Wolfert's Coddled Pork

[barbhealy]

For Christmas this year I made Paula Wolfert's Coddled Pork from The Slow Mediteranean Kitchen and it was the best meat I'd EVER eaten!

We are vacationing in Breckenridge this week with 2 other couples and my husband wants me to make it for them but, in this rented condo, there is no heavy pot! There is an enameled roasting pan, can I use that instead and, if I do, should I modify the recipe at all?

Also, IF the local grocery doesn't have pork shoulder (I know, I know, I should choose another recipe but DH keeps asking for this one!) is there another cut I can use?

[Smithy]

Barb, Barb, Barb. You're looking at this the wrong way.

Don't ask yourself whether you can substitute a lightweight pan. Ask yourself, instead, what size heavy pot you've always been hankering for. You're on vacation. You need a new pot. The Outlets at Silverthorne, complete with Le Creuset outlet, are only about 10 miles away.

Edited January 8, 2007 by Smithy (log)

[annecros]

I vote with Smithy, as long as you can return home with the new pot. Otherwise, use the roasting pan, or pack your own.

A pork butt is as good as a shoulder. A fresh ham would work, even a loin, though with the slow preparation method that would be stretching things, but it would still taste like lovely coddled pork.

[barbhealy]

Barb, Barb, Barb.  You're looking at this the wrong way.

Don't ask yourself whether you can substitute a lightweight pan.  Ask yourself, instead, what size heavy pot you've always been hankering for.  You're on vacation.  You need a new pot.  The Outlets at Silverthorne, complete with Le Creuset outlet, are only about 10 miles away. 

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LOL! I DID think of that! I went to the little cooking store on Main (Cookin'Cowgirl I think) hoping that I could buy a pot, use it, and then have them ship it home for me (we cannot carry it with us - we're already overweight (skiis etc.) and flying) but they didn't have the right size.

I have so many pots at home I don't want to buy just anything anyway. Is there a place nearby where I could pick up something really unique, like a hand thrown clay one?

Thanks for the tip about the outlet - I will definitely check it out!

[barbhealy]

I vote with Smithy, as long as you can return home with the new pot. Otherwise, use the roasting pan, or pack your own.

A pork butt is as good as a shoulder. A fresh ham would work, even a loin, though with the slow preparation method that would be stretching things, but it would still taste like lovely coddled pork.

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Ann, they TOLD us the condo had "a gourmet kitchen" but it's a POS! There is only the minimal, everything is cheap (the handle on the frypan broke this morning when we tried to flip the fritatta), and all of it is worn. There are a dozen steak knives but no paring or utility knife!

Because I thought the equipment and tools would be decent, I only brought foodstuffs (spices, arborio, stock, etc...) that I didn't want to make, buy or thought I'd have trouble finding. Our friends mailed in a raclette grill so I could have sent a pot but it's too late now as we're already here!

I did see pork loin at the market so I might end up using it. It will be dry though, won't it, even though it's cooked in oil? I just realized that even if I found a shoulder, I don't have a knife to clean it with! I bought a small ceramic one yesterday but I don't know whether that will work. I suppose I could use one of the steak knives....

The flavor of the dish WAS one of the things I loved about it so maybe the loin is the best way to go....

[annecros]

I vote with Smithy, as long as you can return home with the new pot. Otherwise, use the roasting pan, or pack your own.

A pork butt is as good as a shoulder. A fresh ham would work, even a loin, though with the slow preparation method that would be stretching things, but it would still taste like lovely coddled pork.

←

Ann, they TOLD us the condo had "a gourmet kitchen" but it's a POS! There is only the minimal, everything is cheap (the handle on the frypan broke this morning when we tried to flip the fritatta), and all of it is worn. There are a dozen steak knives but no paring or utility knife!

Because I thought the equipment and tools would be decent, I only brought foodstuffs (spices, arborio, stock, etc...) that I didn't want to make, buy or thought I'd have trouble finding. Our friends mailed in a raclette grill so I could have sent a pot but it's too late now as we're already here!

I did see pork loin at the market so I might end up using it. It will be dry though, won't it, even though it's cooked in oil? I just realized that even if I found a shoulder, I don't have a knife to clean it with! I bought a small ceramic one yesterday but I don't know whether that will work. I suppose I could use one of the steak knives....

The flavor of the dish WAS one of the things I loved about it so maybe the loin is the best way to go....

