At the end of 2008, we had a potluck dinner party. One of our friends (who is a professional chef) made the most delicious pork shoulder that I’ve ever tasted. I’m not a huge fan of “the other white meat”. I don’t usually find it to be tender and flavorful. This pork dish changed my mind! Here’s a picture:
I asked my chef friend for the recipe. Like most “real” cooks, he was a little vague with the measurements…
-Poke holes into a 5+ pounds pork shoulder.
-Lightly coat the meat with a little oil (corn/vegetable/olive) to moisten it.
-Add fresh chopped garlic, salt, pepper, ground thyme, rosemary, oregano (fresh or dried) and ½ bunch of fresh chopped cilantro over, under and inside of the pork.
-Cover everything with aluminum foil.
-Allow the meat to marinate for 24 hours (minimum) up to 4 days (maximum).
-When you’re ready to cook the meat, put a little (1/2 cup) water in the bottom of the foil that is covering your meat before re-covering it and placing it in the pan (he recommends one of those aluminum pans that you throw away at the end).
-Place the pan in the oven set at 300 degrees for 3 hours.
-Uncover the meat and drain it if there is a lot of “juice”.
-Place the uncovered meat in the oven set at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. (Check the meat at 40 minutes to make sure that it’s not too dark. The goal is for it to have a dark crispy top, but to be moist inside.)
Take it from me (a true “foodie”) – your friends and family will be begging you for this recipe after you make it for them. (On another note, pork shoulder is a really inexpensive meat!)
Do you have a special recipe on your blog/site that you’d like to share? If so, leave the name of it and a link in the “Comments” section below. I’m looking forward to trying out new recipes this year!