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Succulent Rubbed Roast Pork Shoulder

1/24/2016

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Succulent Rubbed Roast Pork Shoulder • Foodidude.com
All photographs by Len Boccassini ©Foodidude.com
      I find it amazing how a simple rub and a slow roast can transform a pork shoulder into a succulent meal that can be served in a variety of manners. Once cooked, the possibilities are endless. Whether it's pulled for BBQ, shredded for empanadas or fajitas, roughly cut for Cuban-style sandwiches or served as a stand alone meal beside your favorite side dish, this simple recipe will produce a roast that is covered in a deliciously thick, crispy bark that pulls away to reveal a moist, tender, fall-away-from-the-bone meat that simply bursts with natural pork flavor.
Ingredients:
  • 7 to 7-1/2 lb. Pork Shoulder Roast
Rub Ingredients:
  • 2 tbsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground mustard
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
Preparation:
  1. Preheat oven to 350º.
  2. Rinse and pat dry roast with paper towels.
  3. With a sharp knife (or perhaps, a razor), cut a criss-cross pattern into the layer of skin and fat that covers the lower portion of the roast. Be careful as it can be quite difficult to cut without a sharp blade.
  4. Thoroughly combine the dry rub ingredients in a bowl.
  5. With your hands, work the dry mix rub into the entire shoulder, carefully getting each nook and cranny. Work it in and rub it (hence, the name, "RUB"!).
  6. Pour two cups of water into bottom of roasting pan. Place rubbed shoulder on the roasting pan's rack and place in oven.
  7. Cook approximately 5 hours until the roast reaches an internal temperature of 170º. Yes, I know the National Pork Board recommends an internal temperature of 145º to 160º, but not here. If you want the enjoy a crispy bark that reveals a fall-away-from-the-bone meat, go to 170º.
  8. Let rest 8-10 minutes before serving.
Succulent Rubbed Roast Pork Shoulder • Foodidude.com
Succulent Rubbed Roast Pork Shoulder • Foodidude.com
Succulent Rubbed Roast Pork Shoulder • Foodidude.com
NOTE: Every hour or so, check the roast. You may need add water to the bottom of the roasting pan as necessary due to evaporation.
Succulent Rubbed Roast Pork Shoulder • Foodidude.com
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Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing and Seasoned Sweet Potato Rounds

1/23/2016

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Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing • Foodidude.com
All photographs by Len Boccassini ©Foodidude.com

Ingredients:
  • 2 Cornish Game Hens
  • 2 or 3 Ciabatta rolls
  • Olive Oil
  • 1/2 onion, finely diced
  • 1 stalk celery, finely diced
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp saffron
  • 1-1/2 cups chicken stock
  • 4 tbsp salted butter
  • 1 large sweet potato
Seasonings:
  • Fresh thyme, chopped
  • Sea salt
  • freshly-ground black pepper
  • ground sage
  • garlic powder
  • coarse smoked salt
  • Romano or Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
  1. Preheat oven to 350º.
  2. Cut 2 to 3 ciabatta rolls into 1/2" cubes. (I always prefer using fresh bread when making a home made stuffing because I like to first make a seasoned crouton to begin the recipe and I feel freshness absolutely affects the final flavor.)
  3. Lightly toss diced ciabatta cubes in olive oil and spread out on a cookie sheet. Season with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, ground sage and approximately 1/2 tbsp of fresh thyme that is finely chopped.
  4. Bake in 350º oven for 10 minutes, until golden brown.
  5. While ciabatta cubes are baking, melt 4 tbsp of butter in large pot over medium/high heat.
  6. When melted, add finely diced 1/2 onion, finely diced celery stalk and dried cranberries. Season with just a pinch of salt and pepper.
  7. Continue to cook until onions and celery sweat and begin to soften, and cranberries begin to plump up. By this time, the croutons should be done.
  8. Remove croutons from the oven and toss them into the pot with onion-celery-cranberry mix.
  9. Lower heat to medium and stir croutons to thoroughly mix with onion, celery and cranberries. Gently pour chicken stock into pot and stir.
  10. Add chopped parsley and saffron, and continue to stir until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat.
  11. While stuffing cools, remove giblets and rinse hens under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly season inside each cavity with salt and pepper.
  12. Stuff each hen with the cranberry  ciabatta stuffing you just prepared and place on roasting pan rack.
  13. Cook in 350º oven for 90 minutes.
Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing • Foodidude.com
Meanwhile...
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  1. Begin preparing Sweet Potato Rounds by removing the skin from one large sweet potato with a peeler.
  2. Carefully slice sweet potato horizontally into 1/2" circular sections (as shown in photo below.)
  3. Brush both sides of each section with olive oil and season with coarse smoked salt, black pepper, garlic powder, fresh thyme and Romano or Parmesan Cheese.
  4. Bake in 350º oven for 45 minutes.
Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing • Foodidude.com
Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing • Foodidude.com
Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing • Foodidude.com
Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing • Foodidude.com
Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing • Foodidude.com
Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing • Foodidude.com
Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing • Foodidude.com
Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing • Foodidude.com
Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing • Foodidude.com
Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing • Foodidude.com
Cornish Hens with Cranberry-Ciabatta Stuffing • Foodidude.com
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Crispy Roast Duck

