I had a small Boston Butt (pork shoulder roast) in the freezer that I wanted to use, so I made a stew. I found a recipe somewhere online and modified it quite a bit. The result was pretty darn good. I’m glad I decided to cut up the roast before I thawed it, because it was a CRAPPY cut of shoulder that wouldn’t have been a decent whole roast. It still turned out great in this recipe.
2-3# pork shoulder (Boston Butt), trimmed of fat and cut into 2″ pieces
salt/pepper
olive oil
1 Tbl ancho powder
1 Tbl chipotle powder
1 tsp cayenne powder
.5 tsp coriander, ground
1 tsp cumin, ground
2 Tbl masa flour (or AP flour is fine)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 lg onion, frenched
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 cups chicken stock
2 cans diced tomatoes (I used 1 fire roasted and 1 Chile flavored, use what you’ve got)
1 can chick peas (garbanzos, ceci) drained
1 Tbl tomato paste
a bit of sugar if the tomatoes are too acidic
3 Tbl fresh chopped cilantro (or parsley) optional garnish
Cut up the pork and sauté in heavy dutch oven until brown. Add in the 6 powdered ingredients and continue to sauté. When it starts to get stuck, deglaze with a bit of chicken stock and scrape up the brown bits. Turn down the heat to med-hi. Add in oregano, onions and garlic and cook until the onions start to get translucent. Add in tomatoes, tomato paste and chick peas. Add in more chicken stock to make a thick stew. Turn down the heat to low, cover and let simmer for about 1.5 hours. If you can wait that long. The pork should be soft enough after an hour or so, but the longer the better. Check periodically to see if more stock is needed. Kill the heat, let sit for a few minutes, then serve with cilantro garnish. YUM!