You could also use it other grassfed beef cuts, Kobe beef, kurobuta pork, and a host of game meats.  It would probably also work well with seafood.

Ingredients:
5 tbsp Yuzu Juice
4 cloves of Garlic
2 tbsp grated Fresh Ginger
4 tbsp Mirin
1 tbsp Oil
Cracked Pepper & Salt to taste (we made ours rather salty)

Directions:
1. In a zip top bag, coverable bowl, or lidded container, combine all the ingredients.

2. Add the meat to the marinade.

3. Cover the container/close the bag & marinate overnight.

If you don’t have enough time to marinate overnight, put the mixture in a zip top bag and marinate several hours, flipping the bag every half hour or hour to redistribute the marinade.

4. Remove the meat from the bag and pat it dry to encourage browning.

5. Grill, broil, roast or otherwise prepare as you normally would cook that cut.

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Despite ‘s pulled pork’s image of being rich and heavy, this is a surprisingly light soup filled with pork, leek, and sweet corn flavor.  Because the leek and corn are just barely cooked at the very end, they maintain a lot of their texture and flavor.  Their sweetness and tiny crunch reaches past the pork to grab your attention, a surprise delight.

Drink Pairings: Bruner Veltliner from Austria or Savagnin for Jura

Ingredients: (Serves 4)
~ 1lb of any pork braising cut (we used pork osso bucco, but you could use kurobuta pork shoulder, kurobuta cheek meat, etc) 
½ cup aromatic White Wine (we used Riesling)
¼ cup Carrot, Medium Diced
¼ cup Celery, Medium Diced
1/3 cup Onion, Medium Diced
1 Bay Leaf
2 Garlic Cloves, peeled
1 quart Chicken Stock
1 Leek
1 Ear of Sweet Corn
1 tsp of Unsalted Butter
Olive Oil
Salt

Directions:

1. Optional: If oven braising, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

2. Let the pork come to room temperature. Dab off any surface moisture.

3. Get oil hot in a dutch oven, add the pork, and sear it on all sides in order to develop a golden brown crust.

4. Remove & reserve the pork, drain the excess fat and deglaze the pan with the wine.

5. Reduce the wine until almost completely evaporated. 

6. Add the carrots, onions, and celery. Saute until softened.

7. Add enough chicken stock to cover along with the bay leaf, garlic cloves, and seared pork.

8. Bring to a simmer, cover, and braise (either on the stove top or in the oven) for about an hour and a half, or until tender.

9. Once the pork has braised, let the contents of the pot cool completely. Remove the pork from the liquid (reserve the rest), and pick the meat from any bones. Shred the meat into bite sized pieces with your fingers or two forks.

10. Move the remaining braising liquid to a saucepan on the stove to reheat. Taste for seasoning and add salt & pepper if necessary.

11. Remove the top and bottom portions of the leek. Slice the middle into thin disks.

12. Peel the husk from the corn and snap off the stem. Slice the kernels off of the ear by holding the ear perpendicular (vertical) to the cutting board and slicing down. 

13. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Sweat the leeks until translucent, add a tsp of butter, salt, pepper, and the corn. Toss the corn in the melted butter and add the shredded pork.  Cook, stirring, until the pork has heated through.

14. Pile the pork, leek, and corn in the middle of a large bowl, and use a ladle to drizzle the braising liquid soup around it.  Serve.

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Osso Bucco & Shank Recipes
Pork Recipes

Best pulled pork sandwich ever?

Drink Pairings: US Microbrew Brown Ale or English Porter

Ingredients: (Makes 2 Servings)
~ 1lb of any pork braising cut (we used pork osso bucco, but you could use kurobuta pork shoulder, kurobuta cheek meat, etc) 
½ cup aromatic White Wine (we used Riesling)
¼ cup Carrot, Medium Diced
¼ cup Celery, Medium Diced
1/3 cup Onion, Medium Diced
1 Bay Leaf
2 Garlic Cloves, peeled
1 quart Chicken Stock
6 tbsp Mayonnaise
4 tbsp Barbeque Sauce, either use your favorite brand or try this barbeque sauce recipe
Aged Sheep’s Cheese (we used Garrotxa)
Butter Lettuce
2 Brioche Buns (or your other burger bun of choice)

Plus: 2 tbsp Salsa Verde

Directions:
1. Optional: For oven braising, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

2. Let the pork come to room temperature.  Dab off any surface moisture.

3. Get oil hot in a dutch oven, add the pork, and sear it on all sides in order to develop a golden brown crust.

4. Remove and reserve the pork, drain off the excess oil and fat.

5. Deglaze the pan with the wine.

6. Reduce the wine until almost completely evaporated. 

7. Add the carrots, onions, and celery.  Saute until softened

8. Add enough chicken stock to cover along with the bay leaf, garlic cloves and reserved pork.

9. Bring to a simmer, cover, and braise, either on the stove top or in the oven for about an hour and a half or until tender.

