FESTIVE ROAST PORK FOR HOLIDAY MEALS

 

A pork shoulder roast--perfect for a holiday dinner party.

Whether you’re feeding a crowd or just a small dinner party, roast pork may be the perfect holiday menu. It’s festive and fairly economical. 

Last Christmas, when I was in the U.S. with family, I helped Juana, my Venezuelan consuegra (fellow mother-in-law) prepare a whole pernil, a whole bone-in, skin-on, shoulder of pork. She scored the outer layer of fat and studded it with cloves. In roasting, the fat would crisp to delicious cracklings. She cut deep gashes in the meat and rubbed an aromatic marinade all over it. I watched over it, turning the meat a few times, for the next 24 hours. It was then roasted in a slow oven for about six hours. 

We were 14 at table for that Noche Buena feast. The pork went around and round again and still there were leftovers (to serve with arepas on Christmas day). 

Pernil--whole bone-in pork shoulder with crackly skin will feed a crowd. 

Home in southern Spain, I couldn’t easily find a whole pork leg with skin and certainly didn’t need such a massive piece of meat for family meals. I started with a 3-pound boneless chunk of shoulder, a cut called cabezal, and used the same marinade as for the Venezuelan-style pernil. It provided a festive dinner for four, plus leftovers for sandwiches in the following days. 

Make the marinade 24 hours before roasting the pork. The ingredients given make enough marinade for a whole (8-pound) bone-in pork shoulder. If making the 3-pound boneless roast, as described, save half the marinade in the freezer for another use. It’s terrific for anything from leg of lamb to whole turkey, chicken breasts to pork chops. 

Palette of spices for marinade.

In America, Juana used store-bought spice mixes for the marinade (adobo, sazón and mojo criollo). But making your own blend is easy enough. The ingredient list is long, but probably you already have the required herbs and spices in the pantry or herb garden. Assemble them in a row and it takes no time at all to mix up this marinade. I customized the blend, adding wild fennel seeds and Spanish smoked pimentón (paprika). 

Wild fennel seeds in the mix.

Use a mortar or spice grinder to grind the dry spices and herbs. Use a mini food processor to grind the fresh herbs and aromatics. The dry ones can be stored in a jar; the fresh mix, in the fridge. Combine them immediately before using. 

Whether a whole pernil or a small roast, slow roasting at 300ºF is what makes for tender, juicy meat. Always keep some liquid in the bottom of the roaster—water, the strained marinade, wine or stock. Cover the meat with foil until the last 30 minutes. The meat should reach about 180ºF internal temperature when done. Then turn up the heat and uncover the meat so that it browns nicely.

Roast pork is ideal whether hot or cold.

Pork is juicy and tender. It's served with sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts that have roasted with the meat. I've added homemade apple chutney as a relish.

Spoon pan juices over the meat.

Herb-Marinated Roast Shoulder of Pork

Asado de Cabezal de Cerdo con Marinada de Hierbas

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast 

For the marinade:

Dry spices and herbs

2 teaspoons coarse salt

1 teaspoon peppercorns

1-2 cloves

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika)

¼ teaspoon hot pimentón or pinch cayenne

¼ teaspoon turmeric

1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

Fresh herbs, onion and garlic in the marinade.

Fresh herbs and aromatics

½ cup parsley

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

½ onion, coarsely chopped

15 cloves garlic

Zest of 1 lemon (1 ½ teaspoons)

1 bay leaf, broken into pieces

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

½ teaspoon fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons capers

1 tablespoon seedless raisins or chopped prunes

1 tablespoon olive oil

Liquid

Fresh orange juice (1 cup for the 3-pound piece of pork)

Boiling water

24 hours before roasting the pork:

Blend of dry spices and herbs.

Crush the dry spices and herbs in a mortar. Place the salt in the mortar first with hard items, such as peppercorns, cloves, coriander and fennel seeds. Continue with the oregano. Stir in the ground pimentón, turmeric and cumin. Reserve the spice mixture.

In a food processor, finely chop the parsley and cilantro. Add the onion, garlic, lemon zest, pieces of bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, capers, raisins and oil. Process to make a paste. Place in a bowl and stir in the dry spices. (Divide the mixture in half. Freeze one half to use for another marinade.)

Garlic and herb paste.

Place the piece of meat on a work surface. Use a thin knife to cut 1-inch slits all over the top and bottom of the pork. Rub the herb-garlic marinade all over the meat and into the cuts. Place the pork in a non-reactive container. Pour over the orange juice. Cover tightly. Refrigerate the meat, turning it two or three times during 24 hours.

Rub marinade on all sides of the meat and poke it into slits.

Ready for the oven--pork is tied to make a compact shape and placed on a rack in roasting pan.

Two hours before roasting, remove the meat from the marinade, scraping off excess. If desired, tie the meat into a compact roll using kitchen twine. Allow the meat to come to room temperature. Strain the marinade, saving the liquid. Discard the herbs and solids. 

Preheat oven to 400ºF. 

Place the pork on a rack in a roasting pan and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 300ºF. Add enough boiling water to cover the bottom of the roasting pan. Cover the pork with foil. Return to the oven for 1 hour.

Carefully turn the pork. Add the reserved strained marinade liquid and enough boiling water to cover the bottom of the pan. (If desired, add potatoes, carrots or other vegetables to the pan.) Cover the meat with foil and return to the oven for 1 hour. 

