Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation (61 page)

1. Fire
 
 
Pork Shoulder Barbecue

Active Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 4–6 hours (once the meat has been
seasoned)

In a small bowl, mix the salt and sugar until
combined. One to three days before you plan to grill, generously sprinkle the salt-sugar
rub over the entire pork shoulder, covering every surface. You may not need the full ¼
cup of rub. (A good rule of thumb is 2 teaspoons per pound of meat.) If you’re
lucky enough to have a shoulder with skin on it, score the skin in a crosshatch pattern,
leaving an inch or so between the lines. Try to work some of the rub into the scorings.
Refrigerate the pork shoulder uncovered. Bring to room temperature before you put it on
the grill.

Prepare a gas grill for smoking. Soak the
wood chips in water for about 30 minutes; set aside. On a section of the grill that
won’t receive direct heat, place a disposable pan or tray beneath the cooking
grate and directly on the flavorizer bars or lava rocks (whichever your grill has). Fill
the pan about halfway with water; this will catch drippings and keep the inside of the
grill moist. Set the cooking grate back on the grill. Adjust the burners so the
temperature in the grill is somewhere between 200°F and 300°F. Keep the burners under
the drip pan off, and those not under it on. Drain the wood chips and place them in a
smoker box. A few minutes before putting the meat on the grill, set the smoker box
directly over the heat source. (Smoke works best early in the cooking process.) Place
the shoulder on the grill above the drip pan, skin or fat side up.

Cover the grill and roast the pork shoulder
for 4 to 6 hours. The time it takes will vary depending on your piece of meat, the
grill, and the cooking temperature. Lower temperature is better but takes much longer to
cook. Whichever temperature you choose, check occasionally to make sure it does not
exceed
300°F or fall below 200°F. When the temperature of the interior
of the meat is 195°F, it should be done. Don’t be alarmed if the temperature of
the pork shoulder rises quickly and then stays at 150°F for a long time (sometimes for
several hours). This is called the “stall.” Be patient and wait for it to
reach 195°F. Check to see if the meat feels relaxed to the touch or if you can pull it
apart with a fork. If it resists, give it another 30 minutes.

The meat should by now be a deep brown
color. If the outside of the shoulder doesn’t have some dark, crispy areas (i.e.,
bark or, if you started with skin, crackling), crank up the temperature to 500°F for a
few minutes. (Keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn.) Remove the meat from the
grill and let it rest for at least 20 to 30 minutes.

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, hot
pepper flakes, and black pepper in a medium-size bowl and stir until the sugar and salt
have dissolved; set aside.

Either pull the pork shoulder apart with a
fork or roughly chop with a cleaver, incorporating crispy bits of crackling (if you have
it) or bark. Mix in a generous splash of the vinegar BBQ sauce; adjust the seasoning,
making sure there’s enough acid (vinegar) and salt. Put the remainder of the sauce
in a pitcher on the table. Serve with soft rolls. Coleslaw and beans and rice make good
accompaniments.

NOTE
:
If you don’t have a smoker box, you can make one by piercing holes all over a
shallow and narrow foil-covered aluminum pan.

VARIATION
:
With a few small changes, the same
pork shoulder can be prepared in an Asian manner. This variation is loosely adapted
from a David Chang recipe; the dashi recipe is adapted from Sylvan Brackett’s.
Cook the shoulder as above but omit the vinegar BBQ sauce. Instead, serve it with
this dashi-based ginger-and-scallion dipping sauce. Make the sauce several hours
before using so that the flavors have time to meld.

MAKE THE DASHI

In a medium saucepan, soak the kombu in the
water for 1 to 2 hours.

Set the saucepan of kombu on the stove and
turn the heat up to high. When the water begins to throw bubbles but before it reaches a
rolling boil, remove the kombu with tongs and discard. Stir the katsuobushi into the
broth, and return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the
heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

Strain through a cheesecloth-lined strainer
set over a large bowl, then press as much liquid out of the katsuobushi as you can.
Reserve the liquid. Discard the katsuobushi. You can add a dried shiitake mushroom to
the liquid as it cools. Dashi keeps in the refrigerator for 1 week, or until it starts
to cloud.