10. Once the pork has braised, let the contents of the pot cool completely.  Remove the pork from the liquid (reserve the rest), and pick the meat from any bones.  Shred the meat into bite sized pieces with your fingers or two forks. Store in your refrigerator until needed.

11. When you’re ready to make the sandwiches, reheat the shredded pork in a sauce pan with the barbeque sauce.

12. Stir together the mayonnaise and salsa verde until combined.

13. Grill or toast the brioche bun.

14. Spread the salsa verde mayo on the bun, pile on the pork meat, and top with grated cheese to taste.  Finish with butter lettuce, and serve.

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Pork Recipes

Braising pork or wild boar ribs helps tenderize the meat, while finishing them on the grill caramelizes the sauce into a flavorful, finger-licking, gooey-crispy coating.

Drink Pairings: Sinebrychoff Porter from Finland or Elysian’s Perseus Porter

Ingredients: (Makes 4 Servings)

4lbs of Wild Boar St. Louis Spare Ribs
(you could substitute Kurobuta Baby Back Ribs or conventional Pork Ribs)

Braising Liquid:
3 quarts of Chicken Stock
3 Cloves of Garlic, smashed with the peel on
2 Bay Leaves
½ bunch Fresh Thyme 

Plus: Homemade Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Directions:

1.  Combine the chicken stock, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme in a pot or dutch oven.

2.  Bring to a simmer, submerge the ribs & cover the pot.  Let the ribs simmer for 1 hour, 15 minutes (or until tender if substituting).

3.  Remove the ribs from the braising liquid and either reserve the liquid for another recipe or discard.

4.  Coat the ribs with the barbeque sauce. 

5.  Briefly grill the ribs to reduce and caramelize the sauce.  Serve.

Braising is a surprisingly easy cooking technique that can be used to turn affordable cuts of meat into meltingly tender, succulent treats.  The basic idea is to slow roast a tougher cut of meat in a pot with a small amount of flavorful liquid until the connective tissue breaks down and melts into the sauce. 

The braised dish Americans are most familiar with is probably pot roast, but it is also often used for braised lamb shanks, Italian osso bucco, and short ribs.

Check out our Braising Liquid Recipes for some great options, all perfect for this technique.

Basic Braising Technique:

1.  Remove the meat from your refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.

2.  Dry off any surface moisture & season the meat with salt & pepper.

3.  Get a thin layer of oil in an oven-safe pot or Dutch oven very hot on the stove.

4.  Carefully lay the meat into the oil and sear it on all sides to develop a flavorful brown crust.

5.  Once all your meat has been seared on all sides, remove it from the pot and set aside.  Reduce the heat to low and add vegetables (often carrots, onions, and celery (aka mirepoix)).

6.  Sweat the vegetables (sauté to release their flavor and aroma, but not take on color) until soft.

7.  Deglaze the plan with a flavorful liquid or combination of liquids.  Commonly used liquids include alcohol (usually red wine, but some recipes may call for beer or fortified wines) and stock or broth.

8.  Gently scrape the bottom of your pan while simmering the liquid to release the flavorful browned bits.  Once the liquid has reduced somewhat, add any herbs (thyme, rosemary and bay leaves are popular choices).

9.  Return the meat to the pan, add the lid, and move it to the stove to slowly cook for several hours over low heat.  Alternatively, you could do your braising in a pressure cooker on the stovetop, which will cook your meat significantly faster. 

Good Meat Cuts for Braising:
Bellies
Cheeks
Ribs (particularly short ribs)
Roasts
Shanks and Osso Bucco

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Meat Tips & Techniques

Donna Currie of Cookistry is known for her baking, but when no one is looking, she loves experimenting in the kitchen with interesting ingredients and new techniques. The best of those experiments end up as recipes on her blog.

Candy cap mushrooms smell and taste like maple – and what pairs better with maple than pork? A pinch of sugar adds to the sweetness in the crust, but it’s nowhere near the glazes that you find on hams – this is a savory dish, through and through.

Candy Cap Crusted Rack of Pork
with squash and apple barley

For the pork:
1 rack of kurobuta pork – 4 ribs – 3-4 pounds
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup* candy cap mushrooms, buzzed in a spice grinder to a powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar

For the barley:
3/4 cup barley
1 1/2  cups water
1 cup cooked winter squash, mashed
1/4 of a large onion, diced
1 apple, peeled and diced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter

To make the pork:
Bring the pork out of the refrigerator while you preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Put the pork on a baking sheet and sprinkle it with the salt. Coat the pork with the mushroom powder, putting most of it on the top, as much as you can get to stick. Sprinkle with the sugar.

