Brasato di Maiale alla Pugliese

April 5th, 2007

Braised pork shoulder in the tradition of Puglia

Every Italian family has its own special way of preparing pork shoulder. Here’s how I learned to cook this beautiful dish during my last visit to Italia.

Ingredients (serves 8-12 as a main course):
-4 pounds of pork shoulder (Prather Ranch highly recommended)
-1 large yellow onion
-Salt & pepper
-Olive oil
-1 small bunch of parsley
-1 bay leaf
-1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
-1 tablespoon of whole peppercorns
-10-15 green scallions (first layer of skin removed with green shoots still attached)
-1 bottle of medium-bodied red wine such as Sangiovese or Dolcetto
-1 lemon
-Caccio Cavallo for grating
-2 tablespoons of red pepper flakes
-Olio nuovo or best quality extra virgin olive oil for finishing

Take your pork shoulder and trim off any excess fat. It’s okay to have some fat but remove any large fat pieces and discard. Cut the shoulder cross-wise into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Lightly salt the pieces on both sides and place into a clean bowl. Pour the bottle of wine over the shoulder until it is just covered. Throw in the parsley whole and one bay leaf and the peppercorns. Let sit in the marinade for 2 hours.

Remove from the marinade and place onto paper towels. Pat all sides to dry as much as possible. Retain the marinade for later. In a large Dutch oven over high heat bring 4 tablespoons of olive oil to the point of almost smoking. Carefully lay in the shoulder pieces. Work in batches so as not to overcrowd the pot. Caramelize the pieces on one side and then flip and lightly brown on the other. It’s very important that the first side is heavily caramelized as this will create all of the flavor. Once the pieces are ready remove them to a plate. Continue working in batches until all pieces are nicely browned.

At this stage I typically turn off the heat and let the pot cool so that I can quickly clean it. The reason is that more often than not some of the oil will have burned a bit and we do not want that flavor getting into our final sauce. Rinse the pot in hot water (no need to use soap) and wipe dry with a towel. Put back on a medium-high flame with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Dice the yellow onion into medium pieces. Add them to the pot. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Add the thyme leaves and sauté until soft (6-8 minutes). Add the marinade to the pot and bring to a boil. Place the shoulder pieces into the pot and make sure they are covered (or almost covered) by the liquid. Be sure to add in the juices from the meat that have dripped onto the plate.

Once the whole thing has come to a boil turn down the heat to very low and cover. Simmer slowly for approximately 4 hours. Check periodically and give the meat a little stir and be sure to baste any exposed pieces with the liquid.

Once completely soft and falling apart, use a ladle to remove the fat that has risen to the surface. Before serving use a wooden spoon to press down and break the meat apart so that it’s almost shredded. Season with salt and pepper as necessary.

Right before serving, take the scallions and put them into either a large hot sauté pan with olive oil or on a grill. Cook until tender and sprinkle with sea salt and lemon juice.

To serve, take a large platter and place the entire contents of the pot into the center. Sprinkle over the red pepper flakes. Drizzle the very good olive oil over the top. Grate some caccio cavallo over this. Take the green scallions and lay around the sides of the dish. Serve immediately.

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