1/4/2016

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Crispy Roast Duck • Foodidude.com
All photographs by Len Boccassini ©2016
      If you're one who enjoys the delicious succulence of duck, but are afraid to attempt it at home, you're not alone. Many feel the same way! However, I'm going to clear up the mystery and show you that cooking duck is not the daunting task many make it out to be. In fact, if you follow this simple recipe, in three hours you'll be serving a meal of tender, juicy duck meat wrapped in the crispiest outer layer of skin you could ever imagine. 

For this recipe, I chose to prepare the duck with a side of Rösti Potatoes and a crisp salad.

Ingredients:
  • 1 duck, fresh or frozen
  • 1 bulb of garlic
  • 1 orange, quartered
  • 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh tarragon
  • 1 tbsp coarse salt (I used a homemade coarse smoked salt)
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tbsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1/2 tbsp granulated garlic
Preparation:
  1. Preheat oven to 375º.
  2. Rinse duck inside and out under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
  3. Set duck on work surface and look for any areas of excess fat (see photo at right). Remove the excess fat.
  4. After excess fat is trimmed, turn over and tuck remaining neck skin under body and secure to back with a wood skewer to close the top upper cavity.
  5. While the bird is on its breast, use a sharp paring knife to poke a series of small holes in the duck's more fatty parts to allow the release of fats during cooking. Once again, turn the duck on its back and repeat the process; again, in the fattier parts.
  6. Very carefully, score the breast in a diamond crosshatch pattern. (DO NOT pierce through to the meat or you will dry it out! Simply score the skin and fat layer.)
  7. When that is done, rub the inside cavity with the coarse salt. I used a smoked salt which imparted a subtle, smokey element into the end result.
  8. Remove the top section from the bulb of garlic and insert the remaining portion into the chest cavity along with the orange quarters and tarragon.
  9. Secure the tail section to the legs with butcher's cord.
  10. Tuck the wings under the body.
  11. Combine the paprika, sea salt, black pepper and granulated garlic to make a rub. Take the mixture and rub it into the breast and legs of the duck. Be sure to work it into the score marks on the breast.
  12. Place duck, breast side up, on rack in roasting pan, and place in 375º oven for 50 minutes.
  13. Remove from oven and drain dripping from roasting pan. Carefully turn duck and cook breast side down for 50 minutes.
  14. Repeat the above and cook breast side up for 45 minutes. Remove and baste breast with orange sauce and continue to cook for a final 20 minutes.
  15. Remove and let rest 15 minutes before carving.
Crispy Roast Duck • Foodidude.com
Crispy Roast Duck • Foodidude.com
Crispy Roast Duck • Foodidude.com
Crispy Roast Duck • Foodidude.com
Crispy Roast Duck • Foodidude.com
Crispy Roast Duck • Foodidude.com
Crispy Roast Duck • Foodidude.com
After first 50 minutes in the oven.
Crispy Roast Duck • Foodidude.com
After the second stint roasted breast up.
Crispy Roast Duck • Foodidude.com

Recipe for Orange Sauce:

