Brazilian Style Braised Pork
Clark’s mother, Ruth, used to make the traditional holiday meal of Brazil (and other former Portuguese colonies). She would do it the traditional way, with ham hocks, smoked bacon, and pork butt slowly cooked with bay leaves and served with stewed black beans and orange. This is our rendition, or if you will, our fun take on this dish. For all of you Portuguese tradition police out there, think of it as our homage to this great dish.
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs pork butt
4 T olive oil
2 T cumin seeds
2 T fennel seeds
1 T black peppercorns
1 Spanish onion coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves
3 C chicken stock
3 C black beans cleaned and soaked in cold water overnight
5 bay leaves
1 Poblano pepper (optional)
Jasmine rice cooked to the instructions on the bag
1 red onion thinly sliced
1 C white wine vinegar
2 T Tabasco
2 bananas cut lengthwise skin left on
2 T sugar
2 oranges peeled and cut into ⅛ rounds
1 lbs Chorizo sausage
Kosher salt
black pepper
TO BRAISE THE PORK BUTT
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. in a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat 2 Tablespoons of the oil. Sprinkle the butt with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot but not smoking, sauté the butt on all sides until it is golden brown. Remove the but from the pan. Place the seeds, peppercorns, onion, garlic, and then the stock and the butt into the pan, cover with a lid and place it into the oven. Alternatively you can use a stock pot to braise the but with the same ingredients after you have sautéed it in a saute pan. Turn the butt every half hour. The butt should take about three hours to cook or until very soft to the touch.
TO PREPARE THE ACCOMPANIMENTS
Place the beans in cold salted water and simmer at medium heat until they are soft or about two hours.
Cook the Jasmine rice and set aside.
Toss the Poblano pepper in one Tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Place it in a pan in the oven and cook the pepper until it is soft to the touch or about one half hour. Remove the pepper from the pan, place it in a covered dish and allow it to steam for about five minutes, then peel, seed and julienne the pepper.
Put the red onions in a bowl and toss with the vinegar and Tabasco and set aside.
Place the banana skin side down in a casserole, sprinkle with the sugar and place them in the oven to bake until soft and golden or about twenty minutes.
In a non-stick saute pan heat the remaining olive oil and sauté the chorizo on both sides until done, about four minutes a side.
TO PLATE
Remove the butt from the braising liquid and place it on a cutting board to rest for about five minutes and then slice into portions. Place a portion of the rice and beans on each plate as well as a chorizo pate. Garnish with the onions, a banana half and the Poblano peppers and orange slices and serve at once.
