“This is the single most versatile recipe in the book,” Samin Nosrat writes. And the results can be dispatched a number of ways: think tacos, or shredded meat on top of a mound of hot polenta or grits, or left intact and served like a roast. And it doesn’t have to be pork: short ribs, brisket, chicken thighs, lamb shank … “any cut of dark, sinewy meat you’d like.” (Cooking times will vary.)
This recipe is from Week 10 of Voraciously's Essential Cookbooks newsletter series. It appears as published in Samin Nosrat's "Salt, Fat, Acid Heat," with minor edits for clarity. For more recipes like this one, sign up here.
Storage Notes: Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days. Braised meat freezes exceptionally well. Simply submerge in cooking liquid, cover and freeze for up to 2 months. To serve, return the braise to a boil on the stove with a splash of water.
Servings:
When you scale a recipe, keep in mind that cooking times and temperatures, pan sizes and seasonings may be affected, so adjust accordingly. Also, amounts listed in the directions will not reflect the changes made to ingredient amounts.
Tested size: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
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4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (sometimes called pork butt)
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Kosher or fine sea salt
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1 garlic head
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Neutral-tasting oil, such as canola oil, vegetable or grapeseed
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2 medium yellow onions, sliced
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2 cups crushed tomatoes in their juice, fresh or canned
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2 tablespoons cumin seed or 1 tablespoon ground cumin
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2 bay leaves
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8 dried chiles, such as guajillo, New Mexico, Anaheim or ancho, stemmed, seeded and rinsed
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Optional: For a touch of smokiness, add 1 tablespoon smoked paprika or 2 smoked peppers, such as chipotles morita or pasilla de Oaxaca to the braise
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2 to 3 cups lager or pilsner beer, plus more as needed
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1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
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Mexican cream (crema) or lime wedges, for serving
The day before you plan to cook, season the pork generously with salt. Cover and refrigerate.
When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Remove any roots from the head of garlic, then slice it in half crosswise. (Don’t worry about adding the skins to the braise – they’ll get strained out at the end. If you don’t trust me, go ahead and peel the whole head of garlic – I’m just trying to save you some time and effort.)
Set a large, ovenproof Dutch oven or similar pot over medium-high heat. When it’s warm, add 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil shimmers, place the pork in the pot. Brown it evenly on all sides, about 6 minutes per side.
When the meat is brown, remove it and set it aside. Carefully tip out as much of the fat from the pot as you can, then return it to the stove. Reduce the heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring from time to time, until the onions are tender and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and juice, cumin, bay leaves, dried chiles and smoked paprika or peppers, if using, to the pot and stir. Nestle the pork atop the aromatic base and add enough beer to come 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the meat. Make sure the peppers and bay leaves are mostly immersed in the juices so that they do not burn.
Increase the heat and bring to a boil on the stove, then slip the pot, uncovered, into the oven. After 30 minutes, check to make sure the liquid is just barely simmering. About every 30 minutes, turn the pork over and check the level of the liquid. Add more beer as needed to maintain the liquid at a depth of 1 1/2 inches. Cook until the meat is tender and falls apart at the touch of a fork, 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
Remove the cooked pork from the oven and carefully remove it from the pan. Discard the bay leaves, but don’t worry about fishing out the garlic since the sieve will catch the skins. Using a food mill, blender or food processor, puree the aromatics and strain them through a sieve. Discard the solids.
Skim the fat from the sauce and then taste, adjusting salt as needed. (To more easily remove the fat, chill the sauce for a couple of hours and then skim off the fat.)
At this point, you can either shred the meat and combine it with the sauce to make pork tacos, or slice it and spoon the sauce over the pork to serve it as an entree. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with an acidic condiment such as Mexican cream or a simple squeeze of lime.
Email questions to the Food Section at food@washpost.com.
The Link LonkAugust 01, 2020 at 02:00PM
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Pork Braised With Chiles - Washington Post
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