Pork shoulder is also called pork butt (also called a boneless chuck roast) . It is, however, from the shoulder. This is the best meat for a pot roast.
The reason it is called Pork BUTT is because the pieces of meat were thrown into a barrel called a butt. This originally took place around Boston, so it used to be called Boston Butt. As the cut gained popularity across the country, it became simply Pork Butt – Leaving Boston’s claim to fame as Boston Cream Pie and Boston Baked Beans.
INGREDIENTS
- 2-4 LB Pork shoulder – Much (but not all) of fat trimmed – Cut into large pieces that are about 3/4 pound each
- 2 TBL safflower oil for searing
- Accompanying veggies
- 4-8 cloves garlic (sliced)
- 14-16 oz frozen pearl onions
- 8-10 oz button mushrooms (halved)
- 1 LB carrots (peeled and pieced
- 1 LB baby fingerling potatoes, red potatoes or Yukon gold (pieces)
- 1 medium piece of ginger
- Dry Rub
- 1/4 C Grandpa's Thunder Powder or Arghhh Powder
- 2 TBL kosher salt
- 2 TBL brown sugar
- Deglazing Liquid
- 1 C tomato juice
- 1/4 C red wine vinegar
- 1/2 C white wine
- Braising spices
- Dried basil, oregano, chives, pepper, whole cloves, 1/2 cinnamon stick
STEP BY STEP
- Mix Thunder Powder, salt and sugar
- Cut shoulder into nice fat 1-1/2 inch steaks
- Rub deeply into meat
- Wrap each cut in plastic and let rest overnight in the refrigerator
- Let butt come up to room temperature for 30-60 minutes when you are ready to cook.
- Pat the meat dry, leaving as much seasoning remaining on the meat as you are able. Then sear the meat (all sides) in a heavily oiled pan VERY HOT cast iron pan. Don’t overcrowd the pan.
- Set steaks aside and put HALF of your veggies (including the ginger, but not the potatoes) into the pot and stir to caramelize.
- Add in your deglazing liquid
- Deglaze the pan with 1/2 C white wine and 2 TBL EVOO
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat
- Add meat back into pan
- Sprinkle with just a bit more Thunder Powder
- Cover and bake at 250º for 4-6 hours.
- Remove meat (briefly), turn up heat to 300º, and remove and discard all solids in the pot.
- Add meat back in with the uncooked half of your veggies, cover and cook for another two hours
- Uncover, flip meat and cook for 30 more minutes at 325º
- Remove meat and veggies and set aside. Cover with foil.
- Pour into a glass and let cool for 10 minutes, then spoon off the fat that will rise to the top.
- Put the cleared liquid back into the pan, and return to a simmer to reduce the liquid on medium high
- Combine meat, veggies and broth. Serve half tonight, and refrigerate the rest until another day.
- When ready, but the Dutch oven back in the oven at 400º for 45 minutes.
- Cut thin slices against the grain and serve a nice thick slice as a meal,
or shred remainder for BBQ sandwiches, tacos, burritos, etc.
Optionally, at Step 13, you an cook on the stovetop for 2 hours or a crock pot for 5 hours
BRAISING LIQUID
- Brown sugar
- Soy sauce
- Rice wine vinegar
- Sambal olek, Sriracha or Franks Red Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce
- Big strips of orange zest (to be removed later)
- Juice of the orange as well
- 2-3 C chicken stock
Here is a recipe from All Recipes
