[Sca-cooks] Playing with my food again...

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Phlip wrote:
>OK, a couple days ago, I tried Adamantius' Pork Shoulder recipe. Any of
>you who like pork, try it- it's absolutely excellent ;-) Only one
>warning/modification- throughout it, he refers to lifting up the "fat" to
>get the rub in- I emailed him about it, because our shoulder came with fat
>and skin- yes, partially remove the fat _AND SKIN_.
>
>The meat was flavorful and tender, the skin was delightfully crisp, and very
>much a tasty addition to the rest of the shoulder. Rob and Margali
>apparently didn't like the skin, so poor suffering me had to eat it all up-
>Woe is me, woe to my cholesterol, but DAMN, it was good ;-)
>
>And, those of you who don't think you'll like the skin- don'r remove it,
>other than the loosening you do to get the rub into the meat. Replace it,
>and salt it, even if you think you won't eat it, because the skin is what
>keeps all the juices in, and makes the meat so utterly delectible.

Indeed.

The two times i cooked the Boar Hunt (one was my 
very first feast as head cook, 2000, and only the 
2nd feast i'd ever worked), i got a two pork 
legs. Bone removed. Skin and fat removed and 
retied around the meat. Together they weighed 
around 40 lbs. (the feast was for 72-80 people)

I purchased already peeled garlic which we 
smashed with knives and cleavers. Then we 
completely slathered the meat with mass 
quantities of the pureed garlic. Then we tied the 
fat and skin back around the meat. The pork went 
into the oven around 10 AM at 350° F. I used a 
thermometer in the oven to verify the 
temperature. The pork wasn't done until after 6 
PM, when the internal temperature of the meat was 
some number the butcher told me, i forget now, 
but i knew at the time... The web suggests 
temperatures between 155 and 170 F for pork.

The pork came out of the oven, the ties around 
the skin were cut, the skin removed, and the pork 
sliced and served. The meat was falling apart and 
meltingly delicious, moist and tender and tasted 
wonderfully of garlic.. It was served with 
several sauces, but i was just sucking it up the 
way it was - it was so good it hardly needed any 
salt.

There wasn't a scrap leftover.

I think good roast pork is my favorite meat. (OK, i love bacon...)
-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita