ATLANTA — Now that the evenings are chilly and the food dollar needs stretching, it is time to start thinking about your butt.
If it is anything like mine, it's both fatty and bony, weighs about 4 pounds, costs only $7 or $8 at the local supermarket and feeds a family for two nights running.
The Boston butt is, without any question, one of the most economical and easy to cook cuts of meat you can find.
I'm only going to say this once. The Boston butt is not one of the gluteal muscles but rather a hunk from the animal's upper foreleg with a piece of shoulder blade running through it — about the size and shape of the proverbial breadbasket. It is composed of several muscles and copious pockets of fat.
As barbecue newbies discover, it is the most forgiving piece of meat you could ever want to slow cook. It invariably comes out with that velvety, shreddable texture that no one can resist.
It requires only time. To prepare a Boston butt for dinner, you'll have to start soon after lunch. You need only sear in oil, put in a pot with a little liquid in the bottom, cover it tightly and let it simmer for hours, turning every now and then.
That's fine if you work at home, and the smell of braising meat doesn't keep you in a state of perpetual Pavlovian rapture.
I've also found you can cut a Boston butt into four or five pieces and pressure-cook it for an hour and achieve the same results. I would imagine a slow cooker, like a crockpot, would work just fine as well.
This recipe is similar to one I published once before but much, much better. That can of Coke — a new addition — does strange wonders for the flavor.
Boston Butt Braised in Coke
6-8 servings
Hands on: 15 minutes Total time: 4 hours, 15 minutes
Serve with rice, noodles or potatoes
4 pounds boneless pork shoulder or Boston butt
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 medium onion, peeled, halved and sliced thinly
1 (12-ounce) bottle or can of Coke
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 ounce fresh ginger, scrubbed and cut into thick coins
2 pieces star anise
1 green onion, thinly sliced, for garnish
Trim thick fat from the pork and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven with a heavy fitted lid, and brown meat on all sides, finally turning so the fat side is down. Spoon out any excess grease. Fry onion in bottom of pot until it wilts, then add the Coke and soy sauce, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned bits. Add the ginger and star anise. Bring to a simmer and cover. Braise meat until very tender, about 4 to 41/2 hours, turning occasionally. Remove meat to a heated serving platter. Collect braising liquid in a measuring cup and spoon off fat. Press juice and soft onion through a strainer over meat, and discard the spices that collect in the strainer. Garnish with green onion.
Per serving (based on 6, using boneless pork shoulder): 298 calories (percent of calories from fat, 40), 34 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 13 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 110 milligrams cholesterol, 829 milligrams sodium.
John Kessler writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: jkessler AT ajc.com