on the shoulder of september: boned and stuffed

in these years i was lucky enough to study with fred leebron. watch him talk about his beliefs in writing, teaching, and how his novel, six figures, came to be made into a movie.

then there's the iam interactive mediterranean project from the university of chapel hill. find cool link t ancient maps. this was great to get a sense of rome and acnient greece - which has huge influences on the city of ladies in sicily. read on down for a wonderful recipe for boned and braised shoulder.

 

stuffed, braised pork shoulder (inspired by the time life good cook series)

many of the ingredients and the method are similar but I’ve changed the marinade to a rub

meat: 4 lb pork shoulder roast, boned
2 tbsp duck fat
2 cups stock, beef, chicken, or pork (boiling)

rub: coarse salt, 1 sprig rosemary, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon dried ginger, 2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed, and 6 juniper berries, lightly bruised

meat-stuffing: ½ pound ground pork, 2 tbsp each chopped parsley and leeks, 1 tsp of coriander seed and caraway seed, 2 garlic cloves, sea salt and cubeb pepper, long pepper, 1 egg, 1 slice coarse bread, a glug of red wine to moisten

combine rub ingredients and proceed to do so over meat. let it muse in the refrigerator several hours or overnight if you can stand it. remove from said frig and bring to room temperature before proceeding.

for the stuffing, pound the garlic to a purée with some salt and pepper. combine the remaining stuffing ingredients until the mixture has the consistency of a paste.
smear the stuffing onto the top surface of the meat. tie up the meat to enclose the stuffing, resulting in a roughly spherical shape. rub the meat with olive oil.

place the meat in a large roasting pan and sear it in a pre-heated 425°f oven for 30 minutes or until the surface is golden brown.

remove the meat to a dutch oven just large enough to contain it. (we used a 2 1/2 quart le creuset.)

drain off the fat from the roasting pan, then strain the marinade into the pan and heat, stirring to deglaze the pan juices. while deglazing, in a separate saucepan bring stock to a boil.

pour the heated marinade over the meat and add enough boiling stock to come one-half or two-thirds of the way up the side of the meat. cover the pot and place it in a 325°f oven for about one and a half hours, basting the meat occasionally. during the last half hour, remove the lid, increase the heat to 375°f and baste often to form a glaze.

transfer the meat to a warmed platter. strain the liquid from the pot into a small saucepan and simmer, skimming the fat, until the sauce is reduced and free of fat. remove the strings from the meat, slice it or cut it into wedges, and serve with the sauce. excellent with roasted turnips and rutabagas.

serves 8.