The Brainy Gourmet: Soup and Bread ~ Use Pork Shoulder for Stock!

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Soup and Bread ~ Use Pork Shoulder for Stock!

Pork butt, despite its colorful name, does not come from anywhere near the butt (or behind) of the pig. In fact, quite the opposite. Pork butt is a cut of meat from the shoulder of the pig. Seriously.

This cut of meat is perfect for making soup stock... which can become any kind of soup. Other than making stock for soup, some home chefs slow roast it in the oven with veggies and more than some like to roast it alone... then shredding it to make 'pulled' barbecued pork sandwiches.

As I said, this cut of pork makes a great soup stock that is rich and full of flavor. When it comes to stock, keep it simple, one pork shoulder to one large stock pot of water with 2 tsps of salt, one full leek and fresh dried parsley.

And, of course, you can add carrots and celery stalk to the pot if you want to which can be strained out with the meat retaining the stock. This allows you to make any kind of soup throughout the week.

The developing stock (before straining) needs to cook on the stove for up to 3 hours on low heat with a slow rolling boil. After this time, the pork shoulder will become very tender. As mentioned above, strain out the meat and any additional veggies to be served individually in soup mugs (this keeps the stock pure) along with a couple of Kluski - Polish 'egg' noodles and fresh baked rye bread.