The Great American Slow Cooker Book (45 page)

2
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the pork is quite tender.

3
Transfer the pork chunks to a bowl; strain the fat from the sauce, either by spooning it from the surface or by pouring the sauce into a fat separator. Pour the strained sauce into a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Boil until reduced by half. Cool a few minutes, then pour the sauce over the pork in the bowl.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Here’s a reinvention of the Tex-Mex favorite, developed specifically for the slow cooker.

•
There’s no additional salt needed here, because there’s plenty in the canned chiles.

ALL-AMERICAN KNOW-HOW
To peel garlic cloves before you mince them, lay them on a cutting board, set the side of a large knife on top, and give the flat surface of the blade a whack. The garlic cloves underneath will split open—no big deal, since you’re going to mince them anyway. More important, the papery hulls will slip right off.

Serve It Up!
Have flour tortillas at the ready, along with sour cream, minced cilantro leaves, diced avocado, sliced olives, and sliced radishes. For the best taste, warm the tortillas over an open gas flame, about 10 seconds per side, until browned and even a little charred in a few places.

1
Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Seed the chiles by tearing them open and discarding their seeds and white membranes. Remove and discard the stems, then tear the flesh into small pieces and place it in a bowl. Cover with boiling water; set aside to soak for 20 minutes.

2
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat for a few minutes, then swirl in the oil. Set the pork shoulder in the skillet; brown it on all sides, which may take up to 15 minutes depending on how much pork you have. Transfer the pork shoulder to the slow cooker.

3
Brown the onion in the skillet, stirring until it’s soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, stir over the heat a few seconds, then scrape the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker with the pork.

4
Drain the chiles in a colander set in the sink. Place these softened chiles in a large food processor; add the broth, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, thyme, cloves, and pepper. Process until you have a fairly smooth paste, scraping down the inside of the canister once or twice. Pour the sauce over the pork and vegetables.

5
Push the plantains and bay leaves into the sauce in and around the pork. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the pork is ridiculously tender.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Mole rojo (
MOH-lay RO-hoh
) is a red chile sauce, sour from the vinegar but balanced with plenty of herbs. It’s one of the world’s best braising mixtures.

•
Feel free to mix up the chiles in this sauce, substituting a few dried New Mexican chiles for a few of the anchos and ending up with a brighter sauce that’s a little more sour.

Serve It Up!
Mole rojo does best with a sweeter side dish. How about a salad of orange slices and mango chunks, tossed with minced cilantro, salt, and a splash of aged balsamic vinegar?

1
Make a coarse, dry paste by stirring the garlic, salt, coriander, and fenugreek in a small bowl. Use a paring knife to make slits all over the roast; smear the paste into these openings.

2
Heat a large skillet over medium heat for a few minutes, then swirl in the oil. Place the pork butt into the skillet. Brown it on all sides—which is easier said than done, given its shape. Be patient and precise, leaving each side over the heat until you get some fairly dark bits. The whole process may take up to 20 minutes.

3
Put the roast in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours in a small slow cooker, 9 hours in a medium model, or 10 hours in a large one, or until the meat is fork-tender but not yet falling apart at the bone.

4
Transfer it to a cutting board using tongs and a large spatula. As the meat rests for 10 minutes, skim the fat from the juices in the slow cooker either by running a flatware spoon along their surface or by pouring them into a fat separator and leaving them be for a few minutes. Pour the skimmed juices into a medium saucepan; stir in the cilantro and vinegar. Bring to a boil over high heat; then continue boiling until reduced by half, between 5 and 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Carve the roast into slices for serving and pass the sauce on the side.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Maybe now’s the time to get the kids involved in cooking! small fingers are needed to get the spice paste into the slits without tearing the meat.

•
These flavors are modeled on roasts from southwestern Russia and nearby Georgia. The meal is savory, even a little muskier than some preparations for pork butt. It’ll pair well with a sweet white wine or even beer at the table.

ALL-AMERICAN KNOW-HOW
When you carve a pork butt, make those slices
against the grain
. However, the grain’s direction can be hard to determine, since several muscle groups make up a pork butt. Make a slice, note the grain inside, and turn the cut so that the grain runs perpendicular to your knife as you carve. That said, some pieces may just chunk off whole onto the cutting board. Small ones can be served whole; larger ones can be sliced against the grain.

1
Mix the coriander, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, pepper, cardamom, and saffron in a large bowl. Add the chunks of pork; stir until every piece is coated in the spices. Scrape the contents of the bowl—and every last grain of spice—into the slow cooker.

2
Melt the butter in a large skillet over low heat. Add the onion, reduce the heat even further, and cook until very soft and sweet, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the onion starts to brown, reduce the heat still more and stir more frequently. If it is truly browning, remove the skillet from the heat and cool for a couple of minutes before proceeding.

3
Scrape the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker. Stir in the walnuts, raisins, and preserved lemon. Toss well, pour in the wine, and stir again.

4
Cover and cook on low for 7 hours, or until the flavors have blended and the pork is beyond fork-tender, even spoon-tender.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Here’s an aromatic curry, with warming spices instead of hot, the perfect antidote to a chilly evening. Note that the pork is cut into smaller chunks than in some other recipes. Good knife work will pay off with a better dinner—and a faster cooking time here.

•
You’re not caramelizing the onion in step 2; you’re simply cooking it until it is sweet, browning the batch as little as possible.

SHORTCUTS
If you have a no-turmeric, no-salt curry blend (thus, not the standard yellow curry powder), you can substitute it for the first six ingredients; use 1 tablespoon in a small slow cooker, 2 tablespoons in a medium cooker, or 3½ tablespoons in a large one.

INGREDIENTS EXPLAINED
Preserved lemons are a Middle Eastern specialty: little lemons preserved in a brine of their own juices and water. The pulp is soft and squishy but the rind retains more texture. Look for them in the international aisle of most supermarkets.