Alright bitches, tonight we're doing Date Night recipes.
I don't know where you live, but it's cold and icy as shit here right now and that means we need something nice and comforting for a quiet night in.
Thus, we're doing Pork Argodolce.
Ingredients:
3 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-3 inch chunks (It's often called a "pork butt" at the store but it's actually a shoulder cut, and this is important. We need a well marbled, yet hearty cut that is appropriate for a long braising. This will make or break the dish, so get the right cut. If you don't have that marbling, you're headed for a dry ass roast)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/3 cup aged balsamic vinegar (good shit, there's a lot here, so do not cheap on this and pay for the nice stuff)
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar (we don't want to do all balsamic, this will raise the acidity a little to balance the honey while not overwhelming the flavor)
3 tablespoons honey (any kind, I use regular ass clover honey, but if you've got another variety you prefer, go for it)
2 anchovy fillets mashed (Do not leave this off. I know, you think you don't like anchovies, but these will essentially dissolve in the liquid with this kind of cooking time, and it adds a nice unctuousness to the whole affair. That straight anchovy flavor isn't something you'll taste once it's done, just do it.)
2 cloves minced garlic (And use nice, fat cloves, not the shrimpy ones on the weird end. If in doubt, go heavy instead of light, you're adding a lot of honey, so you need a nice herbal bite)
1/4 cup green onions (to sprinkle on top)
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary (yes, it has to be fresh, and I'd advise more, details below)
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste (if you have it, I prefer sea salt, and it'll really help this shine)
1 teaspoon red chili flakes (you can be liberal with these depending on taste, it's pretty forgiving if you like a little more heat)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
First, preheat the oven to 325 F.
Now what we're doing here is mixing up everything except the pork and the green onion into a prep bowl with a whisk. The original recipe calls for 1 tbs of rosemary, but that's the bare minimum. I favor more like 1 1/2 tbs of the minced rosemary and stick a sprig or two in the braising pan while it cooks, because it'll help round off the flavor nicely. Now you're gonna dice your pork into nice cubes, 2-3 inches or so, and toss them in your sauce. Then you want to move that into a baking dish (I use a large casserole dish with high sides), and set that in the oven for about an hour and a half. After that, you're gonna want to take it out and flip the pork pieces so the part that was out of the liquid is now beneath it. This is gonna give you a good, even mix of roasting and braising. Then it goes back in for another hour. If you find that you're losing too much liquid, don't panic, just add a little water so it covers about halfway. We don't want them swimming, just braising. By the end, you want them fork tender, but not falling apart.
Now take them out. Skim the fat if you'd like, or don't, I'm not your cardiologist, and opinion is divided on whether or not this is a good idea or a mortal sin. I like to serve this over some garlic mashed potatoes, but you can do polenta, grits, pretty much anything. Whatever you're serving over, we're gonna sprinkle our sliced green onion over the top and make a nice little plate. If it's date night, make sure we use a nice deep plate and run a paper towel around the edges to clean it up and make a sexy plating.
For wine, I know you normally do a white with pork, but this is a pretty strong Italian dish. That Riesling is going to be eaten alive by the tomato and garlic, so I'd actually recommend a more subdued red. A Shiraz, particularly a light one with a peppery finish, might be a nice pairing here.
Serve it on a nice occasion or for a date night. Happy cooking!
