May 22nd, 2010 
admin Pork shoulder (aka “Pork Butt”) is one of the cheapest and most versatile cuts of meat you can find. The actual cut of meat is from the upper front shoulder of a hog and nowhere near the rear. It is found under several other names including “picnic roast” and “Boston butt”.
In this dish, we use the braising technique of low moist heat to both cook the meat and make a sauce in the same pot. Braising it will break down the collagen in the roast and make it very tender. Using fruit juices as our braising liquid make a wonderful sweet and savory sauce that infuses the entire plate with the flavors of apple and dark morello cherries.
Ingredients:
- 1 2-2 1/2 pound boneless pork shoulder roast
- 3T Cooking Oil
- 2T Quick Cooking Tapioca
- 1 t Dried Thyme
- ½ t Pepper
- 1 med onion
- 1 24.7oz jar Dark Morello Cherries in light syrup- Trader Joe’s
- 1 cup Apple Juice or Cider
Equipment:
- Large Dutch Oven Casserole w/ well fitting lid (at least 3qt capacity)
- Spatula
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Oven mitts
How:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Trim any excess fat from meat. If needed, cut in half or thirds to fit into Dutch. Season with Salt and pepper. Set aside
3. Heat oil in Dutch oven over high heat.
4. Once the oil is sizzling hot, sear the meat on all sides.
5. When the roast is all nice and browned, remove to a plate and scrape all the bits that stuck to the bottom of the pan with your spatula so they don’t burn during cooking. In the rendered fat, cook the onions till they also are browned.
6. Place roast back in the dutch with the onion and sprinkle roast with thyme and tapioca. 7. Pour the cherries, along with the juices, into the pot and add enough apple juice to reach half way up the roast.
8. Cover and place in oven for two hours
Roast is done when it can be easily pulled apart with a fork!
If a thicker sauce is desired, set the pot (meat removed) on the stove top on high heat and reduce until thick. Additional tapioca and also be incorporated.
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