Raccoon and Lobster

A pork shoulder braise is a pretty easy way to de-clutter your fridge. The shoulder gets cooked until it’s falling apart and everything else is marinated in red wine and pig fat for a few hours.

Onions, potatoes, an apple that’s been sitting around a little too long, some carrots, and a few brussel sprouts, why not? Sadly this brightly colored collection of food ends up getting turned various shades of reddish brown thanks to the red wine but rest assured that the flavor is still there.

Braised Pork Shoulder

1 bone in pork shoulder
olive oil
red wine
3-4 onions
assorted vegetables

Preheat oven to 325°F. Season the pork shoulder with salt and pepper. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a dutch over over medium high heat, and brown the pork shoulder, about a minute on each side. Remove the pork shoulder and add the onions to the pot. When the onions soften and turn golden, add the other vegetables (and errant fruit) and cook for a few more minutes, allowing the flavors to develop. Deglaze the pot by pouring in about a cup and a half of red wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape off the delicious browned bits on the bottom. Return the pork shoulder to the pot. Add enough water or broth to cover the vegetables and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and place into the oven to cook until the pork is very tender, 2.5 to 3 hours. Reduce some of the cooking juices in a separate pot until it is thickened into a sauce and serve over the pork and vegetables.

I’ve been meaning to make these for a while now, I keep coming across the recipe on various blogs. I don’t know how he got 10 ribs to come out to 3 pounds when I bought 6 ribs that came out to just over 5 pounds but the recipe scales well and the end product did  not disappoint.

Braised Hoisin Beer Short Ribs via Dave Lieberman

5 lbs beef short ribs
salt and freshly ground pepper
vegetable oil
12 garlic cloves, mashed
1 inch piece ginger, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
18 ounces good ale (feel free to drink the excess while you cook)
5 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1½ cup hoisin sauce

Season ribs with salt and pepper. In a large dutch oven on high heat, sear the ribs on all sides in a drizzle of olive oil. Remove the ribs and pour out all but two tablespoons of the drippings.

Cook the garlic and ginger in the pan over medium heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Return the ribs to the pan and add the beer and rice wine vinegar. Cover and simmer for 2½ hours.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Pour the hoisin sauce over the ribs and move the pot to the oven. Cook with the lid off for 30 minutes. Remove the ribs and cover to keep warm. Skim the fat off the liquid and bring a cup of the sauce to a boil and let it thicken. Pour over ribs and serve.

This is another recipe that I’ve been sitting on for a while instead of posting. The ribs themselves were delicious and tender beyond belief but the photos just didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked. They’re not bad, mind you, but I just didn’t think they were as good as the meal. A lot of tiny little things about the end result that bugged me long enough that I hesitated in posting. In the end I felt like depriving you of the chance to make them yourself was cruel, so squint a little when you look at them and try it out for yourself, okay? They’re really worth it.

Short Ribs Provençale

4 beef short ribs
olive oil
1 white onion, diced
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk of celery, diced
10 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons AP flour
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon savory
2 cups red wine
2 cups beef broth
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup water
~1 cup baby carrots
~1/2 cup peas
~1/2 cup pearl onions
~1/2 cup pitted olives
fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 325°F. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Pan sear the ribs in a large dutch oven over meadium-high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. You’re looking to get them browned and nicely caramelized. Remove the ribs and pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft. Add the garlic, flour, basil, thyme, and savory and stir for about a minute. Now pour in the wine and beef broth to deglaze the pan. Stir and scrape off all the fond and then turn the heat up to high. Once the sauce has been brought to a boil, add the tomatoes and bay leaf. Return the ribs to the pot. If necessary, add just enough water to cover the ribs and bring the whole thing to a boil.

Cover the pot and stick it in the oven. Bake until the meat is very tender and almost falling off the bone, about 2-2.5 hours. Add the 1/2 cup water, carrots, peas, onions and olives (this part is pretty free form, feel free to omit or substitute). Return to the oven and continue cooking about 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Remove the ribs and cover them to keep them warm. Skim the fat off the liquid and discard the bay leaf if you can find it. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat and let it thicken to a sauce, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste and pour over the ribs and any vegetables you’re serving with them. Sprinkle with parsley. Dig in!

I feel once again compelled to defend my culinary honor by posting successful meals from the recent past. This one dates back to the end of March and was the inaugural dish for my beautiful blue dutch oven (made possible via dealzdealzdealz from Stacy)

Milk and lemon together sounds like a terrible combination, but this came out beautifully and the split milk is actually a very nice gravy for the chicken.

Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in milk

1 whole chicken, approx 3.5 lbs
salt and pepper
1 stick of butter (4oz)
olive oil
1/2 cinnamon stick
sage leaves
zest of 2 lemons
10 cloves of garlic, with the skin on (I used probably double this)
1 pint milk

Preheat oven to 375°.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and fry it in the butter and olive oil, turning until golden all over. Remove the chicken and pour off the fat. I saved it for the veggies that accompanied the meal. Put all remaining ingredients in pot along with the chicken and cooking in the oven for 90 minutes with the lid on. Baste occasionally.

Meat should be tender and practically falling off the bone. Serve with plenty of sauce.