Check the meat again and add additional water if needed. Roast 30 minutes.

Turn the oven up to 375ºF. Remove the foil from the pork. Return to the oven until the top surface is browned, about 30 minutes.

Remove the pork to a cutting board. (Remove any vegetables to serving bowls.) Pour the pan juices into a saucepan. 

Allow the meat to rest at least 15 minutes before slicing. Bring the pan juices to a boil and simmer 15 minutes to reduce slightly. Season, if needed, with salt and pepper. Serve alongside the pork.

'Twas the day before Christmas and I've got a lovely gift! Fresh orange juice goes into the marinade for the pork.

More recipes for pork shoulder:

Larded Pork Pot Roast (Carne Mechada).

Zamora-Style Rice with Pork and Sausage.

Pork Braised in Milk.

Galician Pork with Greens (Lacón con Grelos).

Pork and Vegetable Stew.

WHAT A BOAR!

Wildlife comes with the territory. Where I live, on a hillside at the edge of protected sierra pine forests, at the head of a steep arroyo where a trickle of water runs year-round, I have become accustomed to various sorts of birds and beasts. Foxes, genets, mongooses, martens, rabbits, an occasional mountain goat. Plenty of geckos. Oh, and to the distress of some of my guests, field rats that gorge on wild figs.

From my kitchen window. Much wildlife in the steep arroyo below me--including wild boar.

But recently I have had a new invader. Something digging up the damp earth under a woodpile, trampling the vegetable garden, even overturning big flower pots on a side patio. This was something considerably larger than your standard mole or marauding dogs.

One night, just outside my bedroom window, I heard loud grunting and snorting sounds. The next morning I discovered my plot of newly-planted onions had been rooted up. My invader was a wild boar. Maybe several of them. They root for grubs in damp earth beneath stones, woodpiles and in gardens. (But, they don’t eat the plants!)

Boar have become a real nuisance in this region of southern Spain. They’ve left their wilder habitats to forage in greener pastures, in the lush golf courses of this resort region. Organized hunting and trapping help to control the populations. Unfortunately, these swine have migrated to my hillside.



Initially, I was a little fearful of coming face-to-face with a wild boar in my garden. But it seemed to roam only at night. My son constructed a trap, a pit covered with brush, but we caught not a thing. I hate to think what we would have done if one had been ensnared!

While shopping recently at HiperCor, the supermarket of El Corte Inglés, I found a selection of wild boar meat. Fantasizing the demise of my neighborhood boar, I bought a chunk of lomo, boneless loin. Pretty expensive, €24 per kilo ($11.50 per pound).

Boar loin braised with wine and onions is tender, but not juicy. The onion sauce is fantastic.

Boar meat with a side of parsnips crushed with olive oil. Chestnut puree would be good too. A reserva red wine.

How to cook it? Red wine and autumn wild mushrooms? Sweet-sour flavors (Sherry vinegar and PX sweet wine)? Chestnuts? In memoriam of my destroyed onion patch, I decided to cook it encebollado, in a red wine-onion sauce.

Wild boar is somewhat like pork, but a little gamier and a lot leaner. Tender cuts such as loin and tenderloin can be cooked quickly and served slightly pink, while cuts from the shoulder or leg need long braising.

I maybe made some wrong choices. After marinating, I slow-cooked the loin. Although it was tender, it was awfully dry.  I probably won’t buy boar again. I used the rest of the delicious onion sauce to cook a chunk of pork loin. Delicious! And, should I ever catch a boar, I’ve got some recipes waiting.

The meat I bought had been soaked in a salmuera, a light brine, so it would keep, refrigerated, for a longer period of time. For this reason, I did not add salt to the marinade. If using fresh meat, add about 1 teaspoon of salt to the marinade.

Loin of Boar in Onion Sauce
Lomo de Jabalí Encebollado

Serves 4.

1 ½ pounds boneless loin of wild boar or pork
1 ½ cups red wine
2 slices orange
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
2 cloves
1 teaspoon juniper berries (enebro), optional
1 sliced leek
3 large onions
¼ cup olive oil
Flour
1 carrot, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped

Red wine and herb marinade for wild boar.

Place the loin in a glass or earthenware bowl just large enough to hold it. Add the wine, bay, orange slices, peppercorns, cloves, juniper berries and sliced leek. Cover and refrigerate 12 to 24 hours, turning the meat at least once

Remove the meat and pat it dry. Strain the marinade and save the liquid. Discard the solids.

Cut the onions in half, then slice them crosswise. Heat the oil in a heavy pan. Add the onions and cook slowly, stirring frequently, until they are deep golden brown, about 15 minutes. Tilt the pan so the oil drains to one side and lift out the onions and reserve them.

Slowly brown sliced onions, then brown the meat.

Lightly dust the meat with flour on all sides. Place it in the pan and brown on all sides. Add the carrot, garlic and browned onions. Add the strained red wine marinade. Cook the meat, covered, turning occasionally, until it is tender, about 1 hour. If liquid cooks away, add a little water or meat stock. The onion-wine sauce should be quite thick, almost jammy.

Let the meat rest 10 minutes on a cutting board. Slice it crosswise and serve with the hot onion sauce.