"Money in the bank:" slow cooked pork shoulder

Annalena tries to prepare for things, ragazzi.  She is a bit of a spontaneous cook, but when she sees a situation up and coming, when she knows that cooking from scratch, her style, is not going to cut it, she tries to get things made and in the freezer.  That's why you will find pizza dough,  tomato sauce,  veggies that store well and cook quickly (peas, corn kernels, fava beans etc), in Annalena's freezer.  You will also find items of more substance:  like beef ragu.  Or, now, something new.  This slow cooked pork shoulder.

Pork shoulder is one of Annalena's favorite cuts of meat, and it's one she suggests you meet.  Relative to other cuts of meat, it is not expensive (although if you buy good quality, antibiotic free,  humanely raised meat, you WILL pay for it), and if you get a good cut, it is bountiful.

The factor which keeps more people from cooking shoulder, thinks Annalena, is that it is not a quick cook.  You cannot simply heat a pan, sear it on both sides, and put it on the plate.  No, no no.  You braise this.  And you braise it, as they say  "low and slow."  And if you do, then you have what you need, for a dish like the one above (which we are NOT going to make today:  we're just going to make the pork).

This is a dish from the famous chef, Nick Anderer, whom Annalena knew when he was a toddler, and was called "picky Nicky. " Tempus mutantur people grow up, and Annalena feels old.  It is the way of the world.  So what we do is look at what our young have to teach us (and they will, IF you do, as Crosby  Stills Nash and Young told us  "teach your children well).  When Annalena saw this recipe she HAD to make it.  OH, is it good.  Let's get to work.

You need very little:  you start with a couple of white onions, a small bulb of fennel, and a few stalks of celery.  Cut them into nice sized chunks:

This  will take you all of two minutes to do.  Then, put 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pot  and heat it up. 

Let's digress for a minute, on that simple phrase "in a pot."  You are going to need a pot just large enough to hold your pork shoulder, and the veggies, with a little space for liquid.    So test:  before you put the oil in, put the vegggies in, and put the meat on top.  If there is some room for liquid, you're golden.  If not, move up one size.  Don't go too big though.  You want things snug.

Ok, so let's assume you have your pot, and you've heated up your oil.  Now add the veggies, lower your heat, and take your leisure at browning them:  5-7 minutes:

Much of your work is done now.  Seriously.  Add some salt to the veggies, don't go crazy.  Now, time to take your pork.  Shop carefully for this:  you want a four pounder  boneless, and with a nice mix of meat and fat, but not too much fat: 

That's a beauty.  Now what you do is put this on top of the veggies,  and then you add chicken stock, to cover the meat.  JUST cover: 

Ok, it doesn't quite cover, but we'll be fine. Add some sprigs of fresh thyme (in the autumn and winter, try sage).  Cover this pot, put it in the oven and go away for at least three hours.  Clean your house, do homework, read Russian literature, just busy yourself.  If you remember,  you can get your tongs and turn the meat after an hour and a half.  You could very easily forget this meat, but after about 2.5 hours, your home will fill with a wonderful smell.   And after three hours, CAREFULLY take this out of the oven, and test the meat with a knife and fork:  can you shred  it?  

You can see how that big chunk of meat fell apart when Annalena worked it with her knife and fork?  If you're there, it's ready.  Let it cool, because when it's cool, you're going to break it into shreds  (this is "pulled pork," by the way, ragazzi).  The vegetables are inconsequential, and you can dump them.  The stock? You save that and pour it over the meat, to keep it moist, because you will have way more meat than you can use:  Annalena got 8 cups.  

This is very rich cartaliginous fatty meat.  So you don't need much.  For the casserole above,  Annalena used two cups with corn, squash, cheese and sauce.  And made a great dish.  You can put this on pasta.  You can use it to just fill tortillas.  Or you can mix it with barbecue sauce, and make sloppy joes.  And you don't have to make it all NOW:  you have a good number of meals, with a minimum amount of work. 

That , to Annalena, is "money in the kitchen bank," and there is nothing worth more to her.  There WILL be times when you KNOW you can't make a meal.  This will do just fine.