Leftover Pork Butt Tacos

These tacos made from leftovers have a remarkable semblance to the tacos I originally made with the roasted pork butt on Saturday. Fresh corn is missing and the chopped onion got mixed in with the meat when packing it away, so those got cooked in the reheating. The turmeric pickled zucchini I made is the same. Sriracha is an addition. All leftovers are delicious when you know what to do with them...

pork shoulder tacos with house-pickled turmeric zucchini, sriracha

Tacos, Butts and Booze Oh My

The Holy Trinity of Summer '11. You're likely to get something like this if you invite me over to your pool. Add a glass of blueberry lemonade (Blueberry Stoli + lemonade) by the water and we're golden.

roasted pork butt tacos

I brought the butt. Errbody else brought errthing else. This butt has been so successfully versatile since it debuted last year... lettuce wraps, noodle soup, rice bowls, tacos... I dunno what's next. It has been aptly described as "meat candy" due to the glorious crust of caramelized brown sugar that tops the last 10 minutes of cooking. After the all the juicy, tender meat was gone, scraps were being peeled off the bone. My food has generally been popular, but never has it elicited so positive a reaction as the butt.

salted caramel ice cream with caramel topping

Johanna also made salted caramel ice cream with caramel sauce (also from scratch). It was some of the most intense ice cream I've ever had. The caramel with sea salt fad can be forgiven by this ice cream- that's how good it was. Had to eat it quickly, though. It was melting rather fast, probably due to the salt content bringing down the freezing point.

Chinese Braised Pork Butt

For the past six months, I've been roasting pork butts according to David Chang's simple Momofuku recipe. This go around, I decided to have a go at braising the beast. I included the overnight curing, then plopped the butt in a stock pot with crushed ginger, half a head of garlic, carrots, mushroom soy, light soy, brown sugar, a Taiwanese spice packet ("cinnamon, fennel, ginger, cumin, clove"), and topped it off with water. Cover and let it simmer low for three hours. When my mom does this kind of braising for any meats, she usually adds thick seaweed, too, but I only have kombu, so I added that after three hours.

pork butt braising away

As it cooks, it gives off this really intoxicating aroma full of sweet spices and savory meatiness. It literally fills the entire house. By now, I've been poking and prodding at it to check for doneness, occasionally tearing some pieces off to try =D. Here's a mini-bowl with sauteed bok choy and steamed rice:

Chinese braised pork butt (with carrot) and sauteed bok choy