Friday, June 13, 2008

Boston butt (pork shoulder) Osso Buco style

Shortage of ingredients is a wonderful thing. Don't get me wrong, it's great when I can go to the store and buy whatever is on my shopping list. But availability and creativity and inversely proportional as far as I can tell. How did the French start eating frogs, the Chinese jellyfish, and the Americans lobster? I bet it wasn't out of over-abundance of beef and chicken. It was out of necessity due to lack of other sources of protein. That's exactly how this roast came about. I went to Whole Foods, with the plan to make Osso Buco (brasied veal shanks) with my Tender at the Bone class. But that day, it was not to be. No veal shanks, and no one could tell me if they were coming in later. I was in a pinch. I needed a braising dish for the class, and I already had the rest of the ingredients for osso buco. I desperately started looking through the meat counter until I found my savior -- pork shoulder (a.k.a. Boston Butt).

Just like veal shanks, the pork shoulder is made up of many different muscles joined by tons of connective tissue. After a long and slow braise (cooking in a pot with a little liquid) the connective tissue melts and you are rewarded with spoon-tender, wonderfully savory meat. The pork and veal flavor profiles are also similar, so I was hoping the final result would be true to Osso Buco concept.

Since the butt was de-boned, it had some loose pieces of meat sticking out where the bone was. I decided to tuck them all in, and truss it with string to make one large roast instead of cutting it into round pieces that mimic the shape of the shanks. I followed my Osso Buco recipe as is, increasing the braising time to 4 hours to take into account the large piece of meat I was working with. All I can say is yum! It was the most succulent, tender, and flavorful pork roast I've ever made. There also happens to be a nice side-effect of substituting pork for veal: your wallet gets a break. The veal shanks are $12/Lb (considering the fact that almost half of that weight is the bone, the real price is more like $20/Lb), and the Boston butt is only $3/Lb.

Boston butt (pork shoulder) Osso Buco style


Serves 6

3 Lb boneless pork shoulder (a.k.a. Boston butt)
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
2 large carrots, finely diced
2 celery ribs, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups dry white wine
1 cup beef stock, plus more as needed (up to 3 cups total)
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 275F.

If the pork shoulder has loose pieces of meat, tuck them in and roll the pork into a neat roast. Tie the roast with kitchen string at 2 inch intervals. This will give it a more uniform shape and help it cook more evenly.

Immediately before cooking, dry pork extremely well with paper towels and season very generously with salt and pepper. If using unsalted stock, I use about 1.5 Tbsp Diamond Crystal Kosher salt (= 1 Tbsp Morton's Kosher = 0.75 Tbsp table salt) . If the stock is salted, go a bit easier on the salt. Set a heavy deep over-proof pan that can later be covered on medium-high heat and add 2 Tbsp canola oil. When the pan is hot and the oil is starting to ripple, place the pork in the pan and cook until nicely browned on the first side, 2-3 minutes. Turn and brown the other side. Keep rotating the roast and cooking it until it's browned all over (including standing it up on the ends). Remove the pork to a plate and set aside. If the fat has burnt, clean out the pan before proceeding.

Return the pan to medium-low heat. Add the butter, onion, carrots, and celery to the pan. Season with salt and cook stirring occasionally until tender and golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Add tomatoes and garlic. Cook until most of the liquid evaporates and the mixture thickens, 10-15 minutes.

Add the wine to the pan and boil on high to reduce in half, about 10 minutes. Add the stock. Bring to a simmer. Add the pork and bay leaves to the pan. Wait for the liquid to return to a simmer. Cover and put in the oven for 4 - 5 hours, flipping the roast half way through cooking time. During the end of cooking time, keep an eye on it to make sure there is still a little liquid in the pot. If all of it is evaporated, add a little more stock. The pork is done when it's fork tender or registers 210F on an instant read thermometer inserted in the center. Move the roast to a carving board and rest for 15-20 minutes. Add a little more stock or water to the pan drippings and simmer gently for 5-10 minutes, scraping up all the yummy bits stuck to the bottom. Remove the string from the roast, carve, and serve with pan drippings.

As all braises, this will taste even better the next day, and will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for months. To warm up, slice into 3/4 inch pieces and simmer gently in the pan with a little extra stock or water until heated through.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mmm... this looks very good. It looks very similar to a reipe I use for braised lamb, with the exception that that recipe salts the lamb for 12-24hrs before hand, which makes it really tender and flavorful. I wonder if this recipe would be similar.

My real question is, though... what on earth made you want to cook a huge roast in the middle of a Boston heat wave??? Hmmm... I guess it's cooled down a bit now...

Helen said...

I know, I know -- this isn't exactly braising time. But I teach cooking classes, and braising is one of the techniques I cover in the meat class. So I didn't have much choice in whether to braise. The only question was what to braise.

Good thing we just installed 2 ACs in the kitchen thought, or braising would be tough :)

And yes, this same approach works with lamb shanks.

Anonymous said...

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The hip-hop geek said...

this is a really good blog were do you get your recipes from

Helen said...

Where do I get my recipes from? Mostly from my head :) But I get inspiration from all over -- farmer's markets, fish markets, restaurants, cook books, magazines, etc.

Unknown said...

A nice pork shoulder is going on to my shopping list, for my next trip to the butchers.

Every thing about the tuna recipes look and sound great. The Japanese get a lot of our tuna catch from Australia too, Which in turn drives the price up for us locals.

Will be visiting your site more often.

Anonymous said...

Now this looks yummy!

chris hutnan said...

I am definately going to try some of these recipes. We do not get seafood like that in Texas.

chris hutnan said...

I am all over this. Visited North Carolina once and loved the vinegar base boston butt. They also smoke their meat using hickory wood.

PinayBeauty said...

Hi Helen! I agree with you when you said shortage of ingredients is wonderful. I like to do some experimenting when I am short of ingredients and my husband who is my number one fan loves them. I love cooking. You inspire me to post Filipino cuisines and my invented recipes in my blog.

Mandy said...

Hi helen,

its a great blog , and I love fish...and the recipe's are step by step neat guide.

Anonymous said...

Very nice site and a delightful recipe.

I noticed SamF's comment about cooking a roast in summer in Boston. A few more degrees really won't make any difference but it could be done in a crock-pot outside.

Boston is a great place to be a tourist - anytime.

Anonymous said...

This recipe is to die for! I didn't reduce the liquid as long as the recipe called for which actually left lots of good sauce to cover a penne in.

Sal_U_Leet said...

I have made this twice, and it's fabulous!!...though I used red wine (zinfandel) and chicken stock. And after it was cooked, I pureed then strained the vegetables and remaining liquid for a great sauce!!

jgbradley123 said...

Can this be made in a slow cooker? I am trying it right now. I did everything as per directions but instead of the oven I put it in the slow cooker. Fingers crossed!

Helen said...

It will be fine in the slow cooker, but the sauce won't be reduced and the top won't be crispy. It's not a big deal if you are chilling and crisping up the meat to serve. Once you chill the sauce and degrease, reduce it as necessary.

jgbradley123 said...

The slow cooker worked great! My slow cooker has a stovetop function so when the roast was done I took it out and used the stovetop function to reduce the sauce. I didn't mind not having any crisp on the roast. Served with egg noodles. YUMMY!