Need help with: Slow-Roasted Pork with Citrus and Garlic

(Stickin' with mammoth) #1

Okay, you gourmands sucked me in, now I’ve bought all the ingredients and a giant chunk of pork. Here’s the recipe I’m getting started on tonight:

Questions

  1. Will a broiler pan work for a roasting pan?

  2. Do I have to trim off the fat like they say? I just as soon leave it on, nom, nom, nom.

  3. When they say “reserved peels,” do they mean thinly sliced, cut into sections, pith included, what?

  4. Should I save the bone for bone broth?

I’ll start this tonight or tomorrow morning, depending on when I gather answers. I’m going to marinate it for at least a day. Once I come out of the pork coma, I’ll let you know how it was. (burp!)

Venting (non-supportive family members)
#2

This is why I take photos of steps in recipes. Makes process steps very clear.

My interpretation of recipe to answer your questions:

  1. see picture below of rack in roasting pan (two types to set meat on). What they are describing is the grill on the left, and I think you have the one on the right, correct?
  2. Don’t trim fat off. Keep all of it on.
  3. The reserved peels are what you have left after squeezing the juice. So, they want you to put with onions during the marinade step. Then remove them from marinade and put in fridge (so they don’t rot at room temperature). During last leg of pork roasting in the oven, they say to take from fridge and toss them in the pan with pork and onions, just to get a hint of citrus. Otherwise, if they would have been in oven from the start they would overpower the dish.
  4. Save all drippings and onions (except the peels…throw those away). Put in food processor, blitz, and you should have a nice gravy. But, account for carb count. Lots of citrus juice and onions in the gravy…the carbs will add up. You can also save the bones, and all the stuff stuck to the bones, and make broth. Depending on what shoulder cut you bought, it may or may not have bones.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #3

Thanks, Fiorella, for responding so soon. I’m looking forward to gettin’ this baby marinating by tomorrow morning.

  1. I only have a broiler pan to work with but the internet says I should go for it. I’m going for it.

  2. Excellent. Thought so.

  3. Yeah, I know, I just wanted to know how to cut them. I’m thinkin’ half inch slices oughta do the trick. But thanks for the heads up on refrigerating them, that makes a lot of sense.

  4. I’m not too worried about carb count because I’m gonna eat this straight with nothin’ else on the side. It does have a bone and I’m looking forward to boning my first broth. That didn’t sound right. Thanks for the advice on what to save and what to throw out.

One last question: What do you think about adding a teaspoon of hot red pepper flakes to this? I’m thinkin’ it might put this bad boy right over the top.

#4

I agree, you will be fine with the broiler pan. I’m not a fan of loading kitchen up with a gazillion devices. I keep my stuff to a bare minimum.

No need to cut the peels. In fact, check out the photograph in your post (picture from Foodnetwork). You will see a half lemon, squeezed of its juice, and a bit brown because it was in the oven roasting with the pork. Better to keep them whole if you want something easy to deal with. Or else, you will be on a treasure hunt looking for missing pieces. They are just there to provide a mild citrus essence.

Oh yeah, go ahead and put hot pepper flakes on your roast! Excellent idea. Recipes are usually written in “safe” form. Make it as hot as you like it your way! One teaspoon sounds good.

Let me know how it goes. Always interested to learn about new recipes. I’m familiar with using lemons with pork roast. But this one goes totally gonzo with the citrus. I’m intrigued.

(Meeping up the Science!) #5

I use a broiler pan all the time to roast widgets. Also meat.

I usually add stuff like hot pepper flakes later so they don’t get overpowering or burnt. Like, to the last hour of cooking. If it’s in a sauce or something I don’t worry. Big chunky spices might burn after several hours, though. I used to make pilacca, a spicy italian chili pepper paste, and just baste it over roasts with olive oil in the last 20-30m. I should ketofy my grandmother’s version.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #6

Good to know, good to know, thanks.

(Meeping up the Science!) #7

The real question: when are you delivering dinner? :stuck_out_tongue:

(Stickin' with mammoth) #8

If it comes out lookin’ sexy, I’ll take a pic. With all the bacon in the freezer, though, I have to keep my location top secret on this site.

