The simplest things really are the best. Every month, I barbecue a couple of pork shoulders, and although the pulled pork usually sells out, I have not been able to find any market for the meat juices or the fat that the shoulders give off as they cook. If people only knew: this is the good stuff!

The other day J & B stopped by to see how things we’re going and pretty soon we’re rooting around in the fridge, digging out some ham and cheese for sandwiches. Then inspiration struck, and, instead of buttering the bread to make grilled sandwiches, I spread a nice thin layer of rich, bbqed pork fat on there. The result was the best grilled sandwiches any of us could remember eating. I have yet to find anything that I can’t cook in this spicy, smoky fat. It’s exactly what refried beans cry out for. Recently, I stir-fried a head of cauliflower and a couple heads of broccoli in a couple tablespoons of the fat, then deglazed the pan with a couple tablespoons of the meat juices. These veggies were supposed to last a couple of nights, but they tasted so good that the whole family kept eating until there was nothing left.

I’ve used the fat to make confit. I’ve used it to coat a primal cut of beef that I aged in my fridge. I’ve used the juices to make my own steak sauce. But I feel I’m only scratching the surface of what could be done with this wonderful stuff. I’ll have to try frying chicken in this fat. How about a meat pie in a crust made with barbequed pork fat instead of lard? Barbecued shortbread? Maybe add a little salt and just set a crock out on the table, instead of butter? I know! Toss fresh-cooked pasta with a tablespoon or two before ladling the sauce on top! Use a tablespoon or two of the juices to give a smoky depth to the ragu! Mix a little fat in the mayonnaise for a perfect BLT! I got my cooking juices flowing now . . .

Seriously, this stuff is so inspirational that I felt it called for some lyric poetry. So here goes:

O Porcine shape! fair porkitude! with bark
Of fiery spice and vinegar overmopped,
With subtle smoke made dusky dark;
Thou, odorous pig! dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Smokin’ Hot Pastoral!
When bad food shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thous say’st,
‘Pork is goodness, goodness pork,–that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.’

(With much affection and full apologies to John Keats, who died so young, without ever tasting barbeque.)

Tags: fat, pork

This entry was posted on Monday, January 26th, 2009 at 3:22 pm and is filed under Feature, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.