Pork Shoulder w/ Arugula Salad

I love the section of Bon Appetit where they share favorite recipes from some of the best restaurants in the US. Taking a peak inside their menus and making something put together by a great chef and having it come out just as awesome...makes me feel like I can actually cook.

I chipped into this pork shoulder with treviso radicchio and balsamic vinegar. It came from a restaurant in NYC called Lupa. 

I know it calls for a lot of onions, but use them all. They'll cook down and they make life so much better.

Start this recipe the day before you want to serve it so the spices have time to flavor the meat.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 3 1/2–3 3/4-pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed, cut into 1 1/2'–2' cubes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 4 cups sliced onions (about 2 large onions)
• 1 1/2 cups fruity white wine (such as Pinot Gris or Chenin Blanc)
• 2 cups low-salt chicken broth 

Mix first 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Add pork and toss to coat. Cover and chill, tossing occasionally, at least 8 hours or overnight.

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown pork on all sides, lowering heat if meat begins to scorch, about 5 minutes per batch. Using tongs, transfer pork to a medium bowl. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and onions to pot; sauté until slightly softened and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add wine; cook, scraping up browned bits, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add broth; return pork to pot.

Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pork is tender, about 2 hours. Reserve 3/4 cup braising liquid for radicchio. Set pork in remaining liquid aside. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Chill pork and reserved 3/4 cup braising liquid separately (uncovered) until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before serving.

The pork turned out delicious and the sauce was to die for. I made a few adjustments to this recipe because I couldn't find anything along the lines of radicchio for the salad, so I subbed in a little arugula salad with a mix of sweet fig balsamic vinegar and lemon-infused olive oil that I picked up at Oh Olive. Have you heard of it? It's the coolest little shop on Armitage that has a ridiculous variety of flavored and infused olive oils and vinegars.












Happy Saturday!