It's been a long four day weekend, folks.
Between the power outage and the snow, we were already worse for the wear. Then, a family emergency sent my husband hiking out of our neighborhood yesterday to get a rental car so he could be with his family during a critical time.
Home alone, and facing tonight's prospect of another predicted 10 inches of snow, I hiked over our back fence through the snow to the main road in order to do some grocery shopping.
Comfort food. That's what I wanted- something warm and hearty. Something that would fill me up after trudging through the snow and shoveling the icy pile at the edge of our driveway.
This braised pork shoulder is just the thing. Simple to make and slowly cooked, the meat just melts in the mouth with its rich and tangy sauce.
The pork shoulder is seared over high heat in bacon grease, giving the meat a nicely caramelized crust. Then, a finely chopped mirepoix (celery, carrots, and onion) and tomato paste mixture is quickly sauteed in the pan.
Covered with red wine, beef stock, and tomato puree, the roast slowly braises in the oven for over two hours.
When the roast is fall apart tender, it is removed and allowed to rest before the meat is shredded and incorporated back into the sauce. I recommend serving it over a heaping pile of egg noodles on a cold snowy day.
Braised Pork Shoulder in Red Wine Tomato Sauce {serves 6 generously}
- 1 4 1/2-5 pound boneless pork shoulder roast (also known as Boston Butt Roast)
- 1-2 pieces of center cut bacon, diced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 pieces of celery, roughly chopped
- 3 large cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
- 1/2 large red onion, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
- a few dashes of red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 TB tomato paste
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 3/4 cup red wine
- beef stock, to cover (about 2 cups)
- Egg noodles, cooked (for serving)
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Season the boneless pork shoulder roast with salt an pepper. Set aside. Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chopped bacon and saute until nicely browned (if the bacon sticks, you can add a small amount of olive oil).While the bacon is browning, roughly chop your celery, carrot, onion, and garlic. Toss the vegetables into a food processor with the Italian seasoning, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, and a dash of salt and pepper. Pulse the food processor until the vegetables are consistently minced into a very fine chop.
Remove the bacon from the dutch oven with a slotted spoon and set aside. Increase the heat to medium-high. The bacon grease should be hot, but not smoking. Place the pork shoulder in the hot oil and sear until dark brown on all sides. Quickly add the vegetable and tomato paste mixture. Stir and saute for approximately one- two minutes. Add the red wine and stir, picking up any browned bits off the bottom. Add the can of crushed tomatoes and beef stock to cover. Toss in the bay leaves and reserved bacon. Transfer to the oven.
Braise for approximately 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. The roast is ready when the meat is very tender to the touch.
Remove the pork roast from the dutch oven and set on a cutting board to rest for ten-fifteen minutes. In the meantime, skim any excess oil off the top of the tomato sauce and remove the bay leaves (if you can't find them all, our family likes to call them "lucky" to the person who gets one in their dish).
Remove excess fat from the pork shoulder (you will find several strips of thick fat throughout), then shred the meat. Return the meat to the sauce. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Serve the pork and tomato sauce atop warm egg noodles.
