A great pork recipe for those cold winter months.
Confit is a French cooking technique in which a fatty cut of meat (duck, goose, pork) is slowly cooked in its own fat. It’s great for inexpensive fatty cuts like pork shoulder and makes for a delicious and inexpensive meal. Here is my version:
Cut two pounds (about one kilo) of pork shoulder into 3 cm (about 1 inch) cubes, first trimming all the fat. In a large skillet, start rendering the pork fat on low to medium heat. If there wasn’t enough fat on your shoulder cut, you can supplement with reserved bacon fact or even butter. Do not use vegetable or olive oils. There should be about half inch (1 cm) of fat covering the bottom of your skillet when rendered. Increase heat to medium high and fry up the pork cubes until deep golden brown with one sliced yellow onion. Reduce heat again and deglaze the pan with half a cup of robust red wine like a Syrah or a Cabernet. Once the pan is deglazed, add salt, black pepper (crushed or ground), a few cloves of garlic roughly chopped and a few pinches of dried Herbes de Province, readily available in your supermarket spice aisle. Cover and let simmer for about two hours on low heat, once in a while stirring, tasting, and adjusting the seasoning as needed. When ready, the pork should be fork tender and literally melt in your mouth. Serve with regular white rice or mashed potatoes. Bon Appetit!
