Corazon Pork (Shoulder) v1.0
I have been working on this pork shoulder recipe since 2008 or 2009. I really can’t remember, but this recipe is the first recorded version I have written down. I found it in a wirebound notebook with yellowed pages and food stains… so you know it’s good.
This whole roasted pork shoulder was the center of my pop-ups. I still make it for parties and sometimes lunch and dinner at home for a week. You can also freeze the leftovers and eat it again in a few months.
Ingredients
This makes a lot of pork.
4-5 lbs. pork shoulder*
a carton of orange juice
a bunch of garlic cloves, smashed
2 yellow onions, sliced
4-5 bay leaves (or more specifically a bay leaf per pound of pork)
Corazon spice rub v1.0
*I prefer using bone-in, skin-on pork. Bone-in meat always has better flavor and the skin will melt down into an unctuous gelatin.
You will need this recipe within the recipe to start…
Corazon spice rub v1.0
8 parts brown sugar
2 parts paprika
1 part kosher salt
1 part crushed red pepper
1 part garlic powder
1 part cumin
1 part olive oil
1. Just blend everything together in a bowl and set aside.
And now on to the pork recipe…
1. There are 2 ways to prepare the pork. It kind of depends on what size cooking vessel you have. If you have a large cooking vessel, you can keep the pork shoulder whole. If you have a small cooking vessel, you will have to cut the pork down into manageable chunks. Let’s imagine you have a huge dutch oven…
Cut crosshatch slits into the skin. So that means cut lines down one direction, then rotate the pork and cut lines down the other direction so it looks like several tic tac toe games. Using the tip of your knife, stab the pork a bunch of times all over.
2. Rub the pork all over with the spice rub. Every visible bit of pork needs spice rub. You can always make more spice rub!
3. Cover the pork in plastic wrap and leave the pork in the fridge for at least 8 hours, but overnight is best. Catch up on some Netflix. Ozark is pretty good if you are looking for something.
4. Okay, we’re ready to cook… take the pork out at least 30 minutes before putting it in the oven. It’s always best to start cooking meat from room temperature. Anyways, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. You’ll probably have to move your rack toward the bottom to accommodate the height of the pork.
5. Heat a glug of vegetable oil in your dutch oven (or whatever you’re using) over medium high heat on your stove. When the oil is about to smoke, sear your pork shoulder on each side.
6. Drop in the orange juice, garlic, onions, and bay leaves. In terms of liquid, you want it to just be covering the pork so you can add water to make up the difference if you need to. Bring it to a boil.
7. Once the liquid is boiling, cut the heat, cover your dutch oven with a lid or tightly wrap it with aluminum foil and put it in the oven.
8. Now we wait. Check the pork after 4 hours for doneness. If the pork falls apart and you can easily tear of a chunk with a fork, it’s done. If not, check back every 2 hours. One of the nice things about pork shoulder is it’s super forgiving. I’ve fallen asleep and had the pork cooking for 8, 10, 12 hours. It’s almost impossible to overcook pork shoulder using this method.
9. When the pork is done, take it out of the oven. Crank up the heat to 500 degrees.
10. Now we need to make a crust for the pork… The crust is simply 8 parts brown sugar and 1 part kosher salt. Just mix that together into a bowl and shower it over the pork, making sure to coat it evenly.
11. Put the pork back into the screaming hot oven for 10-20 minutes. You want the crust to caramelize, but not burn. Just keep an eye out and check every 5 minutes.
12. Whew, we’re done. All that’s left is to place it on the table and tear into it.
Notes:
To make the Corazon pork taco, here’s what you need…
corn tortillas, griddled
roast garlic aioli (or even just a swipe of mayo is cool)
a few spoons of the cooking liquid
fried shallots
cilantro, finely chopped