HowieCOOK: The Upside of Swine

Pork. Lust after it it. Loathe it. Slather your hands in its fat. Hurt its feelings. Hug it. Protest against it. Embrace its oinky charms. Lose sleep over it. The pig is one entity on this green Earth for which we have an indubitably strong feeling, one way or the other. Pork is that magical protein toward which it is simply impossible to hold an ambivalence. I love pork with all of my gastronomic nerves and yet I respect the (somewhat confused) haters. This article is solidly for the swinamorous among us (like that? I just made it up). I received this impeccable inquiry from my friend, Mike a few weeks ago and only today bring myself to a place where my hands are not shaking at the keyboard as I attempt to honor the pig:

Several years ago, you introduced me to a do it yourself Kahlua pork recipe (no fire pit on a sandy beach required). I won't rehash the whole recipe, but it included some Liquid Smoke and several rolls of aluminum foil. Since then it's been one of our favorite entertaining dishes, but I was wondering, do you use that similar cooking technique for any other tasty shredded pork dishes?

Oh, my. Is it getting hot in here or is it just me? Must. Keep. Steady. Hands. Mike, I sincerely appreciate your question, though it is a difficult task to tie me down right now. There are so, so many delicious answers, it is quite difficult to pick just one or two from my pork-addled culinary mind. I will, however, do my solemn duty to the HowieCOOK readers and give it the old college try. Without the aid of one of those increasingly popular psychotropic drugs that help you retain focus, I'll squeeze my brain and try to stick with the topic of shredded pork.

I've gone through three distinct shredded pork phases in my life:

Phase 1. Fake bbq to real bbq. In my younger days, when I was spry, I had a beautiful, *2 out of 5 on the effort-scale* technique for oven "barbeque" for lack of an outdoor space worthy of actual smoke-cooking. Bone-in pork shoulder, soy sauce, salt and liquid smoke rubbed, banana-leaf wrapped, foil sealed, oven roasted on 300 for 5 hours. Wham. As I aged (neither modestly nor terribly gracefully), my house grew taller and my lot grew bigger. I had finally obtained such outdoor space worthy of a can smoker. We purchased a Weber silver bullet for the back patio and have had a scrumptiously grand time of it, smoking pork shoulder, ribs, brisket, fish, chicken, etc. I must admit, there is just something attractively primal about mixing the element of fire with the element of hunger. mmm.

Phase 2. Real bbq to why bbq. Alas, sometimes smoking meat painfully becomes a *4 out of 5 on the effort-scale* technique, adding wood, adding liquid, stoking, rinse, repeat... It's not for the faint of heart. This is why folks naturally get the perception that barbeque, particularly the lovely, time intensive pulled pork is something you order in or go out for. In honesty, I've used the valid excuse of too-rainy-to-bbq quite frequently and drifted back to the kicka$$ oven technique from time to time. After all, it does produce a wonderful shredded pork; and it's a great deal more accessible, though still time intensive, nearly impossible to screw up. Yes, even for you. You know who I'm talking to.

Phase 3. why bbq to no bbq. Please, bbq fans, stop plotting to kill me. I still love me some bbq. However, I have to tell you and the rest of the ravenous audience the ugly but terribly tasty truth: If you want to shred pork, flavorful, savory yet subtly sweet pork, there is no better method than braising. There. I said it. Pause while I hide from the throngs of pitch fork wielding pit masters outside my window. . . . . . . .AAAAAAAAHHAFFGGGGG!!#@#!@!!$@#$ Just kidding. Back now. Braising pork shoulder on a very low temp for a very long time produces a succulent, moist shred full of oinky goodness. Braising is low-to-no work for the cook and the results could give the bbq intelligentsia a run for their money.

Where smoking meat does present a lovely bouquet, it does not tenderize the meat as much as braising. When intramuscular collagen in the meat breaks down, it liquifies and helps to moisturize the surrounding muscle tissue. This occurs during smoking as well. BUT, during braising, you get a bonus effect: If an acid is present in the cooking liquid, it helps to move the melting along and simultaneously tenderizes the muscle tissue. Broken down muscle tissue in the presence of melting fat means the muscle can draw in moisture, rather than just get wet.

Guiltily gilding the lilly, reintroducing the pork, once shredded, back into the braising liquid is flat out decadent. This stupendous model for shredding pork is actually quite common around the globe, but there are two examples that make me cry with anticipation: Chile Verde from Mexico and Red Cooked Shredded Pork from China. The process is the same for both but the liquid differs.

Method
Technically, the way I do it, it's not really braising. I know, I know, I've been talking about braising this whole time. I just like the word. Braising is the process of searing meat, then slowly cooking it in a flavorful liquid. I tend not to sear the meat, making my process, technically poaching. No one's going to drool over poached pork. Not terribly sexy. SO...

1. Bring your braising liquid to a boil over high heat in an oven proof, coverable pot then turn off the stove.
2. Gently lower the pork shoulder into the liquid.
3. Pop the pot into a 300 °F oven, covered.
4. Forget about it for 5 hours.
5. Remove the pot from the oven, remove the cover.
6. Remove the shoulder with a slotted spoon, gather meat together in a big bowl.
*This may require two slotted spoons to lift the whole shoulder. But, more likely, once you dig in with one spoon, meat will just begin to fall apart and one spoon becomes enough.
7. Once you have as much of the meat as you want, start shredding with two forks.
8. With a non-slotted spoon, add some of the cooking liquid from the pot to the pork to combine.

You're done. That's it. Go make friends.

Liquid Options
Though I present some suggested liquid paths below, you can truly go nuts with braising pork by keeping a basic model in your head: stock or water + acid + flavor. The acid can be a vinegar, citrus juice, relatively acidic booze, etc.

For Howie's Mexican Chile Verde:
(puree the following in a blender or processor)

2 lbs tomatillos, husked, broiled in the oven for 7 minutes
1 bunch cilantro, washed
3 jalapeño peppers, stem removed, seeded
3 poblano peppers, stem removed, seeded
6 cloves garlic, whole
1 medium sized onion
juice from three limes
1c orange juice
4-6c chicken or vegetable stock

For Howie's Red Cooked Shredded Pork
(Do not puree the following, trust me)

1c soy sauce
1/2c Chinese black vinegar or balsamic vinegar if boring and/or desperate
1c Shaoxing wine (get it here) or be dumb and use dry sherry
4-6c of chicken or vegetable stock (Chinese stock would be best)
1/4c brown sugar or 2 big hunks of rock sugar
6 cloves garlic, whole
2 three inch fingers of ginger, unpeeled, lightly smashed
7 scallions, cut in half
2 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks

What's that you say? What do you do with he pork once it's shredded? Here's a start...
Sandwiches
Omelets
Rice bowls
Tacos
.
.
.
Don't make me go on and on and on. Just eat it. Done.