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Pressure Cooking Shoulder

2K views 32 replies 13 participants last post by  cheflayne 
#1 ·
Hello to all Chefs out there! I would like to start out by thanking you for all your creations, new ideas and work that you put into your craft, Thanks you from the bottom of my stomach!

I am a fan of science and food working together to come up with new styles and flavors. I am stuck at the moment with my Pork experiment. I need to find a way to capture the flavors of 12 hour slow roasted pork in 40 mins. A challenge that may never work but I can't give in! 38 trials so far and some tasty results but not perfected yet. The tenderness is there but flavor is far from perfect. My task is to KISS(Keep It Simple Stupid) by using easy,healthy and minimum ingredients. Nothing simple about that! 

Healthy just means I'm trying to stay away from Dr Pepper as a ingredient but not opposed to trying. Minimum means 5 ingredients would be ideal. Easy as in not making a stock first or browning meat first. Also ingredients that I don't have to google.

So I am calling out for direction from the experts in the Back of the House. In return I can help guide you in the craft cocktail world the best I can but your probably set with that bottle Old Grand Dad tucked away on the shelf. Me too!

Thanks for your time

This guy
 
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#3 ·
Who is your audience/customer for this? 

You won't fool a person who has cooked or eaten the real thing and paid attention to the experience imho. That might not be your goal either.

But you seem to be ruling out the important steps, such as searing and browning. That's a lot of flavor development, and texture. The bark is part of a good pork shoulder and you're throwing that out too. 
 
#4 ·
Ginger Beer, Liquid smoke(no thanks), apples, apple cider vinegar, Hawaiian salt(as a finishing salt and tried with cooking) lagers,lemons,limes, oranges, Pineapple juices, pork rub spices. Not all at once of course but these are just about all my trial recipes i kept tweaking with.
 
#5 ·
my self is audience for now. i like the challenge cause I've been told it can't be done. thats not my style. 

I do realize I'm missing out on the bark by searing but i really want consistancy every time when i find my recipe. searing, i feel can change each time you sear so i want to rule it out for now but not opposed to it.
 
#7 · (Edited)
So you've tried a bunch of different flavor elements.  OK, that's fine... but what is the "science" aspect?  What are the variations in pressure-cooking methods?  What else have you tried toreduce the cooking time?  I'm not understanding the goal of the "science" part of your question.

At this point I can suggest that the best way to get BBQ that fast is to order take-out or delivery from a good BBQ restaurant.  :)
 
#8 ·
I guess the science part of it is the pressure cooking method. Not really science, more of a cooking method. That probably why I am FOH. The fact I can cook pork in 40 mins is what got my interest. Now I just want to bring flavor that is enjoyable and consistent.

I was using Modern Cuisine At Home when I learned my cooking time to get a tender shred. I cut 3lb butt into 1.5 - 2 inch chunks, then season and add liquid. once i have pressure, reduce to low for 30 min. rest 5 min, depressurize with warm water. strain n shred.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Ahhh, that helps understand. I was about to ssuggest that you cut your butt into smaller pieces. But you know that trick already. Have you experimented with needling your butt too?

Rather than give up on smoke flavor, try varying the amount and brand of liquid smoke. I use Wrights when deperate but only in very small amounts. There are other brands with a variety of smoke flavors. If you really want smoke flavor, that is.

If I were you (or if I had the time) I'd try to use some of your quick-cooking techniques to reduce the cook time on Todd English's recipe (Cooking in Everyday English). It is a great recipe that meets most, if not all, of your criteria and goes good with a couple of sides, and then can be transformed into a meat sauce for pasta, or combined with BBQ sauce.
 
#12 ·
I'm not sure how advantageous it really is to avoid the searing. It's not really time consuming, is really enjoyable to do, makes your whole house smell great, makes your whole family hungry, and really does completely change the flavor of the final dish.

Sometimes I do not sear, but not because I want to cut down on the preparation time, just because I'm looking for a more subtle flavor profile, like in some tagines for example. 
 
