Stretch Cooking: Braised Pork Shoulder

Braising is a great way to make a big, cheap hunk of meat go a long way. On Saturday, we are having friends over, and we are going to feed them braised pork shoulder, served carnitas-style, with tortillas and condiments. I love carnitas, which is also a classic stretch recipe, but hazardous. You need a big pot and boiling oil, which gets to be more trouble than it’s worth, especially for a man who recently positioned himself to be killed by a ceiling fan. Braising is easy, and the pork will be pull-apart tender.

I got the pork shoulder today, boneless, at CostCo, and a package of Porkyland flour tortillas. The pork was $1.39 a pound, and 12 and a half pounds (in one bag) cost $17.46. The tortillas are medium size, about eight inches across, just right for this particular feed.

The shoulder is very meaty, and flecked with fat, which provides flavor and tenderness during the long, slow cooking. When you’re finished, there won’t hardly be enough fat in the pot to skim off, but you can, of course, if you want to.

You need a heavy pot, 6 to 8 quarts. I have an 8-quart Le Creuset enameled pot, which is great, and an old 6-quart Club Aluminum pot, which is great too. If there is enough fat on the shoulder, trim it off and render it, just enough to wet the bottom of the pot to get things going. If the shoulder is very lean, use olive oil. Put the pot on medium-high heat. Cut the shoulder into big chunks, the size of your hand. Season with salt and pepper and brown the chunks on all sides. Place the pot lid next to the range, upside-down, and place the browned chunks in it. That way you save all the juices and just pour them back in.

Chop a medium onion and sauté it in the pot, stirring, until it starts to brown. Rough-chop a second onion and add to the pot. Let a dark glaze form on the bottom of the pot. Don’t let it scorch, but it should be dark. This “almost-scorching” step is a favorite of mine and provides deep, savory flavor. Throw in 10 cloves of garlic, smashed (peel the garlic by smashing it under the side of a large knife; the peel lifts right off). Stir the garlic and onions just for a minute. Add a cup of leftover coffee and scrape the bottom to de-glaze the pot; it will make a beautiful, dark sauce. Stir in a teaspoon of ground cumin. Turn the heat to low.

Add the browned pork chunks back to the pot and pour in the juices from the lid. Scatter a large rough-chopped green pepper on top. Cover and simmer gently for 3 hours. Let the pork cool on a platter until it is cool enough to pull apart with your fingers. Warm 2 medium-sized flour tortillas per person in a hot skillet and keep them warm in foil packets in the oven. Serve with condiments on the side: chopped green onion and tomato; slices of avocado; cilantro sprigs; quartered limes; and salsa.

Freeze the leftover pork in pint containers. It can be used all sorts of ways. With blackeyes, say. Yum.