Fennel-Rubbed Pork Shoulder With Salsa Verde Recipe

Directions

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Place fennel, coriander, peppercorns, six cloves of garlic and salt in a mortar. Mash into a chunky paste using a pestle. Add olive oil and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and mash some more until combined. Liberally slather mixture on pork shoulder and place meat in roasting pan. Transfer to oven and cook until tender, about six hours, basting with pan juices every 30 minutes after the first hour. Meanwhile, prepare salsa verde by chopping raisins, lemon zest, capers, cornichons, onion, the remaining garlic clove, parsley, tarragon, crushed red pepper and black pepper in a food processor until mixture forms a fine paste. Scrape down the sides of the food processor using a spatula. Slowly add olive oil, followed by remaining lemon juice, pulsing until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper if necessary. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals around the perimeter of the coal grate. Set a disposable aluminum pan in the venter. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, preheat half the burners of a gas grill to high and allow to preheat for 10 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Transfer pork shoulder to grill and finish cooking over indirect heat until it’s fall-apart tender inside and crisp and glistening outside, about an hour. Remove from grill and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Serve with salsa verde.