Braised Pork Shoulder & Tomatillo Salsa
Feliz (happy) Cinco de Mayo, happy people! It’s Saturday morning, the sun is starting to shine, the birds are waking up and eating at the feeders, and we’re enjoying a nice cup of coffee on the deck. Oh, how I love this time of year for this very reason. I love being outside, coffee in hand, watching the birds and world come to life. These are the moments that matter in life.
I’ve been thinking all week about what to post for Cinco de Mayo. Perhaps you’ve noticed that a lot of the recipes I cook can be used in other meals later in the week. I love when a recipe can pull double duty because it means it’s one less day that I have to cook when I get home from a stressful day. Then I remembered that I had recently made this braised pork shoulder, and it’s a recipe that we love, love, love. It’s a meal I usually make on weekends only because the pork needs to braise in the oven for several hours, but once it’s prepared, the possibilities to use that tender, tasty pork can be used in oh so many ways.
It’s also a recipe that allows me to use my juicer. I love this handy kitchen device, but I think the Payaso’s mom, Norma, lives inside it. Norma passed away in 2013, and, sadly, I never had the pleasure of meeting her. In the last year of her life, I’m so happy that the Payaso was able to travel to Mexico three times to spend time with her. He was holding her hand when she went to heaven. While I didn’t get to meet her, my heart smiles knowing she tried some of my five pepper jelly and apple butter, and she loved them. She passed about six months before the Payaso and I were married. We had talked about me taking the Payaso’s last name and it means a lot to me that she gave her blessing when the Payaso asked if it was okay. The Payaso tells me stories about his mom telling her family that if they ever acted up after she passed, she would pull their feet while they were sleeping. The Payaso warns me that she’s going to pull my feet, but I think she lives in the juicer instead. There have been times when the juicer has suddenly gone into turbo speed throwing juice and pulp all over the kitchen. It never did that before she passed away. I have a little chat with the juicer every time I use it.
Me: Okay, Norma, I’m going to use the juicer and I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t make a mess of the kitchen. There’s no reason to spin this top thingee into supersonic speeds. I love you and you’re welcome to help me cook, but please don’t make a mess.
Payaso: (from the living room) You know she didn’t speak English, right!?
And that folks, is why I call him a Payaso, because he’s always being a clown! Luckily, the last time I used the juicer for this recipe, I didn’t have any messes so I must be acting okay in Norma’s opinion. Thank you, madre! Side note: don’t you love the color and smell of fresh squeezed oranges? It always makes me smile.
Braised Pork
Ingredients:
- 1 boneless pork shoulder (4-5 pounds)
- 2 onions, diced
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 12 ounces Mexican beer (I use Dos Equis)
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups orange juice (about four oranges)
Directions:
- Remove pork from fridge and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 2-3 tablespoons of oil. Brown pork shoulder on each side (this can take about 15 minutes).
- Once completely browned, remove pork and set aside.
- Add onions, garlic, oregano and bay leaves to pot. Cook for about 7-10 minutes.
- Deglaze the pot with beer and scrape up any bits stuck to bottom of pot.
- Add chicken stock and orange juice to pot.
- Carefully add pork shoulder back into pot, including any juices from plate.
- Cover and place pot in oven. Cook for 3 hours.
- Once cooked, remove pork from pot and let sit for about 10 minutes. Tent with foil.
- Shred meat using two forks and serve.
Here’s a picture of the pork before and after. See how much salt and pepper are on the pork? There’s a lot of meat there and I like to season the pork heavily before I brown it because I don’t add any salt or pepper to the dish while it’s cooking. The other picture is of the pork after it’s been cooking in those glorious juices and broth for three hours. I am amazed that it didn’t fall apart when I took it from the dutch oven. The flavor of this meat is delicious on its own. I’ve used the meat in tacos or sandwiches. I’ve ladled the broth the pork cooks into bowls, added meat, cabbage, radish and onions to make a hearty soup. The Payaso will drink the both by itself because it has so much flavor. The meat is delicious in pasta or topped with this award winning tomatillo salsa.
Tomatillo Salsa
Ingredients:
- 1.5 pounds of tomatillos
- 1/2 onion
- 1-2 tablespoons of garlic
- 2 whole jalapeno peppers
- 1-2 serrano peppers (depending on how spicy you like your salsa)
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
- salt to taste
Directions:
- Remove husks from tomatillos and rinse thoroughly.
- Add tomatillos, onion, jalapeno and serrano peppers to a large pot.
- Fill pot to cover ingredients by three quarters.
- Boil contents for 7-10 minutes or until the tomatillos begin to break open.
- Transfer tomatillos to blender.
- Continue to boil jalapenos, serranos and onion until softened (another 2-3 minutes).
- Transfer jalapenos, serranos and onion to blender. Be sure to cut the ends off of the peppers before you add to blender. Reserve water to use later.
- Add cilantro, garlic and salt to taste to blender.
- Add 1 cup of reserved liquid from pot to blender.
- Carefully blend ingredients together to make salsa. Add more water to blender to make desired consistency.
- Add salt to taste.
Here’s a picture of all the ingredients you’ll use for this salsa. Don’t tell the Payaso, but I kept eating the salsa after it was made because it is so good! This salsa is great with chips or served on top of tacos, shredded chicken or pulled pork. It’s also very addicting! The Payaso took it to work yesterday, and entered it in a salsa competition. Out of 16 other salsas, this salsa won best taste. Both the braised pork and this salsa are great recipes for your Cinco de Mayo. Click here for the Payaso’s easy, weeknight guacamole. Have a great day!