One 5-pound pork shoulder -- skin on, bone in
12 to 20 small tomatillos -- paper skin removed
3 - 4 large jalapeno peppers -- cut lengthwise in strips
2 medium yellow onions -- one chopped coarsely, one cut in eighths
2 heads of garlic -- toes peeled and smashed
1 large bunch of cilantro
1/2c. tequila
3 to 4 cups chicken broth
olive oil
salt
pepper
2 tablespoons dried oregano or Italian seasonings
Serve with:
rice
tortillias
cream fresche
green onions
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Pulse a handful of cilantro, 6 toes of garlic, a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper in the food processor until a rough pesto-like paste is formed. Make cuts under the skin and between the muscles of the pork and stuff in the garlic/cilantro paste. (Put the paste inside the pork and under the skin. Don’t put too much stuff on the outside of the pork -- it will burn when you brown the meat.)
Place tomatillos under the broiler for 5 minutes or until skins blacken and they soften. Remove from heat and set aside.
Set oven to 300.
On the stove, in a heavy dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown the shoulder on all sides -- 5 minutes on each surface. Remove from pot and set aside. Remove any burned vegetable bits from the pot.
Add a little olive oil if necessary and saute chopped onion, garlic, peppers on medium heat until they soften -- scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to dislodge bits of the browned pork. Add dried herbs.
Cut the tomatillos in half and add to the saute with any juice. Continue to cook until vegetables are sweating and onions are translucent. Bring heat to medium-high and deglaze the pot with tequilla. Continue to cook until liquid is reduced by half.
Return meat to the pot - nestling it into the vegetables. Pour in chicken broth to cover about the bottom 1/3 of the roast. Add large pieces of onion and tear in another handful of cilantro. Rub the top of the roast with any leftover cilantro/garlic paste.
Cover and roast in 300 oven for 3 to 4 hours (turn roast in the pot at 90 minutes), until meat is fork-tender and falling away from the bone. When the meat is cooked, turn off the oven and return the roast to the oven uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes.
Serve with rice, flour and corn tortillias, cream fresche, avocado and green onions.
Originally posted by Kate, Oct. 6 2006