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 teaspoons grated orange peel
  • 2 cups fresh orange juice
  • 1 cup water
Combine brown sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan. Stir in grated orange peel, orange juice and water. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and transparent, about 10 minutes.
Crispy Roast Duck • Foodidude.com
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Bacon Gorgonzola Rösti Potatoes

1/4/2016

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Bacon Gorgonzola Rösti Potatoes • Foodidude.com
All photographs by Len Boccassini ©2016
     Rösti dishes originated in Switzerland and typically consist of a coarsely grated potato fried in oil, butter or quite commonly, no fat at all. After grating, the potato is usually shaped into a flat patty, but often, its roundness is determined by the shape of the pan itself. Once cooked, the end result is a crispy golden brown patty not all that dissimilar from a latke or hash brown.

      In its most basic form, the sole component of a Rösti dish is the potato; cooked or raw, with perhaps, the addition of salt and pepper. Predominantly eaten within the German-speaking regions of Switzerland, the dish has evolved to become a cultural phenomenon as a breakfast accompaniment. However, creative cooking methods as well as the introduction of a number of decadent and herbal ingredients such as pancetta, bacon, cheese, garlic, scallions and more, has made it the perfect side to nearly any dish in your repertoire. In this case, I cooked it beside my Crispy Roast Duck with a crisp, green salad to offset the full richness of the meal.

    Though the ingredients in this recipe differ - particularly the use of duck fat to amplify the dish's richness - this method for cooking the Rösti Potato was taught to me by my good friend, Chef Michael Flynn, who never hesitates to impart his culinary wisdom upon a willing student.

Ingredients:
  • 2 to 3 Russet potatoes
  • 6 to 8 strips of thickly sliced bacon
  • 4 oz. Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced and sauteed
  • 1 tbsp chives, chopped
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • 1/4 cup Duck fat (or oil of your choosing)
Preparation:
  1. Preheat oven to 350º.
  2. Place bacon strips on a sheet pan and cook for 20 minutes, until crisp.
  3. Remove from oven, blot and set aside to cool.
  4. Heat olive oil in skillet and add minced garlic. Cook until it just begins to soften and becomes fragrant. Remove from pan unto paper towel. Set aside.
  5. Rinse potatoes and place in a pot of cold water. Bring to boil and boil for 30 minutes. (Always place root vegetables in cold water and bring to boil. This ensures even cooking of the vegetable as opposed to merely dropping them into a pot of boiling water, which will often result is a soft, mushy outside and a harder, uncooked inside.)
  6. Remove potatoes from water and set aside to cool.
  7. Once cool, remove skin from potatoes. (You will probably not need a peeler for this application, as the skin will probably peel right off by lifting the edge with a paring knife.)
  8. Using a box or similar grater, coarsely grate potatoes into a large mixing bowl.
  9. Crumble the Gorgonzola Cheese and add to the mixing bowl.
  10. Crumble cooled bacon strips and along with the garlic and chives, add to mixing bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  11. Gently fold ingredients together without overworking the potatoes.
  12. Gently shape mix into four patties very similar to the way you would shape a crab cake. (We are doing a patty typically thicker than the more commonly flat Rösti as we want a crisper outer layer that contains a creamy, rich inner potato.)
  13. While heating duck oil in frying pan, preheat oven to 375º. Gently place each patty in fry pan and cook until each side is a crispy, golden brown (approx 4-5 minutes per side)
  14. Transfer to sheet pan and cook in 375º oven for 12-15 minutes.
Bacon Gorgonzola Rösti Potatoes • Foodidude.com
Bacon Gorgonzola Rösti Potatoes • Foodidude.com
Bacon Gorgonzola Rösti Potatoes • Foodidude.com
Bacon Gorgonzola Rösti Potatoes • Foodidude.com
Bacon Gorgonzola Rösti Potatoes • Foodidude.com
For this recipe, I'd chosen to use "duck fat" aka Liquid Gold, to fry the patties in order to amplify the richness of the dish. I made this choice become I served the Rösti potatoes beside a Roast Duck and had the drippings at my disposal. Before utilizing it to fry, I strained it thoroughly until I had a clear liquid to work with. However, feel free to use whatever oil or fat you have on hand.
Bacon Gorgonzola Rösti Potatoes • Foodidude.com
Bacon Gorgonzola Rösti Potatoes • Foodidude.com
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