Smokin' Dinner: Puerto Rican-Style Smoked Pork Shoulder & Black Beans

When I invited two of my favorite Italian restaurant owners over for dinner, the last thing they were going to hear from me was, "Wait until you try my risotto. I think you'll love it!"

So I went in a completely different direction, to the small island east of Cuba that was hammered so mercilessly by Hurricane Maria a little less than two years ago, an island filled with our fellow American citizens who are still all but ignored in the sturm und drang of our current national crises du jour.

Going into the smoker.

It's hard to find this island's cuisine represented on our local dining scene, and while the flavors of cumin, garlic and chile are found in many Latin cultures, I thought it might be fun to make a dinner based on a Puerto Rican theme. Plus we love their take on pork shoulder, a dish called pernil that, though delicious when roasted in an oven or even on a grill, takes on a whole different character when left for several hours in the smoker.

With Dave primed to spend his day, beer in hand, tending the fire, I needed to come up with a side that would fit in. It just so happened that I had some black turtle beans from Anthony and Carol Boutard of Ayers Creek Farm in the pantry, so I put them on to soak while I did a little research.

Ready to go! (And check out that smoke ring.)

Similar to the black beans I make for taco nights at home, traditional preparations start with a sofrito of onions, garlic, cumin and chile powder, then add in chopped peppers, splashes of wine and vinegar, and chopped olives. These are best simmered for several hours, allowing the beans to get buttery-tender and for flavors to meld into a rich, stewy whole, so I put them on first thing in the morning. Cooking them overnight in a 250° oven would work, too, the only problem being you'd wake up wanting to make huevos rancheros after breathing in the heady aroma of the cooking beans all night.

Dave, of course, did his usual magic with the pernil, allowing the pork to roast low and slow, swathed in the smoke from the mix of charcoal and fresh oak. And the beans got their share of raves, along with sincere thanks from our friends, who, like most chefs I've cooked for, are just grateful to have someone cook for them for once!

Pernil
Adapted from Mark Bittman

1 pork shoulder, 4-10 lbs.
4 or more cloves garlic, peeled
1 large onion, quartered
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano leaves or 1 Tbsp. dried
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ancho or other mild chili powder
1 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil as needed
1 Tbsp. wine or cider vinegar
Lime wedges for serving.

Heat oven to 300 degrees or prepare a fire in the smoker, allowing it to reach a stable temperature of 250-275°.

Score meat with a sharp knife, making a cross-hatch pattern. Pulse garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, chili, salt and pepper together in a food processor, adding oil in a drizzle and scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture is pasty. Blend in the vinegar.

Rub this mixture into pork, getting it into every nook and cranny. Put pork in a roasting pan and film bottom with water or, if smoking in the smoker, place it on a rack above a pan of water. Roast pork for several hours until an instant-read thermometer reads 180°. [Our 10-lb. shoulder took 6 hrs. - KB]. Add more water to the pan as necessary, until meat is very tender.

Let meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it up; meat should be so tender that cutting it into uniform slices is almost impossible; rather, whack it up into chunks. Serve with lime.

* * *

Puerto Rican-Style Black Beans

1  lb. dried black beans, rinsed thoroughly

3  Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1  large yellow onion, chopped

2 poblano peppers, chopped in 1/2" pieces

4 to 5  garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. oregano

4 c. water

3  bay leaves

1 Tbsp. salt, plus more to taste

2  Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1/2  c. dry white wine

1/2  c. green olives stuffed with pimentos, thinly sliced

The day before cooking, soak beans overnight in large pot with water covering them by at least 3". The next day drain them and rinse. Set aside.

Heat oil over medium-high heat in large Dutch oven. Sauté onions until translucent, stirring frequently. Add chopped peppers and garlic and sauté until tender. Add cumin and oregano and sauté 30 seconds. Pour in water and add drained beans, olives, bay leaves, vinegar, and white wine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered, for at least 2 hours. Check occasionally to make sure the beans aren't dry. If they are, add more water.

When beans are tender, if beans are too soupy remove lid and keep simmering until liquid is reduced. Remove bay leaves, turn heat down to warm until ready to serve.