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If that is the only thing you can find, go with it. See if you can coax some pork fat out of somebody to lard or wrap it in if you can. I would reduce the cooking time a bit, but it is hard to judge with a recipe you have prepared successfully at home in a different environment.

These are all just guesses, by the way.

[Smithy]

I have so many pots at home I don't want to buy just anything anyway.  Is there a place nearby where I could pick up something really unique, like a hand thrown clay one?

Thanks for the tip about the outlet - I will definitely check it out!

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I think there's a pottery place in Frisco, there on the main street with all the little shops and restaurants. I'm not sure about that, though. I know there is a UPS shipping center in Breckenridge, so if you find the right pot you can send it (along with some of that excess luggage) home at the end of your visit.

Have you checked the Safeway in Frisco for pork shoulder or butt?

[snowangel]

Barb, does the market have country-style pork ribs? And, if you're looking for something and don't see it out, ask the butcher. I'd hesitate to use loin for this one...

[Smithy]

Ann, they TOLD us the condo had "a gourmet kitchen" but it's a POS! There is only the minimal, everything is cheap (the handle on the frypan broke this morning when we tried to flip the fritatta), and all of it is worn.  There are a dozen steak knives but no paring or utility knife! 

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That is frustrating. My best friend's father owns a condo in Frisco, and from him I've seen the other side of it: he says renters wreck the kitchen gear so it isn't worth putting good stuff in there. OTOH he doesn't advertise the kitchen as "gourmet"... We just know to figure that the knives will be dull. Back in the days before knives were banned from carry-on luggage, I used to pack one.

I do remember one summer we discovered a perfectly good, new-condition stainless steel pot in the trash from a neighboring condo! We took it back in triumph and did what little cleanup was necessary, and we've cooked a lotta pasta in that pot over the years. It's probably a bit too much to hope that someone in your condo area will discard a heavy pot this week, though.

Do go check at Safeway for a better selection of cuts. Snowangel's idea of ribs is a good one.

[barbhealy]

Ann, they TOLD us the condo had "a gourmet kitchen" but it's a POS! There is only the minimal, everything is cheap (the handle on the frypan broke this morning when we tried to flip the fritatta), and all of it is worn.  There are a dozen steak knives but no paring or utility knife! 

←

That is frustrating. My best friend's father owns a condo in Frisco, and from him I've seen the other side of it: he says renters wreck the kitchen gear so it isn't worth putting good stuff in there. OTOH he doesn't advertise the kitchen as "gourmet"... We just know to figure that the knives will be dull. Back in the days before knives were banned from carry-on luggage, I used to pack one.

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Yes, it was the description as "gourmet" that threw me off! The other condos we've rented had abysmal kitchens but we looked at a fractional ownership unit in Vail that had a gorgeous kitchen and since this one was a timeshare I thought it would be a bit more "upscale". I am definitely going to let them know they need to change their website. The problem is that most non-cooks have no idea what a gourmet kitchen is - this one has a glass-top electric stove and granite countertops which is probably responsible for the description.

Even thought it was described as "gourmet" I figured the knives would be dull and brought a handheld sharpener but I never expected that there wouldn't even be one to sharpen! I bought a small ceramic one yesterday. I'd never used one so it wasn't money wasted.

Now I"m trying to talk DH into driving me to pottery place....

[barbhealy]

Barb, does the market have country-style pork ribs?  And, if you're looking for something and don't see it out, ask the butcher.  I'd hesitate to use loin for this one...

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I will do that. And, if they have it, I'll buy a cheap knife. But, what if I can't find a better pot? Can I use the enameled one?

[dockhl]

Yes.

[qrn]

As someone said up- thread, there are markets toward I-70, that are very good. They have better stuff than we have in the city. City Market is very good (a Kroeger store). Don't sweat the pot... You can pull it off...

Bud.

[A Patric]

Hi all,

Did Paula Wolfert ever donate this delicious sounding recipe to one of the threads around here, or is everyone getting it out of her book? Just wondering...

[iain]

Hi all,

Did Paula Wolfert ever donate this delicious sounding recipe to one of the threads around here, or is everyone getting it out of her book?  Just wondering...

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Can someone post the basic method and ingredients?

[A Patric]

Hi all,

Did Paula Wolfert ever donate this delicious sounding recipe to one of the threads around here, or is everyone getting it out of her book?  Just wondering...

