Pork Paolo

If you are lucky enough to have listened to either of young Paolo Nutini's cds in their entirety you'd know.

Back stage passes to next weeks' show, even if I had them, wouldn't help because if I met him I would be mute. Words can not do justice to the awe and adoration this young man's singing inspires, and also in reality I am old enough to be his mother, easily old enough. I can however fantasize about having him over for a home cooked meal, say.

The delectable, slow heat and depth of flavor of Pork Paolo invented here at The Snack Tray kitchen is one small way in which we can pay homage to that boys voice.

Listening to Paolo with the Mom from Freaky Friday fame inspired this experiment the other night. Combining aspects of the recipe for Carne Adovada and the slow cooked garlicky goodness the Puerto Rican food we had from Sol Food we decided to try reproducing that flavor in leaner dish. The results were pretty good, good enough that the boys both had sandwiches from the leftovers the first chance they got. So if you need a midnight snack after the show Paolo I've got you covered.

2.5 - 3 Lb pork shoulder (boneless is better but not the picnic end, rather the much leaner more aptly named Boston Butt)

1 T Kosher or large grain Sea Salt

1 Head Garlic peeled

1 Stalk Celery rough chopped

1 Med Onion rough chopped

1 Chipotle in Adobo plus 1t sauce (and I mean one chipotle, keep the rest in the fridge in a new container you can use the rest in all kinds of things like your own bbq sauce)

2T Tamarind Sauce (again we had left overs from takeout Indian but I also can get it at Safeway)

1T Jack Daniels (it should have been Scotch Whiskey but Jack was at hand)

Juice of 1 Lemon

1T Mexican Oregano (fuller and bigger but you can substitute regular maybe cut it to 1.5 T)

2T Apple Cider Vinegar

Turn the oven up to 450 to get it hot while you trim the roast of any large pieces of silver skin and cut into small (1.5 inch) cubes. The smaller cubes cook faster but if you want to cook it for a super long time cut them a tad larger. Pulse the garlic in a food processor until finely mashed and add the rest of the ingredients, pulsing until a thick sauce forms and the onion is no longer chunky. Mix it all together, put it all in a glass 9x13x2 pan, cover tightly with foil, turn the oven down to 300 and cook 2 1/2 hours. Remove the foil and cook another 30 minutes until you see that the sauce is thickening and the tops of the cubes are caramelizing.

I served it with steamed rice, little potatoes roasted with salt and oil (for the last 40 minutes in the oven with the pork) and a very simple guacamole (avocados, one mashed garlic clove, salt & pepper, and lime juice). It was nice to have something cooling and sweet with the pork and the creaminess made up for the leaner cut (the way Paolo's unreal vocal maturity and lyrics contrast so beautifully with his extreme youth).

The next time I might take some sauce out of the final dish add a little tomato paste and reduce it a bit to see if that adds another dimension - like Paolo would do.