God, it sucks when a reliable old recipe lets you down, or when you let down a reliable old recipe. One of these two things happened during Tuesday's "World of Exotic (to a Dutch person) Flavors" dinner: this BBQ shrimp recipe that is usually quite great was really just...not good. I blame over-confidence...I think we just thought it was the "easy recipe" of the evening and didn't pay enough attention to it. Ah well, I guess it's better to start out with something lame-tasting and increase the goodness than the other way around, right? Menu was:
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Mangoritas (tequila, blue curacao, lime, and mango puree)
Tequila-marinated shrimp + rosemary mayo
Duck confit quesadillas + tomatillo salsa
Jerked pork shoulder
Platanos fritos
Aruban black beans in coconut milk
Hearts of palm salad with mint and lime
Cornbread
Ginger-lime crème brulée
Klary's photo:
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jerk-marinated pork shoulder in the oven.
marinade:
3kg boneless pork shoulder, in one piece
6 big scallions, chopped
1 large sweet onion, peeled
1 head of garlic, peeled
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tbsp dried thyme
2 tbsp allspice, ground
2 tbsp freshly-ground black pepper
2 tsp cinnamon, ground
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled
6 adjoema chiles, fire-roasted, seeds removed
1 cup fresh-squeezed OJ
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
juice of 1 lime
sauce:
1 cup of water
2 tablespoons brown sugar or more
2 tablespoons cider vinegar or more
Blend all marinade ingredients to a paste in a food processor or blender. With a sharp knife, score the thick fat on the pork shoulder in a diamond pattern. You might want to use gloves for this: pour 2/3 of the marinade over the pork and massage a thick coating of the marinade into the pork. Place in a roasting pan and cover with a lid or foil. Refrigerate to marinate at least 24 hours or up to two days.
Place the remaining 1/3 of the marinade in a saucepan and add water, sugar, and vinegar. I boiled this down for about 20 minutes until the raw ingredients weren't raw and the flavor was nice and round. This sauce goes over the pieces of pork when you serve it.
When ready to cook, let pork sit at room temperature at least one hour, then preheat oven to 450F/Gas 8. Roast for 30 minutes at this high heat, then lower temperature to 300F/Gas 2. Bake an additional 2.5 hours. I then uncovered it and blasted it at 450F again to try and crisp up the crust. Let roast rest at least 30 minutes before carving. Cut into caveman/cavewoman hunks and slather with reheated jerk sauce. Serves 6-8.
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Since we know nothing at all about white wine, this article was very helpful in steering us towards a 2005 Alsatian Gewurztraminer from Antoine Heinrich, and a 2005 Riesling from Rudolf Müller to drink with dinner, and they were actually especially nice.
