Braised Pork Roast Round 2

Last week I did one of my step by step posts on a Low and Slow Braised Pork Roast and Veggies....

http://willsonwheels.blogspot.com/search?q=low+and+slow

I ate all of that batch up and decided to do another.... with a few changes.

I started with a slightly bigger pork shoulder roast.... about 4 lbs...

And the rest of the usual suspects - 

2 sweet potatoes

1 turnip

4 carrots

1 sweet onion

1 green bell pepper

Several stalks of bok choy

2 yellow squash

A big hunk of ginger

Some kale

As before I dry-rubbed the pork shoulder roast the night before with Seasoned Meat Tenderizer, Salt and Pepper and a liberal coating of Hot Madras Curry Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Allspice, Cumin and Turmeric.

I forked the roast on all sides to push some of the seasoning and spices inside and to give the braising liquid a route in and bagged it.

As before, I rough chopped the root veggies and the onion, bell pepper, bok choy and got them going in as many cast iron vessels as I had for a quick browning.

Once the root veggies were done in the cast iron Dutch Oven (the final cooking vessel), I browned the Pork Roast on all sides.

At this point, the root veggies and other hard veggies are done browning.

I have prep'd the yellow squash, bok choy greens and have the kale, a Java Stout beer and carton of chicken broth on stand by.

I decided not to add the "soft veggies" in at the beginning because they just cook to almost nothing during the 6 hour cooking time.

Remember I said I browned the Pork roast on all sides.... which includes the ends.

I want a seared coating of all of those dry rub seasonings and spices on all sides and a hot cast iron dutch oven is the best way to do it.

Let me emphasize one other thing.

Every bit of this browning - all of the veggies and the meat - were done with NO OIL.... No added calories

Just the Veggies and the Meat - Hello Caveman!

Once the roast is done browning, I dumped all of the browned veggies in on top.

Yep -  I think I exceeded the capacity of this Dutch Oven but that's OK!

Fill in the void spaces with a carton of chicken broth.

Cover and into a 270 degree oven for 5-1/2 hours.

And here's the rest of the soft veggies which I put back in the fridge.... 

I'll put them in the mix in the last hour.

It took me about 30 minutes to get the whole cooking process to this point.

Whoa!  Santa Fe is at 7200' and it's starting to get a little nipply in the morning!

Yeah... sometimes I listen to some pretty dark music.

And some say it is depressing and serves to drive a person with a natural tendency for negative thinking to more of the same.

I find some solace in the Words of a World that sheds light on the Darkness Within.

We all have it to some degree and facing it and examining it is one way of dealing with it.

"Darkness Within"

Here in this darkness that I lay
Depression heavy in its weigh
And how my body aches to leave
To sing its final eulogy
My sons I love you evermore
And though the road beckons once more
I see the damage that I've done
In search for redemption

But I am just a broken man
Whose soul cries out to understand
How the madness shatters me
Upon the stage on bended knee
I scream out loud at skies above
That answer mute bereft in love
I struggle not to fall from grace
Or sing the hymns of my disgrace

We build cathedrals to our pain
Establish monuments to attain
Freedom from all of the scars and the sins
Lest we drown in the darkness within

Mystery's forgotten chords
I strum in vain to please the lord
But he has never answered me
My faith has waned eternally
In empty men who pass along
The woes of all religions wrong
But now the Shadowed veil it falls
Heed the Clarion call

So pray to music build a shrine
Worship in these desperate times
Fill your heart with every note
Cherish it and cast afloat
'Cause god is in these clef and tone
Salvation is found alone
Haunted by its melody
Music it will set you free
Let it set you free

We build cathedrals to our pain
Establish monuments to attain
Freedom from all of the scars and the sins
Lest we drown in the darkness within

Music my saviour (Save me)

We build cathedrals to our pain
Establish monuments to attain
Freedom from all of the scars and the sins
Lest we drown in the darkness within

Pretty epic video.... if you think you have problems, this should reset your perspective.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qtA4tg_4G4

Back to happier things like this Braised Pork Roast and Veggies....

At the 4-1/2 hour mark, I added the soft veggies, a liberal sprinkle of dried basil and most of the Java Stout beer.

I let it go to the 5-1/2 hour mark and checked the submerged Pork Roast....

And it was perfect!  Fork Tender - Succulent, Juicy and infused with all the seasoning, spices, chicken stock and veggie stock from cooking for 5-1/2 hours.

Now that's a beautiful bowl of Low and Slow Braised Pulled Pork and Veggies.

Life is Good....

With Dark Music....

And Beautiful, Nutritious and Flavorful Food like this!