Spiced Pork Shoulder for the Dutch Oven
A dry-rubbed shoulder braised in beer over coals until it shreds with a spoon.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 56
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 5, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 210 min
- total time
- 230 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Pork shoulder | 3-4 lb | bone-in is fine, it fits a 7 qt oven |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 2 tbsp | |
| Kosher salt | 2 tsp | |
| Ground coriander | 1/2 tsp | |
| Ground cumin | 1/2 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Ground cinnamon | 1/2 tsp | |
| Ground cardamom | 1/2 tsp | |
| Vegetable oil | 3 tbsp | |
| Lager | 1 can | nothing hoppy, IPA turns bitter over three hours |
| All-purpose flour | 2 tbsp | for thickening the liquid |
| Cider vinegar | 2 tsp | |
| Cilantro | 1/4 cup, chopped | optional, and the first thing to wilt in a cooler |
Method
- At home, shake the sugar, salt, and the five spices together in a zip bag. Pat the shoulder dry, put it in the bag, and work the rub over every surface. Keep it cold for a day.
- In camp, build a fire and let it burn down to coals. You want steady low heat, not flames.
- Set the dutch oven over the coals, add the oil, and sear the shoulder on all sides until it is brown and stuck-looking. Ten to fifteen minutes total.
- Pour in the beer, scrape the bottom, and lid it. Bank coals around the oven and put a few on the lid.
- Hold a bare simmer for three to four hours. Check every 45 minutes, add coals as they die, and top up with a splash of beer or water if the pot runs dry.
- When a fork twists the meat apart with no resistance, lift it out to a plate.
- Whisk the flour into the remaining liquid a pinch at a time and simmer until it coats a spoon. Stir in the vinegar off the heat.
- Shred the pork, pour the gravy over it, and scatter the cilantro. Tortillas or rolls if you brought them.
Braising is the reason a cheap, tough shoulder is worth three hours of fire tending. Low wet heat melts the connective tissue into gelatin, which is what makes the meat shred and what gives the liquid enough body to become gravy. A hot fast fire does the opposite: it squeezes the muscle and you get dry pork in thin beer.
One pot does the searing and the braising, so there is only ever one thing to wash. The sear matters more than it looks like it should, since the browned crust is most of the flavor in the finished liquid. The vinegar at the end is not seasoning so much as a correction; three hours of fat and sugar need something sharp or the whole plate tastes flat. This is car-camping food. The shoulder needs a cooler and there is no way around that.
Packing
Rub the shoulder at home the day before and carry it rubbed in a doubled zip bag on the bottom of the cooler. Flour, vinegar, and the spare spices ride in the kitchen box. The beer is doing double duty, so bring one more than the recipe needs.
Variations
- No beer, or a dry camp: an equal volume of water plus a spoon of tomato paste braises just as well.
- Leftovers reheat in the same pot with a little water and go into tortillas the next morning.
- Cook it in a covered pot on a grill grate over low coals if you have no dutch oven.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/spiced-braised-pork-shoulder