Thursday, March 5, 2009

Pork Shoulder

Braised Coffee Rubbed Pork Shoulder over Collard Greens finished with a Bacon Mango Salad

This Hog Shoulder was cut into 4, 14oz steaks and rubbed with a coffee and BBQ spice mixture. They were let to sit for about 1 hour to come to room temperature. After being seared to a golden brown on all sides in peanut oil and set aside, carrot, onion, garlic and 2 chili peppers were finely chopped and added to the pan. The veggies were sauteed for about 1 minute then cider vinegar was added to deglaze the pan and the pork was re-added along with beef stock and salt and pepper. The pork was braised over low heat, covered, for about 2 hours and 30 minutes. The fork tender pork was removed from the pan and plated atop the Collard Greens. The braising liquid was strained and spooned over the shoulder and around the greens. A spoon or two of Mango Salad balanced the dish nicely!

The Collard Greens were started by rendering some bacon of its fat about half way. Onions were added to the bacon and sauteed until golden. The collards were added along with some beef stock, white wine, salt and pepper and let simmer for about 1 hour 30 minutes to let the liquid reduce. The bacon was removed at the end and crisped fully in a pan to be used in the mango salad.

A simple mango salad was made with fresh Mango, Lime Juice, Cilantro stems and bacon. The bacon was added just before serving after the Mango Salad marinated in the fridge for a few hours. Delicious!