Potted Pork Recipes

CLASSIC POTTED PORK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275°F. Mix sugar, pepper, dried thyme, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon salt in a small bowl. Place pork in a roasting pan and season with spice mixture. Cover with foil and cook until fork-tender, 3-4 hours. Let pork cool in pan.
• Meanwhile, heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until foaming, about 5 minutes. Skim foam from surface; discard. Gently simmer butter, skimming foam from surface, until butter is clear (do not let solids brown). Slowly pour clarified butter into a small bowl, leaving solids behind (you should have about 1 cup). Cover and chill until firm, 1-2 hours.
• Coarsely shred pork and place in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add fresh thyme and 3/4 cup clarified butter and mix on medium-low speed until a coarse but emulsified mixture forms; season with salt. Divide mixture between two 8-oz. jars, packing down. Melt remaining clarified butter in a small saucepan over low heat; pour over mixture. Cover jars. Chill until pork mixture is firm, at least 4 hours.
• DO AHEAD: Clarified butter and potted pork can be made 1 week ahead. Keep chilled. Let potted pork sit at room temperature 2 hours before serving.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 8-10 minutes; remove from heat. Add brandy, then return pan to heat and cook shallot mixture until brandy is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, and broth; cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are soft and glazed, 25-35 minutes. Remove from heat, discard garlic and thyme, and stir in vinegar and sugar; season with salt. Let cool.
• Serve potted pork with braised shallots, toasts, and mustard.
• DO AHEAD: Shallots can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

SMOKY CHIPOTLE BBQ POTTED PORK TENDERLOIN

Steps:

• Season the pork cubes with salt, pepper, and paprika. Dredge in the flour. Heat a Dutch oven with 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 3 turns of the pan, over high heat. Brown the pork on all sides. Remove to a plate, reduce the heat, and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the onions, peppers, celery, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cover and sweat for 8 minutes or so. Uncover and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, and then deglaze the pot with the beer and let the liquid reduce, 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes, chipotle and adobo sauce, thyme, and cilantro and heat through. Add the pork back to the pot and simmer over medium-low heat until ready to serve. Char the tortillas or prepare quick-cooking polenta. Serve with lime wedges for topping.

POTTED PORK

Steps:

• Pulse pork shoulder and fresh pork fat together in 2 batches in a food processor until finely ground (be careful not to pulse to a smooth purée), transferring to a 2- to 2 1/2-quart heavy saucepan.
• Add water, onion, garlic, bay leaves, salt, black pepper, and allspice to pork and bring to a boil, stirring to break up clumps. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender and liquid is still visible below surface of meat, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.
• Discard bay leaves from pot, then transfer pork to 5 (8-oz) ramekins with a slotted spoon. Spoon remaining liquid over pork (use caution).
• Place a small round of wax paper on surface of creton in each ramekin and chill until firm, at least 3 hours.
• Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.

POTTED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH SWEET ONIONS AND APPLE

Steps:

• Season the pork with fennel, salt, and pepper, and dredge in flour. Heat a few tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, a couple turns of the pan, in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pork and brown the meat. Do this in 2 batches if your pot size demands it. Use a little extra oil if necessary for a second batch. Remove the browned meat to a plate and add the butter to the pan. Reduce the heat a bit and add the onions, apples, bay leaves, and sage. Season with salt and pepper and cover the pan to sweat the onions for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover the pot and raise the heat a bit. When the onions start to brown, add the calvados to the pot. Add the stock, slide the pork back in, and simmer to cook through a few minutes more. Serve from the hot pot.

POTTED BEEF

Steps:

• In a heavy medium saucepan, simmer the beef in 1/4 inch of water. Stew until very tender, about 2 to 3 hours, replacing water as necessary. Drain, reserving the liquid.
• Pass the cooked stew meat through a meat grinder twice, until it is the consistency of a thick, stringy paste.
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Filter the melted butter through clean muslin (cheese cloth), to remove the milk solids.
• In a medium bowl, mix the cooked meat with 3/4 of the strained, melted butter. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and nutmeg to taste. Stir in desired amount of reserved cooking liquid to moisten.
• Transfer the mixture to sterile containers and top with remaining butter. Seal and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

PULLED PORK (CROCK POT)

Steps:

• Slice one onion and place in crock pot.
• Put in the roast and cover with the other onion, sliced. Pour over the ginger ale. Cover and cook on LOW for about 12 hours. See Note2 below regarding amount of time needed!
• Remove the meat, strain and save the onions, discard all liquid. With two forks, shred the meat, discarding any remaining fat, bones or skin. Most of the fat will have melted away.
• Return the shredded meat and the onions to the crock pot, stir in the barbecue sauce. Continue to cook for another 4 to 6 hours on LOW.
• Serve with hamburger buns or rolls and additional barbecue sauce. Any leftovers freeze very well.
• TIP: freeze ready-made sandwiches - a scoop of meat on a bun, well-wrapped. These make a great quick meal or snack. To reheat, remove wrapping, wrap in a paper towel, and zap 1-2 minute in the microwave.
• Note: Shoulder or butt are recommended because the meat shreds very well. Other cuts do not shred as readily. It is a fattier cut, but the fat melts away in the cooking and is poured away when you discard the liquid.
• Note 2: I have an older, smaller crock pot. The above times work perfectly for me. But if you have a newer or bigger crock pot, you may need to revise times downward, esp. after the bbq sauce is added. I think you need at least a couple of hours for it all to meld, but that may be all you need. Update: I recently bought a bigger crockpot, I think 5 or 6 qts. I cooked a 6 lb pork shoulder in it for 8 hours and it was shreddable at that point. Shredded, added the sauce, and cooked for another hour or so to meld everything. So use your best judgment on timing!
• Note3: You might want to turn your roast over after it's cooked a while, to ensure more even cooking. I think this may depend on the size and shape of your roast and the size of your slow cooker. Remember that each time you remove the lid you lose heat and be careful, as turning a large piece of meat is awkward.
• Note4: my sister says this takes 2 hours in the Instapot. I don't have one, up to you to figure out the steps.