#9

Nah, you can trust us! :wink:

(…while unboxing the portable bacon-detector and looking for the batteries)

(Stickin' with mammoth) #10

The high-end ones use USB ports.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #11

Okay, that was two hours of my life I’ll never get back. This pig better come out MANNA!

Thank goodness I measured out the citrus juice yields from all that hand-juicing because until I come into an electric contraption or a handsome keto slave, I’m buying that shit in a jar. I mean, don’t get me wrong, fresh is best and the kitchen smells AWESOME. but my wrists are cursing my name. I also bumped up the garlic to 11 cloves, because garlic, and added a teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the rub. And I used yellow onions. I’ll post the final recipe if it’s worthy.

So…marinating. It took every cubic centimeter of a 20 quart stock pot to contain this bad boy and I had to clamp down the lid with four office binder clips just to keep it on. I’ll roast him tomorrow.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #12

@fiorella @Donna One more question: I can do the hour-long roasting session with my broiler pan okay but when I shift to the “add the marinade to the pan and pile the onions on top of the meat” part, I’m going to have to transfer everything to a larger pot because not only is the broiler pan too shallow to contain all the goodies involved, there’s no way I can get at it with any basting tools with the rack still sitting on top.

So, will that 20 quart stock pot do? Shall I add ten minutes to the cooking time to account for the metal in the new pot warming up?

Everything’s on the counter right now, coming to room temperature, I haven’t started the pig roast yet. (begins drooling anyway)

EDIT: Never mind, I just got a whole load of excellent instructions from a savvy guy in the meat department of our local natural foods store. Dude knows his roast.

#13

Awesome you got advice on time! Keep us posted on your process and result. I’m always eager to learn from others, too.

(carl) #14

I use an oven bag.works great. 275 F for 5-6 hours.

(Meeping up the Science!) #15

Random tip: I have a gas range, so if I am ever going to switch pans, or plate food, I let it warm on the stove while things are roasting/cooking. Usually warms up the plates and pans without them being scalding.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #16

True. And I wish I had gas. I mean, a gas range. Ahem.

(Patrick B.) #17

As Chef John would say, you are the Picasso of your pork roast.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #18

Okay, the pots and pans are scrubbed, the counters are sterilized, and the overhead fan is furiously attempting to purge the house of pork essence. I’ve learned that meat smells great the first day but becomes armpit aromatherapy thereafter.

And the verdict? (drum roll…)

Meh.

Save yourself the pain. I mean, okay, the roast, itself, could win awards. I now have many Tupperware containers full of jiggly chunks of fatty, juicy, porcine perfection. But the gravy, well…There’s definitely some citrus goin’ on in there and thank GOD for the red pepper flakes because without their heat my taste buds would be rolling over and going to sleep.

Notes: I ended up putting the whole shebang (save three cups juice, otherwise it would’ve drowned everything) into a 20 quart roasting pot, tin foiling the top, and letting it go to town at 325 for 2 1/2 hours, at which point I turned it over in there and stuck it back in for another hour. I heaved it out onto a broiler pan to brown for 15 minutes on both sides at 400. I never used the citrus rinds after the fridge marination stage but I didn’t miss 'em.

Meanwhile, I reduced the gravy on the stove top and added a tablespoon of cornstarch, which didn’t do much. I ended up running it through a blender and tipping it over the pork chunks in the Tupperware so it all continues marinating in the fridge. I’m currently fighting the urge to travel back into the kitchen for another forkful, and losing. I ain’t postin’ a photo because at this point, it looks like an autopsy. I do have a nice bone left to broth with.

Moral: This would probably be better with just the oranges, leaving the lemons and limes out, and reducing the Worchestershire to 2 T.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #19

Nopenopenopenope.

I just tasted that gravy again and I have decided I kind of passionately hate it. I removed all the pork and rinsed it off, then dumped that citrus mess. (sigh)

I just discovered that lot of people in the comments section concurred with these findings but I’m not sure that would have deterred me if I had read them beforehand since so many more liked it than not. Oh, well. I got a chicken thawin’.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #20

Whew! It took 16 matches and a stick of incense to exorcise Porky. Next time, I’m doing this when I can open some windows.