Roast the pork roast at 325 until it reads 155 degrees in the center – about 20 minutes per pound.

Let the roast rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing. You can serve the roast sliced in thin slices or as several thicker chops.

To make the barley:
Place all ingredients in your rice cooker. Stir to combine. Cook on brown rice setting. Stir again when the barley is done cooking. If you prefer, you can cook the barley on the stovetop, but if you have a rice cooker, it makes it a bit easier.

Serve the barley alongside the pork.

*I didn’t measure the mushrooms before I powdered them, but 1/4 cup is a good estimate.

This mild, sweet braising preparation favors the rich flavor of wild boar or kurobuta pork.  We’ve paired it with some heirloom fingerling potatoes and pancetta sautéed Brussels sprouts.

Drink Pairings: Pinot Gris from Alsace or Ploussard from Jura

Ingredients: (makes 8 servings)
2-3 lbs of Boneless Wild Boar Shoulder or Boneless/Bone In Kurobuta Shoulder (~3-4 lbs if using bone-in)
12 oz of Pancetta, cubed
2 Apples, cubed but unpeeled (we used Fuji apples)
3 cloves of Garlic, smashed w/ skin on
1 cup of Onion, small diced
3 sprigs Fresh Thyme
1 quart Chicken Stock
375 ml Cider (preferably a rustic/farmhouse one. We used Dupont)
1 ½ lbs Brussels Sprouts
5oz Pancetta
¼ cup Heavy Cream
4oz Chopped Fresh Morel Mushrooms (or 1/2oz Dried Morel Mushrooms, reconstituted)
12oz Fingerling Potatoes

Plus:8 cups of brining solution (16 if using a bone-in shoulder).  Brining Solution Recipe & How to Brine

Directions:
1. Brine the shoulder overnight.

2. Trim off any silver skin or excess fat.

3. Preheat your oven to 325.

4. In a large pot or dutch oven over medium-medium low heat, render the pancetta (saute until most of the fat has melted off the pancetta into the pan, and you’re left with chunks that are beginning to crisp, but aren’t hard).

5. Remove & reserve the pancetta, add the shoulder and turn the heat up to medium-medium high.  Sear the shoulder on all sides.

6. Remove & reserve the shoulder.  Add the apples, pancetta, garlic, thyme, and onion.  Reduce the heat and sweat for a few minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to release the fond.

7. Deglaze with the cider.  Cook until you can’t smell any alcohol.

8. Return the shoulder to the pan, add the chicken stock.

9. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer.

10. Move the pot to the oven and braise until tender (around 1 1/2 to 2 hours).

11. Roast the fingerlings.

12. Cook the Brussels sprouts & pancetta according to this bacon sautéed Brussels sprouts recipe.

13. Put a layer of the braising liquid/apple/pancetta mixture on a platter.  Top with the shoulder.  Serve family style with the Brussels sprouts and fingerling potatoes.

Slow-roasting pork or wild boar ribs on the grill gives them a tougher, chewier texture than braising…but some people prefer that.  The spice rub we’ve used here is sweet up front, with a building heat in the back.

Drink Pairings: Syrah from Northern Rhone or Malbec from Argentina

Ingredients: (Makes 4 Servings)
4lbs of Wild Boar St. Louis Spare Ribs
(could substitute Kurobuta Baby Back Ribs or conventional Pork Ribs)
1 cup Brown Sugar
2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 tsp Pimenton/Smoked Paprika (could substitute other Paprika)
2 tsp Cayenne
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp freshly ground Whole Allspice (How to grind spices)
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

Directions:

1. Optional: If desired, you can brine the ribs overnight in 8 cups of brining solution before proceeding with the rest of this recipe.

2. Mix together the brown sugar, kosher salt, pimenton, cayenne, garlic powder, allspice, and red pepper flakes to make the rub.

3. Rub the ribs with the rib rub.  Wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in a bowl in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

4. Turn on one side of a gas grill, close the hood and bring it to 250 degrees (via hood thermometer).  Place the ribs on the hot side of the grill and cook them just long enough to give them grill marks.

5. Move the ribs to the cold side of the grill, and close the hood.  Roast for 1 ½ -2 hours (until the meat starts to pull away from the bone and a pool of moisture forms on top of the rib).  Slice and serve.

