This recipe for the pork shoulder dates to between 1580 and mid 1590s Cooked and marinated in a white wine, spices and mustard mixture and served as a cold cut. The recipe calls for the meat to be kept in salted water once cooked. Given the lack of refrigeration, this was likely done to preserve the meat for a few days, as salt acts like a preserving agent. The meat, spices and wine used in the recipe would have been expensive due to being imported into the country. However, like many recipes, it is easy to adapt and use a combination of ale, stock and herbs like rosemary, marjoram and thyme that were a lot cheaper and more accessible to those lower down in status when meat was available.
Ingredients
900 g pork shoulder
1 bottle of white wine
1 piece of ginger, chopped
2 tsp black peppercorns
Half a nutmeg, grated
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp. grainy mustard
3 tbsp. salt
Method
Add the wine, 575 ml water and all the spices and mustard to a pot on the stove and bring to the boil. Add the pork shoulder and simmer for 2 hours until tender. Dissolve the salt in 1.7 litters of water and place the pork into this after it has been cooked and leave to cool. Keep the meat in the liquid until it is consumed and use within 2 to 3 days. If, like me, you have a clay pot, use this to cook the meat on low heat in the oven for 2- 2 ½ hours until tender. Just place the ingredients in the pot and skips the bringing the liquid to boil part.
Strain the cooking liquid to remove the spices and bay leaves and use it to make Brawn Pottage as follows:
Add 2 tbsp medium or pinhead oats, dried thyme or sage and 2 roughly chopped onions to the broth. Bring to the boil and cook for 40 to 45 minutes. Serve by itself or topped with the cold cuts of pork and crackling if you have it (see below).
My pork came with a layer of fat and skin attached, which I had placed in the salted water for a while with the rest of the cooked meat. I took this out to dry about an hour before slashing and roasting it until crispy to make crackling. If you don’t have time to wait, make sure you dry the fat thoroughly before baking. If there is any fat that has rendered from it, pour it in a small container, cook until hardened and keep to cook with later. It is full of flavour, making everything extra tasty.
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