Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Chili & Apple Cider Vinegar Pork

applecidervinegar-chili-pork

I've written a lot of posts lately on really quick and easy recipes, something you whip together effortlessly... but today, you're in for a different sort of treat. This recipe *is* long, and it *will* take a while - but please don't let that scare you off. You don't have to do it all at once - in fact, you could easily do step 1 on the night before you want to eat this, step 2 the next morning, and step 3 just before serving. (Or - step 1 in the morning, step 2 and 3 just before eating.) And I assure you, well worth the time.

This is a really flavorful way to cook pork, and I use a fairly cheap cut with quite a bit of marbled fat - sadly, I'm not completely sure what that corresponds to in English. Looking at wikipedia, I think it's blade shoulder, or spare rib roast, depending on where in the world you are.

The recipe is adapted from the Swedish grocery store Ica.

Chili & Apple Cider Vinegar Pork
Serves 4

800 g pork shoulder

brine:
1 yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
3 tbsp salt
700 ml water
1,5 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp black peppercorns (whole)
1 bay leaf
200 ml apple cider vinegar

spice rub:
1 tbsp yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp dried chili flakes
1-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil

Step 1:
Make the brine. Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Peel the garlic. Mix all the ingredients in a pot, and bring to boil. Stir so that the sugar and salt dissolves, then remove from heat and leave to cool.

Place the meat in a fairly narrow container, and pour the brine over it. The meat should be pretty much submerged. Use a weight if it isn't. Place in the fridge for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

Step 2:
Heat the oven to 150°C. Mix the spice rub - just toss all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix. Remove the meat from the brine, dry it off a little bit, and rub in all the spices. Place the meat in a baking dish, and bake for about one hour or until it reaches an inner temperature of 65°C. Flip the meat after half the cooking time to make sure it roasts evenly.

Remove from the oven, and let the meat rest a little bit before slicing it. Or cover and leave in the fridge for a few hours - that'll work too. Save the pan juices, whatever you do!

Step 3:
When it's time to eat, slice the meat into 1 cm slices. Grill them briefly, either in a pan or on an outdoor grill. Heat the pan juices, adding a little bit more water if needed, and drizzle the meat with them just before serving.

Recipe in Swedish:
Karré med äppelcidervinäger & chili

5 comments:

Alicia Foodycat said...

I really like the sound of that!

Anonymous said...

Wow, there it is! Thanks for posting.
Claudi

Jeanne said...

Oh my word! Brined pork is quite spectacular even though it does take a while. But as you say, if you do the preparation in stages over a day or two, it's not so bad and the end result is gorgeous.

Crystal said...

the amount of sugar in the brine says 1,5 tbsp of sugar. is this a typo and supposed to be 15 or is it 1 to 5 tbsp?

Anne said...

Crystal - no, that is indeed right, one and a half tablespoon.