recipes

In this section we’re sharing our chef’s favorite recipes.

We were inspired by our customer Luis to pull this recipe together. Luis often shops for the ingredients for his Pernil at Butchers Alley and we always love hearing his stories about what he’s prepared. You can order pork shoulder, bitter oranges, olive oil and lots of other ingredients for this dish from Butcher Alley. Our pork is locally sourced from Frederick, Maryland.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

Make the Mojo Marinade

“Mojo” , pronounced mo-ho, is commonly used in Cuba as well as in many parts of the Caribbean and South and Central  America.

1. Place the whole peeled garlic cloves, Bitter Orange juice and olive oil into a food processor and blend until garlic is well minced.

2. Add remaining ingredients and blend briefly enough to mince the herbs.

3. Set aside and prepare the pork shoulder.

*Alternatively the sauce can be made by finally mincing ingredients by hand or by mortar and pestle.

Prepare the Pork Shoulder

1. Face the fat side of the pork shoulder up.

2. Using the pointed tip of a sharp chef's knife, make cuts straight down into the fat approximately 1 inch deep (Make 12 to 14 cuts, deep and wide enough to insert your finger approximately 1 inch deep).

3. Generously rub the pork shoulder with the Mojo marinade while using your finger to push some of the marinade into the knife incisions. 

4. Marinate 24 to 48 hours refrigerated, loosely covered with plastic film.

Roast the Pork Shoulder

1. Remove the marinated pork from the refrigerator, season with salt, and let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

2. Place the pork onto a drip rack then onto a roasting pan.

3. Place into the preheated 275 degree oven.

4. Insert a meat thermometer into the pork at a 45 degree angle (We highly recommend a wireless meat thermometer)

5. Cook pork shoulder uncovered until it reaches an internal temperature of 195 to 200 degrees, approximately 4 to 5 hours for a 4.5 pound pork shoulder. Pork should be very tender by now.

6. All ovens differ and if the pork were to start getting too dark it can be loosely covered with aluminum foil and reduce oven temperature slightly.

7. Remove from the oven and place on a cutting board and let rest while you make the sauce. Cover loosely with foil to keep warm.

Make the Sauce

We combine traditional Cuban flavor profiles and ingredients into our version of a Bitter Orange “Gastrique” sauce for Pernil.

1. Place a heavy bottomed medium sized saute pan over medium high heat on the stove top.

2. Add the sugar to the pan and use a long handled metal kitchen spoon or high heat spatula to spread the sugar evenly.

3. Once sugar begins to melt along the edges, begin to slowly stir with a long handled spoon or ladle until completely melted and has achieved an amber caramel color. Raise temperature if sugar has not caramelized into an amber color.

4. Add the butter to the melted sugar and stir in until completely melted, it will start to bubble at first. NOTE: Use caution with hot melted sugar!

5. Continue at medium high temperature and add the star anise, cinnamon stick and honey and stir briefly.

6. Lastly, very slowly pour the bitter orange juice into the sauce while stirring with a long handled meat spoon or high heat spatula. Use caution as adding the juice to the hot sugar will cause it to bubble furiously briefly. Stir until bubbling stops.

7. Lower heat to low and stir until a pancake syrup consistency.

8. Keep sauce warm for serving.

To Serve

Cut the butchers twine and remove.

The Pernil should be tender enough to pull the meat apart with a pair of tongs and a fork or it can be sliced.

Drizzle with the Bitter Orange Gastrique sauce.

Some Tips and Notes

• For Pork Shoulder calculate approx 45 to 50 minutes cooking time per pound at 275 degrees.

• What is a “Gastrique?. Originally a French technique of combining caramelized sugar with vinegar and adding other aromatic flavors to reduce into a sweet and sour sauce. In this case we are substituting the bitter orange juice for vinegar.

• Mojo, (pronounced Mo Ho) is a meat or poultry marinade common throughout the Caribbean and South and Central America. It usually consists of minced garlic and citrus juices.

• Bitter Oranges are also known as Seville Oranges or Sour Oranges and are just that, bitter! Combining with the sugar in the Gastrique sauce here balances the sour bitter taste.

Wireless Meat Probes

Monitor your temperature targets without opening ovens or grills. Also wifi compatible with downloadable apps to use your phone. Multiple probes allow for monitoring multiple items at the same time 

2 brands we have used: Meater and Typhur.

It’s actually winter in the DC area, for the first time in what feels like a long time. As we write this, there’s still piles of snow on the ground! We decided that for the long weekend ahead - you need a slow and meditative cooking project that produces a really delicious meal to share. So we selected the deliciously marbled, perfect for slow roasting chuck roast.

