Capitol Hill Blue Forums Misc. Topics Food, Drink and Cooking What to do with a pork shoulder butt?

Well they were on sale, and for me this is an easy question.

Its time for Cochinita Piblil.



I got hooked bad on this in Cozumel and Merida and couldnt get it so ya have to make it.

The only problema is getting Achiote paste which is absolutely crucial, no possible substitute. Dont even think of grinding your own Achiote seeds that you may find in the market, they are the toughest buggers ever, and the red color stains everything trust me.

Get achiote paste from
http://www.mexgrocer.com/13000.html
I buy the pound cans as it is much easier than smooshing the bars of denser paste, but both are fine. And while ordering they have a huge selection of pound jars of all kinds of chiles some hot some not but all unique. These stay quite nicely in the frig for more than a year as what grows on peppers? And are very economical unless now the Peso is worth more than the $
Fine products always ready to scoop into most anything, BTW.

Cochinita Pibil: Baked Marinated Pork

This is the quintessential Yucatecan dish, from a region that is quite possibly the "capital" of leaf-wrapped foods. The color and flavor of the marinade are characterized by achiote, or annatto seed. This succulent baked pork is worth trying even without banana leaves, though the taste will not be exactly the same. Simply omit the leaves and cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.

(Never seem to have banana leaves in season around here, covered Turkey pan work just fine.)

Ingredients:

* 2 banana leaves, passed over a flame to soften
* 4 lbs. pork leg
* 200 grams (2 bricks, about 4 ounces each) achiote paste
* 1 cup bitter orange juice, or use half sweet orange juice and half vinegar
* ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon crumbled, dried oregano
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
* ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 4 large allspice berries, coarsely ground
* 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
* 2 tablespoons melted lard or corn oil

Adding more fat to a pork shoulder is like taking coal to Newcastle, leave so fat on it float up bright red from the Achiote, and add to the taste, You can always scoop it off later anyway.

Preparation:

Line the bottom of a large baking dish with banana leaves, one lengthwise and one widthwise, letting them hang over the sides of the dish so that they may be folded over the pork. Place the pork on the leaves.

Dissolve the achiote paste in the orange juice, add the remaining ingredients except the lard or oil, and mix well.

Pour the marinade over the pork, fold the banana leaves over all and place in the refrigerator to marinate, at least 8 hours and preferably overnight, turning once.

Fold back the banana leaves, drizzle the melted lard or corn oil over the pork, fold the leaves back over the pork and cover all tightly with aluminum foil. (Do not drain the marinade; this dish gets cooked in it, making it steamed rather than roasted.)

Place in a preheated 350º oven for 1½ hours, or until the meat is falling-apart tender. Remove the foil, fold back the banana leaves, and use two forks to pull the meat apart into shreds.

Serve with red onion rings marinated in orange juice vinaigrette and plenty of hot corn tortillas to make tacos.

Serves 8-10. but I made 10 pounds, which will serve 2 for a good long time, but it only gets better with reheating!

There are hundreds of variations and mine is never the same twice. Serve chunks mashed with a fork on a corn tortilla, with a big scoop of sauce, Red marinated onions, and a queso fresco or a crumbly farmers cheese, or even feta, and garnished with Cilantro. Tequila drink with umbrella, optional, umbrella optional not tequila!

BTW This is served very moist wet to make the tortilla gushy, dont even think of trying to pick this up like a taco!

Mine is almost ready... back later

TAT


http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/puebla/kgyucatanochinitapibil.html yum

You gotta wonder about a culture that cuts meat against the grain which toughens it, then boils said meat to death to make it "tender"; when all along, simply cutting the meat with the grain would have given the cook a tender piece of meat to begin with.

Does this have something to do with leather?
What would you do with a pork butt?

Maybe in a PM...

TAT

Oh my!

And then I'm wondering where Greger is....
10 9 8......

By "against the grain" would you mean across the grain?
And "with the grain" would be in the same direction as the grain?
I'm not being obstinate here, merely seeking clarification.
Personally I woulda smoked the Pork Butt for about 10 hours and the direction of the grain would be a moot point as the collagen would have broken down and there would be nothing left to make it tough.

Damn, you're good.

Mmmm... pork shoulder, one of my favorite cuts, so flavorful. If If I don't have a lot of prep time but plenty of cook time (ie. any weekday) I'll put a rub on the pork shoulder the night before, then in the morning, drop it in a crock pot with a bit of white wine, worchestire (sp?), vinegar of some sort, some sliced onions and let it cook on low all day (~9 hrs) while I'm at work. Then when I come home I can just pull it apart with a fork and put it on a sandwich or cous cous or whatever starchy thing I feel like having with it that night, maybe with a side of steamed broccoli (but then, I could eat steamed brocc with just about any meal, I'll even eat it as a midnight snack).

Now if I have bit of prep time and am able to keep an eye on the cooking, I make carnitas. Cube up the shoulder, drop it in a big pan, cover with water and a bit of salt and cook low and slow for about 3 hours or until all the water is gone, then keep cooking until browned. Take out the meat, cook some onions in the fat in the pan, add back the meat and season to taste. Drop it in a tortilla, add whatever you like, I like mine with a little lettuce, tomatoes and fresh home made salsa.

Yes and yes.

Spank it until bright pink and make it call me 'daddy' then roast at 350 oF until all of the collagen is out, for a nice, tender butt.

are you describing last saturday nights ..erm.. bedroom gymnastics?