Pork packs powerful punch of flavor for holiday feasts

EDNA LEWIS' BAY-STUDDED PORK SHOULDER WITH SAUCE OF WILD MUSHROOMS
Long, slow oven-braising in red wine or tawny port is an excellent way to cook a big cut of pork so that it's moist and succulent. This pork is particularly good served with creamy grits. Try to get a shoulder butt or picnic with the bone in and the skin attached. If you can't find one, a boneless, skinless shoulder roast is still very good.
PORK SHOULDER
1 (7- to 8-pound) pork shoulder, picnic or butt
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely cracked black peppercorns
11/2 teaspoons dried thyme
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thinly lengthwise
12 whole bay leaves
2 small whole onions, peeled and thickly sliced
1 bottle red wine or tawny port, or half each
MUSHROOM SAUCE
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups mushrooms, or a mixture of wild and cultivated mushrooms, cleaned and cut into 1/3-inch slices (or, if very small, trimmed and left whole)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 shallot, minced
2 small garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons finely snipped parsley
Reserved liquid from cooking the pork shoulder
1/2 cup heavy cream
To make the pork shoulder:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Rinse the pork shoulder and pat dry. Using a sharp paring knife, cut 12 slits in the skin side of the pork shoulder, about 1 inch wide and 11/2 inches deep. The slits should be in three rows of four each, spaced equally apart.
Mix together the salt, cracked peppercorns and thyme. Sprinkle approximately 1/8 teaspoon of the seasoning mixture into each slit, then insert 1 garlic sliver and 1 whole bay leaf. (The bay leaves should protrude from the shoulder so that you can easily remove them before serving.) Sprinkle any remaining seasonings all over the pork shoulder.
Scatter the sliced onions over the bottom of a baking dish or roasting pan that will just hold the meat. Place the seasoned pork shoulder on top of the onion slices and pour the wine into the bottom of the pan. Lay a piece of parchment paper directly on top of the pork shoulder and wrap the pan tightly with a double thickness of foil.
Put in the preheated oven to cook for 4-1/2 to 5 hours, until the meat is very tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. If you have a roast that has its skin intact, raise oven temperature to 425 degrees. If not, disregard.
Remove the onions and cooking liquid from the roasting pan and strain through a sieve, pressing gently on the onions with the back of a wooden spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Skim any visible fat from the surface of the cooking liquid and reserve for the sauce.
Meanwhile, remove the bay leaves from the pork shoulder and discard. Using a sharp knife, carefully separate the skin (rind) from the top of the pork shoulder and remove in 1 piece. Transfer the pork shoulder to a heated serving platter and keep warm.
Gently scrape any soft fat from the underside of the pork rind. Place the rind on a baking sheet and put into the 425-degree oven until crisp and deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. While the rind is crisping, make the wild-mushroom sauce.
To make the mushroom sauce:
Heat the butter in a large skillet until hot and foaming. Add the mushrooms and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Season with salt and a small amount of freshly ground black pepper. Add the minced shallot, garlic and snipped parsley and cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often. Pour in the reserved cooking liquid and boil until the liquid is reduced by one-half. Add the heavy cream and simmer briefly. Taste carefully for seasoning and adjust if needed. Serve hot.
To serve:
Cut the crisped pork rind into 1/2-inch strips and arrange on top of the pork shoulder. At the table, slice the pork shoulder against the grain and serve with a piece of crisped pork rind (or crackling) on the side and the wild-mushroom sauce spooned over the sliced meat.
Serves 10.
-- Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock, "The Gift of Southern Cooking"; tested by Virginia Phillips
SIX-HOUR PORK ROAST WITH HERB CRUST
This delectable roast pork, slow-roasted uncovered at 275 degrees, is succulent on the inside with a marvelous crust. You will need kitchen string for this recipe.
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
10 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
11/2 tablespoons kosher salt (use 1 scant tablespoon if using regular salt)
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon dry white wine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (6-pound) boneless butt-pork-shoulder roast (remove net)
Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Blend together sage, rosemary, garlic, fennel seeds, salt and pepper in a food processor until a thick paste forms. With motor running, add wine and oil and blend until combined well.
If necessary, trim fat from top of pork, to leave a 1/8-inch-thick layer of fat. Make 3 small incisions, each about 1 inch long and 1 inch deep, in each side of pork with a small sharp knife and fill each with about 1 teaspoon herb paste. Spread remaining herb paste over pork, concentrating on boned side, and tie roast with kitchen string at 2-inch intervals.
Put pork, fat side up, in a roasting pan and roast in middle of oven for 6 hours. Transfer roast to cutting board and let stand 15 minutes.
Discard string and cut pork roast into thick slices.
Serves 12.
-- Gourmet, tested by Virginia Phillips
MARCELLA'S PORK BRAISED IN MILK BOLOGNESE-STYLE
Aside from a minimal amount of fat required to brown the meat, this classic dish has only two components: pork and milk. As they slowly cook together, as Marcella says, they are transformed: The pork acquires a delicacy of texture and flavor that lead some to mistake it for veal, and the milk cooks down to nuggets of delicious nut-brown sauce.
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (21/2- to 3-pound) boneless pork-shoulder butt
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 to 4 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons water
Choose a heavy-bottomed pot that can snugly accommodate the pork. Heat butter and oil on medium high. When the butter foam subsides, brown the meat, fat side down first, then all sides evenly. If the butter becomes very dark, lower heat.
Add salt, pepper and 1 cup milk. Turn heat down so that milk simmers slowly. Cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar. Cook at a lazy simmer for approximately 1 hour, turning the meat occasionally, until the milk has thickened into a nut-brown sauce. The exact time it will take depends largely on the heat of your burner and the thickness of your pot.
When the milk reaches this stage -- and not before -- add 1 cup milk. Simmer for 10 minutes, then cover the pot. After 30 minutes, set the lid ajar. Continue to cook at minimum heat, and when you see there is no more liquid milk in the pot, add another 1/2 cup of milk.
Continue cooking until the meat feels very tender when prodded with a fork and all the milk has coagulated into small nut-brown clusters. Altogether it will take between 21/2 and 3 hours. If before the meat is fully cooked you find that the liquid in the pot has evaporated, add another 1/2 cup of milk. Repeat if necessary.
When the pork is tender and all the milk in the pot has thickened into dark clusters, transfer the meat to a cutting board. Let it settle for a few minutes, then cut it into slices about 3/8 inch thick and arrange them on a warm serving platter.
Tip the pot and spoon off most of the fat. There may be up to a cup. Be careful to leave all the coagulated milk clusters. Add 3 tablespoons of water and boil away the water over high heat using a wooden spoon to scrape brown bits from the bottom and sides of the pot. Spoon all the pot juices over the pork and serve immediately. Serve over creamy polenta.
Serves 10 to 12.
-- Adapted from Marcella Hazan, tested by Virginia Phillips
OVEN-BAKED POLENTA
This no-fuss polenta is baked along with the roast at 325 degrees. Grease well a heavy, 3-quart baking dish or heavy 10-inch skillet. May be doubled.
1 cup coarse cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
4 cups water
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
Stir together cornmeal, water, butter and salt in greased pan. Bake uncovered 50 minutes. Stir, taste, season with additional salt if needed, and bake 10 minutes longer. Cooked polenta will hold in the oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Serves 6.
-- Adapted from Food and Wine, tested by Virginia Phillips