Patience pays off with this Pork-a-palooza

 Edited BY

G P Kennedy

Graeme's Low n Slow Pork Lasagna

 This is simply the most delicious time on my hands recipe I have ever made. I committed a grave rookie error the first time I slow-roasted pork; I cooked it overnight, causing the aroma from the sumptuous meat and attendant herbs to waft through the air conditioning vents waking me up three times in a saliva bath. If that’s your thing cook this overnight. If not, start when you get up and be ready for the house to fill with deliciousness all day.

 

 The principal ingredient is a big piece of pork. Depending on where you are in the world you need to buy a pork shoulder, pork butt, or Boston butt. It’s the same cut – from the shoulder of the pig. As you can imagine it is a large piece of meat, typically around 3 or 4 pounds.

 

 For this recipe, I am not going to deal with exact weights and measures, as the dish is entirely scale-able.

 

The meat can be cooked in an oven, slow cooker, or similar. I prefer the slow cooker as it doesn’t heat up the place like hours of oven cooking can.

 

 Mangredients for the slow-roasted pork:

1 Pork Butt - bone-in

Carrots

Celery

Onion – robust flavored such as red or yellow but nothing intense like shallots

Tinned tomato sauce or passata

Tomato paste

Garlic

Dried bay leaves

Dried oregano

Fresh basil

Rock salt

Black pepper

Splash of milk

 

 Y’all have different tolerances for garlic, levels of saltiness, herbs, and such. Go with what you normally do then throw in a bit more. With slow cooking, it really is a case of go big or go home.

 

Manstructions

Turn the slow cooker onto the low setting then lay down a bed of carrots, celery, and onions. Next, pour the tomato sauce gently onto the veg. You want there to be no gaps on the bed of the cooker. Now liberally apply the seasoning and herbs. Try to have some of the herbs to the edge of the cooker.

 

Time to prep the pork. If you’re counting calories you might already be in the wrong place but crack on and trim some of the fat off the pork. With the fatty side up take a paring knife (short blade) and make several puncture holes in the top of the meat, twisting the knife as you go. You will shove a whole clove of garlic into each hole. 

 Generously season the meat. Place it gently atop the contents of the slow cooker. Add spoonfuls of tomato paste in the spaces between the meat and the cooker edges. Cover the top of the cooker with tin/aluminum foil, put the lid on and go about your life for several hours.

 

 Take a peek after about 5 hours. At this point, you may need to carefully incorporate the tomato paste into the emerging sauce, which is now a blend of the stuff we put in and the juices of the pork.

 

 So long as the pot is covered the sauce will not reduce – which is a good thing. You can go anywhere from 8 hours to 18 with this bad boy.

 

 If you’re planning on an 8-hour slow cook you need to get to making the fresh pasta around hour 6. Fresh pasta is made thusly

 

 Once the meat is ready or you can’t wait longer than 8 hours switch off the cooker, remove the foil and replace the lid such that a little air can get out. Now get to making the béchamel sauce.

 

 Once the sauce is made the cooker’s contents will have cooled slightly. Get in there to remove the bone then, with a couple of big forks, break down the pork, which will fall apart. Combine the meat with the sauce below. You will have a massive pot of deliciously savory pork, herbs, and tomato sauce. The vegetable will have all but disintegrated, adding their flavor as they willingly surrendered. At this point add the big splash of milk and stir in.

 

 What you here is a ragu. Other people call it freakin’ delicious.

 

 Now put the whole thing together – a layer of ragu, spoon sauce over; pasta sheets; repeat till your rectangular Le Creuset, Pyrex or similar is choc-full. Add a last covering of sauce then sprinkle a large handful – think Johnny Cash, not President Child Hands – of Parmigiano Reggiano, the world’s best cheese.

 

 Most of what is in the dish is already cooked and the lasagna sheets will soon be a mellifluous velvet dream. So, bang it in the over around 350f for around 45 minutes. Basically, once the top is browned and the whole thing is bubbling lightly you are ready to go. Serve massive portions. I happily eat it on its own: you can add a salad, fries…whatever you like. Y’all can thank me later.