Recipe #60 - Stirring the Pot: Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder with Salsa Verde

I don't know about you all, but sometimes there are just posts that I don't want to write.  This post is one of them.  Theoretically, this meal should have been wonderful.....but it wasn't.  The pork shoulder, while wonderfully seasoned and slow cooked, should have been meltingly tender and mouth-watering.  It wasn't. I'm not faulting Tyler's recipe at all.  If anything, the blame is on me.  Somehow or another, I chose a bad cut of meat that was tough, fatty, and almost impossible to cut.

Does this ever happen to you all?  Do you occasionally make a recipe to find out that you're working with a bad cut/piece of meat?  It doesn't happen often, but I seem to experience this at least once or twice a year. At any rate, I really wish this recipe had not turned out so poorly because the pork roast smelled so heady with aroma as it cooked in the oven.  I think this recipe, when done correctly, would be fantastic.

Tyler's recipe for the pork consists of rubbing a herb paste made from toasted ground fennel, garlic, rosemary and sage all over the pork to create a crispy and flavorful outer coating.  Tyler pairs what should be a wonderfully tender pork shoulder with grainy mustard mashed potatoes and tangy and sweet salsa verde.  With the right pork shoulder, this would be an incredible meal. The recipe can be found on Tyler's blog, HERE.

Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder with Salsa Verde and Grainy Mustard Mashed Potatoes

Adapted from Stirring the Pot

Serves 6-8

1 4lb. boneless pork shoulder

2 tablespoons fennel seeds

4 garlic cloves, peeled

1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves

4 tablespoons kosher salt (1 tablespoon for every lb. of meat)

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 recipe Salsa Verde (see recipe, below)

1 recipe Grainy Mustard Mashed Potatoes (see recipe, below)

1 sprig fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Place the pork, fat side up, in a roasting pan fitted with a rack insert.  For the rub, toast the fennel seeds in a small saute pan over medium heat until fragrant.  In a food processor combine the toasted fennel seeds, garlic, rosemary, sage, salt, and pepper.  Pulse to combine.  With the motor running, gradually pour the oil through the feed tube to form a paste.  Rub the herb paste on the pork.  Cover the pork with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325F  Allow the meat to stand at room temperature for 3o minutes.  Loosely cover pork with aluminum foil; roast about 3 hours, until juices run clear (160F).  Let the meat stand for about 15 minutes before slicing.  Serve with Salsa Verde and Grainy Mustard Mashed Potatoes and garnish with parsley.

Salsa Verde

Soak 1/2 cup golden raisins in warm water until softened; drain.  Rinse 1/2 cup salted button capers.  In a food processor combine raisins; caper; 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots; 1 cup fresh Italian parley; the  juice of 2 lemons; 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard; 1 teaspoon lemon zest; and 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Pulse for 30 seconds, until combined.  Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Grainy Mustard Mashed Potatoes

Heat 1 cup whipping cream and 4 tablespoons unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts; set aside and keep warm.  Place 3 large peeled Yukon gold potatoes in a saucepan; add cold water to cover.  Place saucepan over high heat; bring to boil.  Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt; reduce heat.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.  Drain.  Pass potatoes through a food mill into a bowl.  Stir in cream and butter mixture.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Stir in a 1/4 cup olive oil and 3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard.

Notes/Results:  The herb paste created a wonderfully flavorful and crispy coating on the outside of the pork shoulder.  Unfortunately, my pork shoulder was pretty much inedible.  As a lover of all things mustard, I did enjoy the grainy mustard mashed potatoes, although it's hard to knock plain old mashed potatoes.  The Salsa Verde was a nice accompaniment, sweet and tangy.