author: ro
created: 2005-01-05 17:22:39
servings: 6-8
notes:
Fall-off-the-bone, tender, succulent pork. Great wrapped in small flour tortillas with your favorite condiments or just picked at from the pot. Also good with garlic mashed potatoes. Great snowy day food. Adapted from Paula Wolfert's Slow Mediterranean Kitchen
recipe:
Slow Braised Pork Butt 6# -7# pork butt (Boston Butt) 1 head garlic 1 tb salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1-1/2 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp dried thyme 1 big onion thinly sliced 1 carrot sliced 1/2 cup oloroso sherry 4 c. chicken stock crushed hot pepper 1-1/2 tsp quality sherry vinegar or balsamic. Score skin/fat in a diamond pattern. Crush garlic w/ S, P, oregano and thyme and rub it all over the meat (You can add the garlic later when you put it in the oven if you are afraid of burning the garlic, either way is good.) Brown it either on the stove top or in a 450 oven. Scatter veggies around the pork and add half the stock, half the sherry and a healthy pinch of hots Bake covered at 180 for twelve to twenty four hours depending on how melty you want your meat. You can turn it down as low as 160 after about 8 hours if you feel 180 is too much for that long Make sure your oven temp. is really the same temp. as the dial Baste once or twice during a twelve hour period. When you've had enough of this lengthy braising technique, transfer the meat to a platter, add the rest of the sherry and stock to the pot, deglaze and then reduce to desired consistency. (I've never made it to 24 Hrs. The longest I could hold out was 18 hrs. and then I had to rip it out of the oven and consume. It smells way too good for way too long.) Finish sauce with the vinegar Variation: Rub pork with minced garlic, 1 TB freshly ground cumin , salt and 3/4 TB. chipotle powder or an excellent quality chile powder. Replace the Sherry with white wine Replace the sherry or balsamic vinegar with red wine vinegar..