Buttermilk Braised Pork Shoulder With Carrot Purée & Shaved Fennel, Radish & Cucumber

By ltrodrigu

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, rolled into a cylinder and tied
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices, plus 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 1/2 head garlic
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 cups buttermilk
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 cup shaved fennel bulb, plus 1/2 cup fronds
• 1/2 cup shaved radishes
• 1/2 cup shaved cucumber
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 1/2 cups sliced carrots
• 2 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from stream.wsj.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Season pork with 1 teaspoon salt. In a large, lidded dutch oven over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter with 1 tablespoon oil. Place pork in pot and cook until pork is browned all over, about 3 minutes per side.

Remove pork from pot and set aside. Add onion slices and garlic to pot and cook until soft and golden, 10 minutes. Deglaze pot with stock, scraping up brown bits from bottom. Add buttermilk and nutmeg, then return pork to pot. Bring to a simmer, then cover pot and transfer to oven. Braise until pork is cooked through and tender, about 2½ hours.

Meanwhile, make salad: Combine fennel, radishes and cucumbers in a bowl. Season with ¾ teaspoon salt, remaining oil and lemon juice. Set aside at room temperature to macerate.

Make carrot purée: In a small pot set over medium heat, bring minced onion, carrots and milk to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. Strain carrots, reserving cooking liquid. Carefully place hot carrots and half of cooking liquid in a blender and purée. Add remaining butter, maple syrup and a pinch of salt and purée until smooth. Transfer to a sauce pan and keep warm until ready to serve.

When pork is ready, remove from oven. Set pork aside on a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Meanwhile, set Dutch oven over high heat and reduce braising liquid by half. (Buttermilk curds will have separated by this point.) Transfer half of braising liquid to blender and purée.

To serve, divide carrot purée among four to six plates. Slice pork against the grain and set 1 or 2 slices atop carrot purée. Garnish with salad and drizzle pork with puréed braising liquid.