You can place an order online & have it delivered or pick it up, all items needed for this recipe are available to order online.

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 275 degrees and adjust the rack to bottom ⅓ of oven to accommodate your pot/*dutch oven.

2. Season all sides of chuck roast with salt and set aside for 20 minutes or so while preparing vegetables.

3. Preheat on stove top a 6 to 7 quart *dutch oven, over medium to high heat (a Le Creuset or similar enamel coated cast iron wide pot with lid).

4. Dry off beef of excess moisture on all sides with a kitchen towel

5. Add oil to the dutch oven and let heat up briefly. 

6. Sear chuck roast on both sides, dutch oven surface should be hot enough to create a significant “sizzling” sound. Approximately 4-5 minutes per side to develop a nice sear. Make sure to also briefly sear the sides of the chuck roast. Remove chuck roast and set aside on a plate.

7. Add the butter to pot and once dissolved add carrots, shallots, celery , a pinch of salt and let cook for approximately 4 minutes while stirring occasionally. Add the minced garlic and stir in for approximately 2 minutes.

8. Continuing over medium high heat add the tomato paste and stir in for approximately 3 minutes.

9. Add flour and stir in for about 1 minute or until well incorporated.

10. Add in wine and Worcestershire sauce and use a wooden spatula to scrape the bottom of the pot to help deglaze and remove solids stuck to the pot - this is crucial to developing flavor. Bring the wine to a simmer and stir until evenly thickened.

11. Add beef stock and veal demi and bring back to simmer. Turn heat off, push vegetables to the side of the pot and place seared chuck roast into the center of the pot, make sure to add any accumulated juices from the plate the seared chuck roast was resting in (chuck roast should be approx. ½ to ⅔ submerged in cooking liquid).

There’s two way to handle the cooking method here. You can use time & tenderness as a guide. Or you can use a wireless or wired meat thermometer. We like the latter method because you are keeping a close eye on the science of cooking, knowing when the connective tissues are perfectly broken down producing a tender & juicy roast.

 Basic Cooking Method

Cover dutch oven with lid leaving very slightly ajar to allow for steam to evaporate and aid in sauce reduction. Place into the preheated 275 degree oven and set a timer to a cook time of 4.5 hours.

Check for fork tenderness. Meat should give a minimal resistance to shredding, but not falling apart which can lead to dry meat fibers.

Our Preferred Cooking Method

Before placing into the oven we highly recommend inserting either a wireless or wired meat thermometer at a 45 degree angle into the thickest part of the roast before covering with the lid slightly ajar. Set INTERNAL temperature of the roast to 195 degrees.This has nothing to do with “doneness” but everything to do with breaking down connective tissue by converting collagen into gelatin.

190 to 200 degrees is the optimal temperature to convert collage/connective tissue into gelatin resulting in tender juicy braised meats.

A wireless or wired thermometer will allow you to monitor the meat without opening the oven and you need only to adjust the oven cooking temperature to maintain close to 195 degree target.

It should take approx. 1.5 hours to reach 195 degrees and the remaining 3 hours are spent adjusting temperature keeping it close to 195 internal degrees.

We don’t really like slow cookers or other countertop appliances for pot roast or braising as they tend to allow very little steam release and cook to internal temperatures of 250 degrees resulting in slightly tougher meats and dryer fibers in the meat. Translation - dry, chewy and sad.

Cooking Equipment

 Dutch Oven

Proper braising of meats and especially Pot Roast requires a Dutch Oven. These enameled cast iron pots deliver superior heat distribution and retention, require no seasoning, will not rust, and are super easy to clean and can last generations. Well worth the cost.

We recommend Le Creuset or similar brands. Le Creuset’s 6.75 quart Round Wide Oven is perfect for Pot Roast and any other braised meat as the extra surface area is ideal for browning, and the shallow depth promotes quicker evaporation of liquids. The unique wide base is ideal for searing and browning meat and vegetables without crowding, and makes it easy to serve casseroles and braises directly from the pot.  The generous size makes it perfect for family meals and entertaining.

Wireless Meat Probes

Monitor your temperature targets without opening ovens or grills. Also wifi compatible with downloadable apps to use your phone. Multiple probes allow for monitoring multiple items at the same time 

2 brands we have used: Meater and Typhur

Recipe note: For an Asian Fusion variation:  add 3 to 4 ounces fresh slices of ginger root to the vegetables, substitute soy sauce for the Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons plum sauce/hoisin and wrap in cheesecloth:1 tsp szechuan peppercorns along with 2 star anise.