←

Can someone post the basic method and ingredients?

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Well, I know it is similar to a confit de porc, only instead of using lard, it uses olve oil (i.e. the marinated pork is very slowly cooked--one might say coddled--in a bath of olive oil until extremely tender). I'd imagine that the pork was marinated in a bit of salt, pepper, garlic, and some herbs. However, I also imagine it is some of the specifics that make this recipe even more delicious, which is why I was wondering about the exact recipe, and whether Paula Wolfert ever posted it.

That's about all the help that I can be.

Edited January 11, 2007 by A Patric (log)

[A Patric]

Okay,

A very gracious person has given me the okay to post a link to this abridged version of said gracious person's recipe

Thanks Paula!

Look at the bottom:

http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/PrintFrie...oid=oid%3A20901

[dockhl]

Okay,

A very gracious person has given me the okay to post a link to this abridged version of said gracious person's recipe

Thanks Paula!

Look at the bottom:

http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/PrintFrie...oid=oid%3A20901

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Thank you, Paula ! this sounds like one of the very best things I'd ever eat--not just the pork but the entire presentation. I can't wait to make it .

Kathy

[Smithy]

<the screen opens on a scene of peaceful condos nestled in snowy mountains...cue narrator's voice>...

The crowd anxiously awaits the outcome.

Did Barb make peace with her deceptively-advertised and poorly-equipped kitchen?

Did she find just the right cookware that she'd never known existed?

Are the vacationers groaning with pleasure over coddled pork?

Will UPS overload its next cargo plane with her shipment home?

Find out in our next exciting episode!

...So, Barb?

[Abra]

I definitely wouldn't use loin for this dish. I think of it as scrap meat, myself. There's no way to make it succulent, as this dish needs to be. I agree with the country spareribs, that would work great.

[barbhealy]

<the screen opens on a scene of peaceful condos nestled in snowy mountains...cue narrator's voice>...

The crowd anxiously awaits the outcome. 

Did Barb make peace with her deceptively-advertised and poorly-equipped kitchen? 

Did she find just the right cookware that she'd never known existed?

Are the vacationers groaning with pleasure over coddled pork?

Will UPS overload its next cargo plane with her shipment home? 

Find out in our next exciting episode! 

...So, Barb?

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LOL! We sat through a 90 minute 'sales pitch' from this place yesterday morning (DH got a great deal on lift tickets in return) and boy did they get an earfull on the kitchen! Needless to say, we didn't buy.

Unfortunately, I didn't make the pork. The rest of our group came here to ski and no one was willing to drive me to Silverthorne or Frisco (we had rented an Expedition which I was not authorized to drive).

I was willing to make the dish in the condo's roasting pan but they (the other couples) also kept forgetting that I needed 3 days and by the time they agreed to take me to the grocery store for the meat it was too late. So I made a tomato bisque (which DH calls miracle soup because everyone raves over it) and found other ways to spend my time (I don't ski).

Although it seems like they deliberately saobotaged my efforts, I suspect that no one wanted to force me to cook in a kitchen they knew I hated, since there are so many good restaurants here and we were not obligated to "eat in". I WAS disappointed but I understand the desire to eat out when you're travelling so I didn't make a fuss. Ultimately, it's their loss as they didn't get a chance to taste 'the best meat ever'.

I'm glad you will, though, as I see someone has posted a link to the recipe. I would never have violated Paula's copyright without asking and wouldn't have known how to request her permission. I suspect I also would have felt funny asking as I might have put her in an uncomfortable position.

What is the law in that respect? I know I am not authorized to post it here but could I have sent the recipe to individuals? I generally send my recipes to all my invitees so they can determine whether they're allergic to any ingredients and, if they choose to bring wine, know what foods we're serving. Am I out of line? I always scan the page so the author gets credit.

On the subject of the pot, although I did not buy any heavy cooking equipment, we are driving to Aspen tomorrow to spend a week with some other friends who will be driving back to Chicago so, if I HAD found the perfect vessel, I would have taken it to Aspen with us and then 'sent' it back to Chicago in our friend's car. I had forgotten about this option until I mentioned my dilemna to the people we're meeting and they reminded me that I could give them our excess baggage. There are definitely benefis to driving....

Thank you to everyone who responded, though. I will be making this dish many times and may try different cuts of meat just to see how they fare. I'll be sure and let everyone know if I do.

Thanks again!

Barb