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Brasato, radicchio and pulled pork (sort of)

Paolo
Paolo Posts: 187
in EggHead Forum
Saturday was a holiday here in Italy too, so I lit up the Egg early and went for a quick run to the grocery store after breakfast to pick up something for lunch.
I found some really cheap pork collar (coppa) and beef shoulder.



I went with my usual brasato recipe, but squeezed it into only four hours — less than ideal IMO. I’ve never made pulled pork before since it’s quite hard to find a proper Boston Butt here, so I tried using these neck pieces instead.
Here’s the beef braising after a quick two-hour smoke, with the pork on the side.



The brasato turned out fine, though not perfect — it needed more time braising.



 I served it with polenta and radicchio tardivo (late-season radicchio). Do you guys get that across the pond?





The pulled pork experiment was decent, just a bit too dry for my taste (it was a six-hour cook)



No problems posting pics this time!
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Comments

  • GrateEggspectations
    GrateEggspectations Posts: 11,513
    Looks radicchilously good, Paolo! Happy belated All Saints’ Day. 

    Yes, I’ve under-braised beef before while making a carbonnade Flamande. It’s always disappointing when the first bite reveals it’s not as tender as you’d like. The saving grace is that I’ve had success picking up the cook where I left off with any leftovers. You could always give that a try. 

    I can’t say I recall having radicchio tardivo, either locally or elsewhere. Bet I’d love it though. 

    The fat content of pork collar makes it a good alternative to butt for pulled pork. What internal temp did you pull it off the grill at? Did you foil it any point during the cook? Did you wrap for a rest before shredding the pork? A lot of us use the FTC method with great success. 
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  • johnmitchell
    johnmitchell Posts: 7,354
    Great post and meals as usual😋😋
    Greensboro North Carolina
    When in doubt Accelerate....
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,660
    Awesome cooks right there. And magazine quality photos as well.  Congrats!
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
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  • Paolo
    Paolo Posts: 187
    Thanks for the tips @GrateEggspectations and for the comments everyone!
    Will try to improve the Brasato as suggested.
    The pork was done with absolute carelessness..just thrown on the Egg and cooked until it looked Iike it couldn’t take more time without charring.
    I need to take this more seriously, maybe starting with a properly sized and cut piece of pork.
    Any suggestions on how to reheat the pulled pork without making it even more dry? 
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  • Gulfcoastguy
    Gulfcoastguy Posts: 7,316
    Try simmering the pork in Coca Cola.
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  • GrateEggspectations
    GrateEggspectations Posts: 11,513
    Paolo said:
    Thanks for the tips @GrateEggspectations and for the comments everyone!
    Will try to improve the Brasato as suggested.
    The pork was done with absolute carelessness..just thrown on the Egg and cooked until it looked Iike it couldn’t take more time without charring.
    I need to take this more seriously, maybe starting with a properly sized and cut piece of pork.
    Any suggestions on how to reheat the pulled pork without making it even more dry? 
    For reheating pulled pork, nothing beats sous vide, IMO. 

    Also agree with @Gulfcoastguy’s suggestion to render pork more tender and moist. 
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  • Paolo
    Paolo Posts: 187
    Gulfcoastguy said:
    Try simmering the pork in Coca Cola.
    This comes as a bit of a shock  to the average italian, but I have faith that you guys know your stuff about managing pulled pork!
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  • Stormbringer
    Stormbringer Posts: 2,469
    Those are some great looking pics. What wines did you enjoy with the food? 
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    | Cooking and blogging with a Large and Minimax in deepest, darkest England-shire
    | My food blog ... BGE and other stuff ... http://www.thecooksdigest.com
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------


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  • Paolo
    Paolo Posts: 187
    The sacrificial bottle for braising was the Amarone della Valpollicella in the picture, a strong red wine made with a special and unique process that involves drying the grapes. This particular one was a cheap version from a local discount.
    The meal went with this white wine I got directly from the producer in the hills south of Lake Garda. The grapes variety is Tocai Friulano. Nice


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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,660
    Stormbringer said:
    Those are some great looking pics. What wines did you enjoy with the food? 
    You may  want to tread lightly here as @Stormbringer has a serious hobby with wine.  But since both of you are on the east side of the pond you will get along in fine fashion.  Great cook as sited above.  
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
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  • Paolo
    Paolo Posts: 187
    edited November 3
    lousubcap said:
    Stormbringer said:
    Those are some great looking pics. What wines did you enjoy with the food? 
    You may  want to tread lightly here as @Stormbringer has a serious hobby with wine.  But since both of you are on the east side of the pond you will get along in fine fashion.  Great cook as sited above.  
    Didn't know this! So, no need to explain to @stormbringer what Amarone is! Will also have to admit that Brasato and Tocai Friulano is a rather lousy pairing..
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  • Stormbringer
    Stormbringer Posts: 2,469
    edited November 3
    Interesting that you paired it with a white. I would have gone with a Chianti Rufina, e.g. Selvapiano's Bucerchiale. Rustic wine with some good fruit. I shower that along with other italian wines at my companys socual club wine tastibg a couple of weeks ago. 

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    | Cooking and blogging with a Large and Minimax in deepest, darkest England-shire
    | My food blog ... BGE and other stuff ... http://www.thecooksdigest.com
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------


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  • Paolo
    Paolo Posts: 187
    Stormbringer said:
    Interesting that you paired it with a white. I would have gone with a Chianti Rufina, e.g. Selvapiano's Bucerchiale. Rustic wine with some good fruit. I shower that along with other italian wines at my companys socual club wine tastibg a couple of weeks ago. 

    What a collection! Your club knows well how to select wines. Rather lousy pairing on my side but notheless an interesting drink 
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