MAKE THE SAUCE

Combine the dashi, scallions, cilantro,
vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, mirin, sesame oil, and hot pepper flakes in a medium bowl.
Season to taste with more vinegar, soy, and red pepper flakes. Give the sauce a few
hours to meld before serving.

Serve the pork shoulder shredded or chopped,
along with rice and leaves of bibb (or other) lettuce. Let guests use the lettuce leaves
to make rolls filled with pork and rice and dipped in the sauce.

2. Water
 
 
Meat Sugo and Pasta

Here is Samin Nosrat’s recipe for sugo,
the classic Italian meat sauce that, depending on the region, is also known as Bolognese
or ragù. This might not at first seem like a braise—there’s no featured chunk of
animal protein—but the principles are the same: a dice of onions, carrots, and celery;
browned meat; a long, slow simmer in liquid. Making this recipe takes a few hours, so I
usually prepare a big batch and freeze some of it in containers. Samin’s recipe
calls for pork and beef, but it can be made with any kind of meat, including chicken,
duck, rabbit, or game.

Active Time: about 3 hours

Total Time: between 5 and 7 hours

MAKE THE SACHET

Combine the cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns,
juniper berries, allspice, and nutmeg in a cheesecloth and tie with string; set
aside.

MAKE THE SUGO

Set a large, wide rondeau or sauté pan over
high heat and add enough olive oil to just coat. (In general the bigger the pan, the
better.) Cook the pork in batches, adding a third to a half at a time, so that there is
space in the pan. (If it’s too crowded it will steam instead of sear.) Cook,
stirring and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until it sizzles and turns golden
brown. (Do not
season the meat—salt draws out water and prevents
browning.) Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to a large bowl, leaving the
rendered fat in the pan.

Add more oil to coat the pan, as needed, and
continue cooking the remaining pork and beef in the same way. (If browned bits start to
burn on the bottom of the pan, deglaze it between batches with a little red wine,
scraping with a wooden spoon as the wine simmers to pull up the tasty bits. Transfer the
deglazing liquids to the bowl of meats, wipe the pan dry, add more oil, and continue
browning the meats.)

While the meats are browning, make a
soffritto. Use a knife or a food processor to mince the onions, carrots, and celery
separately until all are very fine. You don’t want to be able to identify any of
the ingredients in the soffritto once the dish is cooked. (If you choose to use a food
processor, pulse the machine frequently, stopping often to scrape down the sides of the
bowl to ensure the vegetables are evenly cut. The celery and onion will release a lot of
water, so make sure to drain or pat them dry before cooking.)

When the last of the beef has finished
cooking, add enough oil to the pan to rise about ¼ inch deep. (There should be what you
might consider a scary amount of olive oil in the pot, about 1½ cups, as
soffritto
means “subfried.”) Add the minced soffritto
vegetables and reduce the flame to medium. Cook, stirring often to prevent burning,
until the vegetables are brown and tender throughout, about 50 minutes. The vegetables
will steam at first and then sizzle. If they start to burn, add some salt or a ladleful
of water or stock, and turn down the heat.

Once you are satisfied with the soffritto
(don’t rush it!), add the bottle of wine to deglaze the pan. As the wine simmers,
use the wooden spoon to scrape up the delicious brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
Once the wine has reduced a bit and its alcohol has
burned off, add
the browned meats, along with the sachet, tomato paste, Parmesan rinds (if using), bay
leaves, orange and lemon peels, and about 3 cups of the stock. Season with salt. Bring
to a boil, and then add enough milk to just cover the meat, about 3 cups. Let simmer.
Once the milk breaks down and the color starts to look appetizing, after 30 to 40
minutes, start tasting the mixture and adjusting salt, acid, sweetness, richness, and
body. If the mixture needs more acid, add wine. If it seems bland, add tomato paste to
bring it to life and make it a bit more acidic and sweet. If it needs to be richer or
the meat seems dry, add a splash of milk. If it needs more body, add stock.

Simmer over the lowest possible heat,
skimming off the fat from time to time, and stirring often, until both the pork and beef
are tender and the flavors have melded, anywhere from 2 to 4 hours total. Add more of
the remaining milk, stock, or water to ensure that the meat always stays just barely
immersed. (But don’t drown the meat in liquid.) Continue to taste as you go but
stop adding ingredients at least 30 minutes before the sugo is done so they have time to
cook into the sauce.