#13 ·
There is one pork shoulder recipe I make that is delicious, very simple, doesn't require searing and might be adaptable to a pressure cooker, though  it is the pork slowly cooking in the fat mixed with marinade that helps to give it a lot of flavor. It is cochinita pibil. Not barbecue but it is a Mexican pulled pork. It does require marinating the pork pieces in a mixture of bitter orange juice (or orange juice mixed with lime juice) and a healthy chunk of achiote paste which you whirl together in a blender with some salt--(careful: the achiote stains.)  I also throw in some minced garlic, though I'm not sure it is traditional. Traditionally, it is wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a pit but a low oven works, too. You don't dump the marinade, but cook the pork in it after you've let it marinate for a good 8-24 hours. I've made it with and without wrapping it in banana leaves and it is fabulous either way. Serve it in tacos with quick pickled red onions.
 
#19 ·
To me the most flavourful way would be brown the shoulder (cut up) with soffritto or the holy trinity, deglaze, add whatever liquid you're going to need and lock it up. I've never owned or used a pressure cooker so I have no idea how that would work out with the pressure involved. 
 
#20 ·
"------I guess the science part of it is the pressure cooking method. Not really science, more of a cooking method. ----"

Science is knowing the exact conditions of your experiment.

Not all pressure cookers (PC) develop their same pressure, therefore they may cook at different temperatures. Different temperature will mean different cooking times.

To find out exact temperature of your PC:

Use a small metal container with a cover and fill with cooking oil. Make sure no water gets into the oil.

Pressure steam the oil in your PC.

Cook the oil for a little while and run the PC under cold water to release pressure.

Measure oil temperature immediately with a good instant read thermometer.

dcarch
 
#21 ·
Rub your pork in sugar, salt, whatever spice is in your ball park. Add a tiny, like a quarter tea spoon, of deactivated baking soda. Take the pork and vaccuum bag it with a chunk of double smoked bacon. Pressure cook the bagged meat on a rack, make sure the water level is about an inch or more below the rack. Cook for your forty. Let it vent naturally (if you run it under cold water the bag has a good chance of popping).

Out of curiousity, why the aversion to browning?
 
#22 ·
Rub your pork in sugar, salt, whatever spice is in your ball park. Add a tiny, like a quarter tea spoon, of deactivated baking soda. Take the pork and vaccuum bag it with a chunk of double smoked bacon. Pressure cook the bagged meat on a rack, make sure the water level is about an inch or more below the rack. Cook for your forty. Let it vent naturally (if you run it under cold water the bag has a good chance of popping).

Out of curiousity, why the aversion to browning?
Not many bags are safe at boiling temperature. Even boil-able bags are only rated to 212F.

A pressure cooker can reach 250F.

Make sure the bags are OK for very high cooking temperature. Perhaps oven bake bags. But your vacuum machine may not develop temperature high enough to seal those bags.

dcarch
 
#23 ·
Rub your pork in sugar, salt, whatever spice is in your ball park. Add a tiny, like a quarter tea spoon, of deactivated baking soda. Take the pork and vaccuum bag it with a chunk of double smoked bacon. Pressure cook the bagged meat on a rack, make sure the water level is about an inch or more below the rack. Cook for your forty. Let it vent naturally (if you run it under cold water the bag has a good chance of popping).

Out of curiousity, why the aversion to browning?
I want to search for my flavors that are going to work with the Pork cooked pressured. Then I can try to introduce browning to help improve taste .
 
#25 ·
"----My task is to KISS(Keep It Simple Stupid) by using easy,healthy and minimum ingredients. Nothing simple about that! ---"

If you are that interested in the science of food, and spend that much time, money and energy in your experiments, may I suggest not to limit yourself to "KISS"? 

It is not beyond you to go just one step further.

The ultimate treat of cooking pork shoulder is flavorful tender meat surrounded by crackling crispy pork skin. IMHO.

A lot of food science and techniques to achieve that.

dcarch
 
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