I'd been dying to try another braised pork shoulder since my incredibly successful pork braised in cider over New Years Eve. I wanted an easy recipe with few ingredients to be cost-effective, and simply because I don't think that this type of dish needs a lot to make it delicious. I ended up adapting my recipe from this tutorial How to Cook (and Shred) a Pork Shoulder and Cheater Pulled Pork from The Splendid Table.
Unfortunately I was unable to find a pork shoulder at my local, crappy store, but instead, they had country-style pork ribs, which are similarly laced with fat and very tender. They worked just fine. A beer braise gave the pork a lightly sweet flavor and it pulled apart like nothing. The onions are worth saving and mixing in with the shredded meat - they melt in your mouth.
To make the meal a little fun, I thought I'd be cute to serve it as a rice bowl. I cheated and bought a box of yellow Goya rice but any sort of rice will do. We layered black beans, pork, pickled jalapenos, and mango salsa, topping the bowls with a dollop of sour cream. It was comforting but summery; a mix of sweet, salty, and hot flavors.
I found the mango salsa particularly divine. This Tropical Fruit Salsa was the basis of the recipe. I couldn't find papaya so I doubled the mango. Scallions went in place of white onion (to accommodate the onion-haters I was about to serve), and parsley in place of cilantro (I'm not a big fan of the herb, and I already had parsley). It is colorful and sweet, with a pleasantly strong kick.
This recipe makes a huge serving of pork, probably enough for 6 at one meal, but it's worth it to have leftovers. Tonight, we put the meat into quesadillas, topped with even more flavorful mango salsa, thanks to a night to marinate.
Lost Rice Bowls
Time: 4 hours
Serves 4, with leftover pork
4 lbs. pork shoulder or country-style pork ribs
4 medium onions, quartered
5 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
3 tablespoons seasoned salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
16 oz. bottle of beer - lager preferably but any beer you like will do
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 15oz. cans black beans, drained of most of their liquid
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 box of yellow Mexican rice (or any sort of rice you like)
sour cream, for serving
Mango Salsa (see recipe below)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Season the pork shoulder or ribs with the seasoning salt and pepper, coating all sides well. Heat olive oil is a large dutch oven, then add the pork to sear, 3-4 minutes per side. You should have a nice crust on the outside.
When all sides are seared, add onions, garlic, and beer. The liquid should just almost reach the top of the meat lying flat, so add water if more liquid is needed. Cover tightly and place in the oven.
Braise the meat for 3 hours, turning the meat over once during cooking. When it is done, the meat should break apart easily and the onions will be golden and melting. Shred the meat, discarding any bones, into a large bowl, scooping a few spoonfuls of braising liquid into the meat.
Sprinkle black beans with cumin, chili powder, and a dash of salt, and heat in a pot or in the microwave until warm. Cook the rice as the package instructs.
To put together the bowls, layer rice, beans, and pork. Top with mango salsa and a dollop of sour cream.
Mango Salsa
As adapted from Epicurious.com
2 mangoes, peeled, cored, and diced into small cubes
2 scallions, diced
1 small jalapeno, diced very small, ribs and seeds discarded
3 tbsp. chopped parsley or cilantro (I already had parsley, so I used it)
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. fresh orange juice
1/2 tsp. salt
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Salsa is even better if allowed to marinate a few hours.
The meal is best accompanied by random exclamations of "Waaaalt!" "They're going to take my baaaay-bee" and "You all everybody." It really makes the island flavors pop.
ReplyDeleteThis looks sooooo good!
ReplyDelete