Pork Shoulder

By Allison Fishman Ingredient

Credit: The Kitchn

If you have not yet cooked pork shoulder, you're in for a treat. The Kitchn.com said it, and I agree: "It is incredibly hard to screw up, and yet turning a big hunk of pork shoulder into tender shreds of juicy meat still feels like a noteworthy accomplishment every time we do it."

It's true. Who among us doesn't get excited about bone-in cuts of meat, especially one that's got fat and skin, where you can still see the lines of the different muscles? It's barbaric, which I find most exciting. And instead of having to carve the meat from the bone as you would with poultry, when you braise it to a meltingly delicious doneness, the meat falls away from the bone, and you shred it. Easy, really.

The Kitchn offers a framework for approaching a pork shoulder, and recommends that you evolve the ingredients to your taste. We Are Never Full offers a more specific approach to pernil, the Puerto Rican roast pork dish. It takes about nine hours to make—the majority of which the pork is in the oven and you're going about your business.

I can't think of a better way to enjoy the waning days of winter.