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 12 ounce can of Dr. Pepper
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (to taste)

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Directions

Combine paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix together. Rub the outside of the pork shoulder with your dry ingredients.

Peel and slice your yellow onions and put them into your slow cooker. Put your pork shoulder into your slow cooker on top of the onions. Pour Dr. Pepper over your pork and onions.

Cook on low heat for 7 hours.

Shred pork with a fork and then let it finish cooking in its juices for an additional 30 minutes.

Add additional 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce if desired.

Serve on a bun and then you’re done!

Perfect Carnitas With Cumin Seed Slaw

Perfect Carnitas With 

Cumin Seed Slaw

***

Carnitas  Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 T. coarse salt
1 T. freshly ground pepper
2 T. ground cumin
2 T. dried oregano
4 lbs. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 4 or 5 pieces 1 head garlic, sliced in   
      half crosswise.
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced in half

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Directions:

For the Carnitas, combine salt, pepper, cumin and oregano and sprinkle all over the pork. Cover and marinate pork in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay pork pieces in a flat, ovenproof glass baking dish and top with garlic and onion. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil, reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes. Turn pork over and bake for 30 minutes until pork shreds easily. Cool pork enough to be able to handle. Shred pork, discarding fat bits, onions and garlic. You will need 3 cups shredded pork for this recipe. Any leftover can be frozen for another time.

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Cumin Seed Slaw
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. cabbage, shredded 1/2 cup finely shredded carrot 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. toasted cumin seeds

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Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage and carrot; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, vinegar, salt and cumin seeds; bring to a boil. Pour over cabbage mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Serve with a slotted spoon. 

Slow-Cooked Pork With Spanish Paprika And Sweet Spices

SLOW-COOKED PORK WITH

SPANISH PAPRIKA AND SWEET SPICES

***

I found a recipe in House Beautiful for a pork roast which sounded delicious! I set out to obtain star anise. After exhausting every possible food store source and coming up empty handed, I googled "star anise". Much to my surprise the supply was first exhausted in 2009 used in the manufacturing of Tamiflu, the vaccine for Swine Flu. My reference book said the flavor is much like anise or fennel seed. I will just increase the amount of fennel seed called for in the recipe.

*

Just a little FYI: Star anise grows in China on an evergreen and is harvested between the months of March thru May.

***

Ingredients:

2 bay leaves

8 cardamom pods

2 star anise

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted

1 1/2 teaspoons ground fennel

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon pimenton

    (smoked Spanish paprika)

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

5 cloves garlic, minced into a paste

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon coarse salt

1 fresh 3 pound pork shoulder,

preferably with the skin on

***

Directions:

In a coffee grinder, process the bay leaves, cardamom, and star anise until finely ground (you may have to grind in batches) and place in a small bowl. Grind the coriander and cumin until finely ground and add to the bowl; add the ground fennel to the bowl of spices as well. Mix in the olive oil, pimenton, pepper, garlic, brown sugar, and salt, mixing well to create a paste.

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If the pork has a skin on, score the skin with a sharp knife in 1/2 inch intervals. Rub the paste evenly on the meat. Cover and let set in the refrigerator for at least four hours or overnight.

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Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Scrape off the extra spice rub, then put the pork on a rack in a large roasting pan, skin side up, and roast for 30 minutes. Cover the pan with foil, then turn the oven down to 300 degrees and cook for three hours. Add a bit of water in the bottom of the roasting pan, if there is no liquid, to keep the pork from drying out. Check after three hours; the pork should be fork tender and very moist when done. If not continue to cook until fork tender.

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If your pork has skin, slide the pan under the broiler for three to five minutes until the skin is crispy. If your pork doesn't have skin, remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before slicing or pulling apart.