My first post will be one of my own creations. Great for a Sunday night dinner and enough to share with friends!
When at a meat market with a friend I bought a nice-sized pork shoulder (about 9-10 pounds). Once I got it home I trimmed the skin and removed the bone, which significantly lowers the weight of the shoulder. I also butterflied or cut the meat on one side to have a flat surface to fill with stuffing.
Before I actually stuffed the shoulder, I marinated it in a brine-like solution overnight.
Ingredients used:
Brine:
5 Tblsp. of Kosher Salt
Fresh Black Pepper
3 Cloves of Garlic rough chopped
Juice of (1) whole lemon
1 Tblsp of Garlic powder
1 Tablespoon of Onion powder
Couple dashes of worstershire sauce
Dash of Cumin
Rub the butterflied Shoulder with the Kosher Salt and Black Pepper; place it in a container with an airtight lid. Combine in the same container the remainder of the ingredients; pour just enough water the cover the meat. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
Stuffing:
2 Boxes of Cornbread mix
2 large eggs
2/3 cup of milk
2 smoked ham hocks or smoked turkey wings
The bone from the Pork Shoulder
3 carrots cut
5 stalks of celery
1 bulb of garlic
1 large onion
1- 16oz. package of sage sausage
5-7 leaves of fresh sage, finely chopped
3 Tsp. of dried rubbed sage
2 Tblsp. of Kosher salt
2 Bay leaves
Cut the carrots and celery in 1 inch pieces. Cut the onion in quarters and the whole bulb of garlic in half (it's okay to leave the papers on; everything will be strained at the end).
In a nice sized stock pot combine the ham hocks, the bone from the Pork Shoulder, carrots, onion, garlic, celery, bay leaves and kosher salt. Pour in enough water just to cover the meat and vegetables. Boil with lid on for 1-1/2 hours. The residual meat should fall of the bone, allow the smoked meat to cool and pull meat from the bone, and discard the fat and bone. Strain the pork broth from the cooked vegetables, mash vegetables with a masher, and remove any large pieces (root from garlic bulb). Save stock for later.
Combine the cornbread mix, eggs, milk, chopped and dried sage. Mix well (there will be a few lumps; it's just the nature of cornbread). Place cornbread mixture in a baking dish and bake on 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Once brown on top pull out of the oven and allow to cool.
Break up the cornbread in large bowl add the cooked vegetables and the pulled smoked meat to the cornbread mixture. The vegetables should offer enough moisture but if it is not enough moisture, slowly add the stock a little at a time to get the consistency of "wet sand". Place in refrigerator until completely cool.
Roast:
2 Tblsp. of olive oil
2 Tsp. of kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
2 Tblsp. of dried rosemary
1 Tsp. of Poultry Seasoning
Lay the meat out flat and salt and pepper the inside of the roast, begin to fill the roast with stuffing being careful to leave a 1/2 inch of free space around the perimeter of the roast. After topping with the cornbread stuffing begin to carefully roll the meat loosely like a jellyroll. Secure and tie the roll with several pieces of twine.
Place in a roasting pan coat the roast with olive oil season with salt, pepper, dried rosemary and poultry seasoning. Place in the oven on 375 degrees for 90 minutes (cover with aluminum foil for half of the cooking process and remove the foil for the remainder of the cooking time.)
Side Dish:
Emeril Lagasse’s Braised Broccoli Rabe (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_28608,00.html)
I substituted regular broccoli for the broccoli rabe because I had the broccoli on hand.
I also substituted pork stock for chicken stock because I had some leftover from my dish.
Notes: I feel the meal was very successful, hearty, delicious and juicy. My taster will comment further with her observations.
I really enjoyed cooking and eating the meal, but preparation took quite a bit of time so I would definitely save this recipe for a Sunday meal. Also, in the future I will use a different cut of meat, the shoulder is great for B-B-Q slow cooking, and I think a pork lion would have been a better fit for this recipe.
-Diva
1 comment:
Hi Diva,
Sorry that my review was a bit late, but better late than never! Upon arriving in your test kitchen I must admit that the smell was amazing. Strong and aromatic. The presentation of the plate was also impressive(I thought I was in a fancy scmancey restaurant.) The broccoli was a nice shade of green and you could actually see the red pepper flakes on the broccoli. I was a bit hesitant about this as I am not a fan of a great deal of spiciness. I was however pleasantly surprised that this vegetable had just the right amount of kick, almost a slow heat. The crunchiness was also very nice. Those fans yours that like spice, but prefer that it doesn't take over the meal will enjoy this particular item on your entree. My initial impression of the corn bread dressing was that it appeared chunky and colorful. The flavor was scrumptious!! The hint of sage mixed in with the sweetness of the cornbread was FAB. It had a wonderful texture and when eating this entree I feel in love with the ham hock suprise bites that were smokey and tender, they seemingly popped out of nowhere. I must tell your fans that eating this dressing in no way makes you feel like thanksgiving. It was very earthy and satisfying like when you finish shoveling the snow out off the driveway and you finally arrive back inside the warmth of your home. On to what I enjoyed the most from your creation. The pork roast was visually wonderful. It had a slight pinkness that initially worried me because you know I don't do pink pork however, it looked juicy. At the risk of life and limb it was worth the taste challenge. The outside of the roast had a beautiful skin that was crispy, brown and flavorful, the seasonings in the meat were delicious. I wanted more! My only complaint was that I thought that parts of the meat were juicy and tender and other parts were a bit chewy. The gravy was also very tasty. It had a nice light brown almost clear color and was smooth, not a lump to be found. It added to an already flavorful dish but was not and absolute necessity as the roast was extremely juicy. I was served a glass of water with my meal and this was perfect as it didn't destroy and of the amazing flavors that entertained my palate. Your readers may enjoy serving this entree with a blush wine. Overall this meal is one that I would pay good money for. Your TKO gives this one 4 stars. I would have given it the grand 5 star treatment had it been a different cut of pork. I am eagerly looking forward to your next creation!
Post a Comment