Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder With Braised White Beans Recipes

SLOW-COOKER PORK SHOULDER WITH WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Spray 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
• Rub pork with oil, then salt and pepper. Heat 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; brown pork in skillet 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to slow cooker.
• Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix beans, garlic and sage. Pour into slow cooker around pork. Cover and cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours.
• Turn off slow cooker. Carefully transfer pork to large cutting board. When cool enough to handle, shred pork with 2 forks; discard fat and cartilage.
• Meanwhile, drain bean mixture in colander set over large bowl; reserve cooking liquid. Return beans to slow cooker. Mash beans with wooden spoon or potato masher, adding 3 to 6 tablespoons reserved liquid to desired consistency. Stir in cheese and 2 tablespoons of the parsley.
• In large bowl, beat honey and vinegar with whisk. Stir in shredded pork. Serve bean mixture with shredded pork; top with remaining 2 tablespoons parsley.

SLOW-COOKED TUSCAN PORK WITH WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Sort and wash navy beans and place in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; cover and let stand for 8 hours.
• Drain beans. Place beans, 1 t sage, 1 t salt, 5 cloves of garlic and bay leaves in ziptop bag.
• Combine 2 t sage, 1 t salt, 1 t fenel seeds and 3 cloves of garlic. Rub mixture over pork.
• Place pork in a zip top bag.
• Place both bags in a larger bag labeled with directions.
• To serve: Thaw overnight in fridge.
• Place beans, pork and 4 cups of water in a slow cooker. Cook on HIGH 8 hours. Pull pork apart into chunks and serve with bean mixture.

SLOW-COOKED PORK SHOULDER WITH BRAISED WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Pork:
• Sprinkle pork all over with 3 Tbsp. or 5 tsp. salt. Tear 4 bay leaves and 1/4 cup sage leaves into small pieces and scatter over pork. Place pork on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap; chill 12 hours.
• Let pork sit at room temperature 1 hour. This will help it cook evenly.
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high. Cook pork, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 15-20 minutes. Transfer pork to a large plate.
• Remove pot from heat and pour off any fat. Discard fat and any leaves in pot; wipe out pot. Add remaining 2 Tbsp. oil to pot along with garlic, juniper berries, peppercorns, sage sprigs, and remaining 4 bay leaves. Cook over low heat until garlic just starts to brown around the edges, about 1 minute. Pour in wine and vinegar. Return pork to pot, placing fat side up, and cover with parchment paper, tucking edges down around sides of pork (this prevents it from drying out). Cover pot with a lid, transfer to oven, and cook pork 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300° and cook, turning pork every 30 minutes or so and adding a splash of water if braising liquid is reducing too quickly, until meat is very tender and pulling away from the bone, 2 1/2-3 hours.
• Let pork sit until cool enough to handle. Remove bones; discard. Shred meat into 2"-3" pieces, removing any excess fat (it should pull apart very easily but still hold together in pieces). Transfer meat to a large saucepan and strain braising liquid over; discard solids. Cover and keep warm over lowest heat until ready to serve.
• Beans:
• Combine tomato, garlic, sage, beans, and 2 Tbsp. oil in a large pot. Pour in cold water to cover by 1 1/2" and bring to a simmer over medium heat, skimming foam from surface as needed. Reduce heat so that liquid is at a very gentle simmer; cook until beans are almost tender but still slightly starchy in the centers (you want them to be about 75 percent cooked), 35-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 300°F while the beans are still cooking.
• Remove beans from heat; season with several generous pinches of salt and add remaining 1/4 cup oil. Transfer to oven and bake without disturbing beans (you want a film to form on the surface) until tender, 15-25 minutes. Finishing the beans in the oven ensures that they are evenly cooked and creamy. Turn off oven and leave beans inside to keep warm until ready to serve.
• Greens and assembly:
• Working in 2 batches, cook spinach in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender and no bite remains, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and let cool slightly, then squeeze out excess water.
• Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a medium skillet over medium and cook garlic, stirring, until softened and barely golden, about 1 minute. Add spinach and stir just to coat leaves in oil and warm through.
• To serve, spoon beans plus a bit of their cooking liquid onto plates. Arrange several pieces of pork and spinach over beans. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
• Do Ahead
• Beans can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool in liquid; cover and chill. Reheat gently before serving.