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Rib Recipes
Wild Boar Recipes
Kurobuta Pork Recipes

Mire Poix & Tomato Paste Braising Liquid

i. Add 1.5 cups mire poix to dutch oven stirring occasionally, until caramelized
ii. Add a teaspoon of tomato paste, stir into mire poix and cook for a couple minutes
iii. Add cup of red wine
iv. Scrape the pan to release the fond
v. Reduce liquid by half to three-quarters, or until the liquid is thick.
vi. Once the braising liquid is thick, return osso bucco to pan. Rub the osso bucco in the liquid, then flip it over, rub the other side in the liquid and let sit.
vii. Add simmering stock to the braising pan. Add enough stock to cover meat half-way or you can cover the meat completely, depending on how much liquid you want in the final dish.

Port & Red Wine Braising Liquid
i. Add a tablespoon of butter to the dutch oven
ii. Add a sliced onion and cook on high until browned
iii. Deglaze with cup each of port and red wine
iv. Reduce by ¼
v. Add 1 bay leaf and a couple sprigs of fresh thyme
vi. Return the meat to the pan
vii. Add 2 cups of simmering demi-glace

Classic Italian Braising Liquid

i. Add 1 cup mire poix, 3 whole garlic cloves and ¼ leeks
ii. Sweat the vegetables, but do not caramelize.
iii. Add 1 large sprig each of thyme and rosemary
iv. Add half-bottle of red wine (Brunello)
v. Add quart of simmering veal stock
vi. Do not reduce.

Garlic & Tomatoes Braising Liquid
i. Add 1.5 cups mire poix and 2 minced cloves garlic. Brown slightly.
ii. Deglaze with 1.5 cups of red wine
iii. Add a sprig each of rosemary and thyme
iv. Add 2 large cubed roma tomatoes
v. Reduce to cook down the tomatoes and until the liquid thickens a bit.

Coconut Milk Braising Liquid

i. Add ½ cup onion and 3 tablespoons each of garlic, jalapeno and ginger. Sweat.
ii. Add 8 oz. coconut milk & 24 oz. chicken stock

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Choucroute garnie is a satisfying comfort food made from sauerkraut, sausage and potatoes. It is a traditional dish from Alsace, a region of France combining German and French influences.

Ingredients
½ lb. bacon, chopped (Kurobuta pork bacon & cubed wild boar bellies work beautifully)
4 pork chops (kurobuta pork chops or wild boar chops would be even better!)
12 oz. rabbit sausage
6 yukon gold potatoes or yellow finn potatoes, medium diced
1 onion, sliced
2 carrots, diced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
8 cups sauerkraut (preferably bagged, not canned, but any will do)
½ bottle of Alsatian wine, such as reisling
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon whole caraway
Tellicherry peppercorns
10 juniper berries, crushed with the side of a knife
3 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade chicken stock)

Prep Sauerkraut
Soak sauerkraut in cold water for 20 minutes. Then, rinse in a colander. This will remove the intense vinegary note and make the flavor of the cabbage stand out. It helps to create a dish that is more balanced.

Prep Pork Chops
Pat the pork chops with a paper towel to dry. Season with salt and pepper.

Cooking Instructions

1. Cut bacon or belly into chunks. Add to dutch oven that has been brought to medium heat. Rendering the bacon/belly will provide the cooking fat for the dish.

2. Once the bacon has been rendered and has crisped up, remove it and all but 2 tbsps of fat from the pan.

3. Add the pork chops to the pan and brown them on each side.

4. Once the pork chops have browned browned, remove them as well.  Pour off any excess fat.

5. Add onions and garlic and sauté until translucent. If the fond (browned bits at bottom of pan) is at risk of burning, deglaze with a few tablespoons of wine.

6. Add the following to the onions and garlic: drained sauerkraut, wine, carrots, bacon (but not the bacon fat), juniper berries, bay leaf, caraway, black pepper to taste, browned pork chops and chicken stock.

7. Bring to simmer.
8. Put the lid on the dutch oven and move it to an oven preheated to 325 degrees. Braise for 1 ½ hours.

9. Halfway through the braise, return 2 tablespoons bacon fat to a sauté pan. Once hot, add whole rabbit sausage and brown on each side.  Add browned sausage to the dutch oven (simply nestle it on top with the pork chops).

10. Also while dish is braising, prepare the potatoes: Add potatoes to a pot of cold, salted water and bring to a low boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender and drain.
11. Remove the dutch oven from oven once the 1 ½ hours have elapsed. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

Presentation
Arrange a bed of some of the sauerkraut mixture along with some of the potatoes. Top them with a piece of sausage and a pork chop.

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Sausage Recipes
Bellies & Bacon Recipes
Potato Recipes
Rabbit Recipes
Wild Boar Recipes