Ssssssssssmokin'!

You know how just last month I was raving in a post about a Puerto Rican pork dish that we made after seeing it in Mark Bittman's NYT column? You can completely flush that one, because we've done old Marky-Mark one better.

Here's the deal: You take a large, and I mean around 10 lbs., bone-in pork shoulder. You make the pernil sauce and rub it all over that shoulder. Then get out the Cook'n Ca'jun, crank up the fire and lay that hunk of pig on the grill. Then about, oh, say, eight hours later, after you've had a beer (or so), kept the fire stoked with coals and hardwood, filled the water bowl a couple of times and turned the meat once or twice, you check it.

And there, right before your very eyes, is the smokiest, loveliest chunk of roasted pork you've ever seen. Caramelized and black on the outside, juicy and tender inside with the legendary "smoke ring" that barbecuers live for.

This is truly a "best and highest use" of the holy pig we've ever had the pleasure to prepare, not to mention consume, and bodes well for summer dining. If, like me, you live to see your guests' eyes roll back in their heads and have them fall off their chairs moaning like they're possessed, you've got to try this.

Pure Pork

Speaking of Mr. Bittman, we have him to thank, at least partially, for the fantastic dinner we had last night. We'd invited four friends over for dinner to celebrate the start of one couple's new venture and, because of a proclivity for the pig shown by most of them, decided to make the Puerto Rican dish called pernil.

When I first read the recipe in Bittman's column and subsequently watched the podcast, I knew it would be appearing at dinner, and soon. But my brother, who was equally intrigued (and is equally pork-centric), decided to make it for the dinner he'd offered to cook for my birthday. Being the self-sacrificing person I am (and, incidentally, never ever looking a gift meal in the mouth, especially one made by him), I didn't whine that I'd wanted to make it first. So I watched and took notes instead.

As the video makes perfectly clear, this is one of the simplest dishes to prepare and perhaps one of the cheapest. It calls for processing onions and spices to a paste, then smearing it all over the meat. Stick it in the oven with a little water for six hours and it's fall-off-the-bone tender and delicious. The cost for an 8 1/2-pound bone-in pork shoulder was just under $17 and made enough for seven with lots of leftovers. Incredible!

And a note on the wine that R generously contributed. Its label had badly deteriorated in a humidity-related incident, but you could still make out that it was a bottle of 2004 Saint Joseph Offerus, a Rhone valley syrah from producer J.L. Chave. Drinking perfectly, this came off more like a Burgundy with loads of fruit and finesse, subtly developing the spicy, peppery notes that Rhones are known for as it opened up over the course of the dinner. Terrific stuff, and fit the flavors in the meat like a glove.

Oh, and the sides were very simple, just fingerling potatoes roasted with garlic, salt and pepper and olive oil, and a simple green salad with balsamic-and-mustard vinaigrette. I can tell you we're going to be looking up lots more recipes for this cut of meat, and it'll be starring in many dishes this summer, especially considering the new toy that Dave picked up.

Pernil

1 pork shoulder, 4-7 lbs.
4 or more cloves garlic, peeled
1 large onion, quartered
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano leaves or 1 Tbsp. dried
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ancho or other mild chili powder
1 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil as needed
1 Tbsp. wine or cider vinegar
Lime wedges for serving.

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Score meat's skin with a sharp knife, making a cross-hatch pattern. Pulse garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, chili, salt and pepper together in a food processor, adding oil in a drizzle and scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture is pasty. (Alternatively, mash ingredients in a mortar and pestle.) Blend in the vinegar.

Rub this mixture into pork, getting it into every nook and cranny. Put pork in a roasting pan and film bottom with water. Roast pork for several hours (a 4-lb. shoulder may be done in 3 hours) [as mentioned above, my 8 1/2 lb. shoulder took 6 hrs. - KAB], turning every hour or so and adding more water as necessary, until meat is very tender. Finish roasting with the skin side up until crisp, raising heat at end of cooking if necessary.

Let meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it up; meat should be so tender that cutting it into uniform slices is almost impossible; rather, whack it up into chunks. Serve with lime.

Yield: At least 6 servings.