Rosie Makes A Kick Ass Boston Butt.

(Note: This post is from April 30, before our trip. And I'm just getting around to it today because I'm lazy.)

Since the Mister and I will be heading out of town soon, I wanted to make something that Youngest Hawthorne could eat off of for a while. Oh, and those of you who read blogs and know where people live and like to break into houses when they're away, just know that we have an alarm system and are heavily armed and have vicious dogs and vicious children. So, just don't do it. Instead, why don't you do something wonderful and go sign Oprah's No Phone Zone Pledge. Just don't come to this house. Mmmmkay?

Pork shoulder. Boston Butt. No, this doesn't come from the pig's butt. It comes from the upper shoulder of the front leg. How did it get to be called Butt and sometimes Picnic Shoulder? In pre-revolutionary New England and into the Revolutionary War, some pork cuts (not those highly valued, or "high on the hog," like loin and ham) were packed into casks or barrels (also known as "butts") for storage and shipment. The way the hog shoulder was cut in the Boston area became known in other regions as "Boston Butt." This name stuck and today, Boston butt is called that almost everywhere in the US,… except in Boston. "Picnic ham" is a little challenging, even for the pork board folks. Generally, the shoulder is smoked, they say, which gives it a very ham-like flavor. Since picnic shoulder/ham is an inexpensive substitute for real ham (which only comes from the hind legs), they speculate that it would have been considered a good cut for casual dining — such as a picnic — rather than for use at a formal family dinner, such as Easter or Thanksgiving.

And, of course, I bought this on sale.

First, I needed to trim off copious amounts of fat. I poured in about 1/2 cup of Lea & Perrins. And about 2-3 TB of Mr. Stubbs Liquid Hickory Smoke. Let marinate for about an hour, turning occasionally. I went out to my herb garden and came back with rosemary, sage, and fennel fronds. Mince well.

The rest of my ingredients: onion powder brown sugar freshly ground salt and pepper fennel seeds my herbs vinegar

Maybe 1 heaping TB fennel seeds, 2 tsp salt 1 TB pepper 2 tsp onion powder fresh herbs

Add in about 1/4 cup brown sugar and mix well.

Place meat in pan trimmed fat-side up. Rub spice mixture into meat.

I found a jar of Hawaiian honey Xmaskatie gave me. It was a tad crystallized, but 30 seconds in the microwave took care of that. I poured a little honey over top.

I poured the marinade in the pan along with a quarter cup of cider vinegar and a cup of water. As the butt cooks, you may need to add in more water. You don't want to get a burned, caramelized mess of sugar and honey in the bottom of the pan, so add water as needed. This went into a 350 degree oven for 2 3/4 hours. Internal temperature for pork butt is 170 degrees. When I took out mine, it was 190. And the pig was fork-tender. Look at that beautiful crust. Cover and let sit for about 10-15 minutes before slicing.

While the Boston Butt was cooking,

Mr. Hawthorne started on the celery root and potatoes.

First he peeled the potatoes and diced them. Immediately put them in water so they don't discolor.

Next, Mr. Hawthorne peeled the celery root and diced.

Taters and celery root into the boiling water. Cook until tender.

Youngest Hawthorne just came back from the Dare County Gun Range.

Butter, cream, and salt and pepper went into mix.

Mr. Hawthorne started smashing. Then he pulled out my immersion blender and went to work on this ...

... and ended up with this fabulously creamy, buttery, lovely textured potato/celery root combo.

Dinner is ready.

As you know, I don't like to waste anything, so I took the potato peelings and ...

added some asparagus spears from the garden,

olive oil, butter, and salt and pepper.

This went into a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.

The skins were perfect crispy little strips. The asparagus was buttery goodness. These didn't make it to the final plating. We ate 'em right out of the oven.

Mr. Hawthorne loved this. He said the Boston Butt was the best he'd had. He loved the sauce. But he wanted to know what that special flavor was. It was the fennel. It made it pop. And he absolutely loved the potato and celery root. He wants it every day for the rest of his life.