Tag: braising

Recipe: Jamaican Jerk Braised Pork Shoulder

Posted on by Dan Clapson

Jamaican jerk pork shoulder recipe

I really think a good quality pork shoulder is one of the best ways to cook for a big group of people. Braising a big cut like this one yields a lot of meat that you can use in a variety of ways. This Jamaican jerk braised pork is great as dinner for the family, just top it with some freshly chopped tomatoes for a more summery feel. With the leftovers, take a page out of my book and use the leftovers in a sandwich for a quick, easy lunch or even whip up a potato hash for breakfast. Top with a healthy portion of braised pork and a fried egg and you wind up with a pretty impressive breakfast dish!

The sky’s the limit with this delicious recipe!

What you’ll need…

1 2kg bone-in pork shoulder

4 cloves garlic

1 red onion (halved and thinly sliced)

6 cups diced tomatoes

3 red potatoes (1/2″ cubed)

5 cups water

1 cup good quality Jamaican rum

3 tablespoons Wings ‘n’ Tings Jamaican jerk paste (available in Calgary at the Crossroads Farmers’ Market)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari to stay gluten-free)

salt and pepper (to taste)

freshly sliced tomatoes (for garnish, optional)

Directions:

Place first 5 ingredients into a slow cooker and set to high.

Place remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.

Pour mixture overtop of ingredients in slow cooker, cover and let cook for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, reduce to low heat and let cook until meat is tender and can be easily separated with a fork, approximately 3-4 hours.

Carefully remove meat from slow cooker, let cool slightly and remove bone. Season lightly with salt and give a rough chop, place in pan or baking dish, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

To serve, spoon out braised vegetables from slow cooker onto plates and top with pork shoulder. Finish each plate with a few slices of tomato and serve!

Serves 8

Total prep and cook time…5 hours, 30 minutes

Recipe: Spicy Maple Candied Pork with Black Rice and Scallions

Posted on by Dan Clapson

braised pork recipe

Sometimes it’s fun to venture a little bit outside of your regular cooking comfort zone. It’s not even really so much the fact that this black rice (also known as forbidden rice) is hard to cook, but you just have to locate it. Any Korean grocer or a big Asian market like T&T will stock the stuff. It’s pretty hardy, so if you leave it on the stove for a little too long, it doesn’t turn to mush like regular white rice. I occasionally lack attention to detail, so this is definitely the kind of rice for me!

Now, the pork! I took simple braised pork shoulder and spiced it up a bit with a sweet and spicy sugar glaze on top. The result is a spin on a classic pulled pork for lack of a better comparison. This recipe makes a lot of pork (it’s hard to find a small pork shoulder, but hey, I think that’s a good thing!) so feel free to use the leftovers for sandwiches or in a lasagna in lieu of ground meat.

What you’ll need…

Pork:

1 5lb boneless pork shoulder

2 yellow onions (peeled and quartered)

4 cloves garlic

1 2″ piece ginger root (peeled)

6 cups water

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Rice:

2 cups black rice

5 cups water

3 cups reserved braising liquid

1 tablespoon sriracha

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon Korean red pepper flakes

4 scallions (thinly sliced)

1/4 savoy cabbage (thinly sliced)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro (loosely torn)

Sauce:

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup water

3 tablespoons sriracha

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon orange zest

Directions:

For the pork, place all ingredients in a slowcooker or large, deep baking dish. Cover and let cook on low temperature (250 degrees in the oven) until the meat separates easily when pulled with a fork, approximately 4 1/2 hours.

Allow to cool slightly, shred meat with a fork or by hand, discarding any excess fat. Reserve 3 cups of the braising liquid for making the rice.

Next, place the first 6 ingredients for the rice in a large pot and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Cover, reduce to medium heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the scallions and cabbage to the pot, stirring well to incorporate, cover again and continue to cook until rice has an el dente texture, about another 10 minutes.

Keep warm on stove until ready to serve.

Finally, it’s time to ‘candy’ the pork. Place all sauce ingredients into a large pan on medium-high heat and cook until reduced by half, approximately 10 minutes. Add in desired amount of pulled pork and toss until well-coated. Continue to let the pork cook in pan until the bottom of the meat becomes caramelized. Flip over and repeat.

Serve on top of warm rice with fresh cilantro and marvel at your masterpiece on the dinner table!

Serves 5-6

Total cook time…5 hours, 30 min

Recipe: Coconut Curry-braised Pork Side

Posted on by Dan Clapson

Pork side recipe

While I was grocery shopping this week, I was perusing the different pork cuts at Calgary Co-op and came across something labeled ‘pork side’. Although it looked somewhat similar to bacon, I wasn’t 100% sure what it was. Since I’m always looking to familiarize myself with various types of meat, I decided to pick up a few packages to experiment with at home.

Pork sideTurns out, my thoughts were fairly correct, pork side is basically un-smoked bacon. I decided the best way to cook it was to put some time into it a la braising. The results were quite delicious. It’s not the prettiest cut of pork, but delicious (and inexpensive!) nonetheless. Here we go…

What you’ll need…

1 tbsp canola oil

1 pound sliced pork side

4 cups coconut milk

2 cups crushed tomatoes

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp Thai red curry paste

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

3 red potatoes (1/2″ cubed)

1 yellow onion (diced)

2 green onions (thinly sliced, for garnish)

Directions:

Heat canola oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Once hot, work in batches to brown the pork side on both sides. Place onto paper towel to absorb any excess grease. Let cool slightly and then chop into approximately 1″ pieces.

Place the next 9 ingredients into a large, deep pan and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the potatoes, onion and browned pork side to the pan. Reduce to low heat, cover and let slow cook on the stove for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

After 2 hours, season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm until ready to serve. Ladle out on top of couscous or jasmine rice and top with sliced green onions.

Serves 3-4

Total cook time…2 hours, 15 minutes

Recipe: Braised Pork Mashed Potatoes

Posted on by Dan Clapson

Who doesn’t love mashed potatoes? Make them even more delicious by throwing some tender, braised pork into the mix. But wait! Does it get better? Of course it does! You can use the braising liquid to make a delicious pork gravy to go along with this side dish of buttery, potato goodness. I’ll share that recipe next week!

What you’ll need…

Braised Pork:

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 lb bone-in pork shoulder

1 yellow onion (quartered)

2 cloves garlic

5 cups water

Mashed Potatoes:

4 russet potatoes (1/2″ cubed, approx. 8 cups, peeled if preferred)

1 tbsp salt

10 cups water

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup half and half

salt and pepper

Directions:

For the braising, start by combining the first 5 spices in a small bowl and rub evenly over pork shoulder. Place the pork in a slow cooker along with remaining ingredients and let cook on low until meat can be pulled apart with a fork, about 5 hours.

When the pork is close to being finished, place the chopped potatoes, salt and water into a large pot and bring to a boil medium-high heat and cook until fork tender, approximately 10-12 minutes.

Strain out water, return to pot, along with the butter and cream and mash to desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm on stove.

Place braised pork on a lage cutting board and pull apart meat using two forks, discarding any excess fat. Fold pork meat into mashed potatoes and serve alongside your holiday dinner.

Reserve the pork cooking liquid to make a nice, rich gravy too!

Serves 5-6

Total cook time…5 hours, 10 minutes