Remember the dream I had that my parents were preparing an inauguration brunch for the newly elected president? Well, the recipe that I decided upon in my dream was this one. It may not be spring like but hell, it’s sleeting outside. I think this would be great on tortillas with pickled onion and a tomatilla salsa although a fruit based salsa would be good on the pork too of course….
Anyway, this is now probably my favorite way to do a decadent slow-roasted pork. Ernie’s the one that discovered this recipe in one of my favorite recipe compendiums, The 150 Best American Recipes: Indispensable Dishes from Legendary Chefs and Undiscovered Cooks, put together by Fran McCullough and Molly Stevens in 2006. This particular recipe is from The New Cook’s Tour of Sonoma by Michele Anna Jordan.
Slow-Roasted Chipotle Pork
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon chipotle powder
1 pork shoulder roast (about 3 1/2 pounds)
In a small bowl, mix together the kosher salt and chipotle powder and rub it into the pork, being sure to cover the entire surface of the meat with the mixture.
Put the pork in a clay roaster or other deep roasting pan with a lid, place the covered roaster in the oven, and turn the heat to 275 degrees (if using a clay roaster, do not preheat). Cook until the pork falls apart when you press it with the back of a fork, 3 1/2 -4 hours. Remove the pork from the oven and let rest, covered, for 15 minutes.
This recipe calls for filling corn tortillas with the meat and topping with lime juice and cilantro. It’s one of those recipes that tastes incredibly complicated but is in fact just a couple of ingredients. HIGHLY recommended…..
Wow, that sounds fantastic. I love cooking those “cheap” cuts, like shoulder or chuck… so delicious and succulent. I frequently make a salsa that would probably complement it. The recipe is from Zarela’s Veracruz (by Zarela Martinez. It goes something like this:
1 onion, roughly chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
4T olive oil
1 can of peeled whole tomatoes
1-3 chipotles, roughly chopped
1t mexican oregano
1t salt
pepper to taste
Heat olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Cook onions until just starting to turn translucent, add garlic. Cook for another couple minutes, but don’t let the vegetables brown. Add tomatoes and their juice, squishing them with your hand as you add them. Add oregano, salt and pepper. Cook for 15-30 minutes until flavors blend and some of the liquid evaporates. Let cool, then blend in blender (or with a stick blender in the pot). Serve warm (preferably) or chilled.
oh that sounds wonderful Jason—I’ll have to try it!