Here is a great menu for a casual New Year’s Eve Party. What’s so great about this menu is that I can make all of the accompaniments the day before and cook the roast on the day of the party. It is especially helpful if you have an oven with a delayed start time and a timed cook control. You can put it in the oven, set it and forget it. Definitely my kind of cooking. All you have to do on the day of the party is cook and pull the pork and set out the accompaniments at the time of serving. (You can even cook the rice the day before and reheat it in the oven before serving.)
New Year’s Eve Casual Dinner Menu
Golden Margaritas
Guacamole with Corn Tortilla Chips
Pulled Pork Soft Tacos
Tomato-Green Chili Salsa, Corn Relish, Sliced Avocado, Fresh Jalapenos, Creme Fraiche, Cheddar and Jack Cheeses, Flour Tortillas
Yellow Rice Pilaf
Individual Flan with Fresh Berries
Pulled Pork
Serves 8 Generously
1 7-8 Lb. Pork Butt with Blade Bone
½ Cup XVOO
½ Cup Southwest Spice Rub
2 Tablespoons Coarse Sea Salt
2 Cups Homemade Chicken Stock or Canned Low Sodium Chicken Broth
For Soft Tacos serve with Creme Fraiche, Black Bean and Roasted Corn Salsa, Tomato-Green Chili Salsa, Corn or Flour Tortillas, Cheddar and Jack Cheeses, Sliced Jalapeños, Fresh Cilantro, Pickled Corn Relish, Yellow Rice Pilaf
Preheat oven to 325º.
Mix the XVOO and the spice rub together to make a paste. Rub this mixture all over the pork butt. (Use a good size pork butt. The bigger the piece of pork butt, the longer the cooking time and the more tender the meat. A 7 to 8 pound Pork Butt with the blade bone is about the biggest you will find at the grocery. Cooking it for six hours, slow and low, resulted in a tender, moist, flavorful roast.) Sprinkle the meat with the salt. Place meat, fat side up in a large roasting pan and pour in one cup of water and two cups of chicken stock in the bottom of the pan. Cover the meat with a sheet of parchment paper and cover with heavy duty foil sealing the edges of the pan with the foil so no heat escapes. (The reason for the parchment paper is to keep the foil from touching the meat. A long slow cooking method with the foil directly touching the meat will transfer whatever part of the foil touching the meat onto the meat. This is not good.)
Place the pan on the oven rack in the lower third of the oven and roast for six hours without opening the oven. After six hours, remove the foil and parchment paper, turn the heat up to 375 Degrees F and roast for 30 minutes. This final roasting will crisp up the top of the pork butt.
Remove from oven and let rest for 30 minutes. Using two forks shred the meat. Pour some of the Au Jus from the pan over the meat.
Hints and Tips: If you are not going to use the whole piece of meat immediately leave the rest of it in large chunks, cool completely, cover and refrigerate. Leaving it in large chunks will keep the meat moist until you are ready to use. These chunks of meat will last for several days in the refrigerator. Or you can freeze for use later. Freeze no longer than one month.
If you don’t want to spice it up with the spice rub, use salt and pepper only. This is a good idea if you are not going to use the whole piece of meat for soft tacos. Leaving off the rub will make the meat more versatile and can be used in other recipes. For example I use the left over pork in my marinara sauce. I certainly would not want southwest flavors in that.
Black Bean Salsa
Tomato-Green Chili Salsa
Flan
Flan
The most intense part of this recipe is making the “burnt sugar”. It’s not really burnt but that is how it has always been described. Keep a close eye on the boiling sugar as it goes from pale to burnt in a matter of seconds.
WARNING! Be careful to not touch the burnt sugar while still hot. It can do a lot of damage to your skin.
Serves 8
For The “Burnt Sugar”
2 Cups Granulated Sugar
¼ Cup Water
For The Flan
5 Large Eggs
3 Large Egg Yolks
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
4 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Freshly Grated Nutmeg
Mixed Berries for Garnish
Preheat oven to 350°. Bring a pot of water to a simmer.
In a heavy saucepan combine 2 cups sugar and ¼ cup water. Swirl pan over high heat until sugar is dissolved and cook mixture until it turns a beautiful amber/brown color. Do not stir the sugar and water with a spoon and to keep the sugar from crystalizing on the side of the pan, place a cover over the pan while boiling for a minute. This will help melt any sugar that sticks to the side of the pan. As soon as the sugar turns that beautiful amber/brown color you are looking for, immediately remove from heat. Evenly distribute the sauce between 8 / 8 ounce ramekins or coffee cups. (I like to use coffee cups because it is easy to remove them from the water bath using the cup handle.) Swirl the sauce around the ramekin/cup to coat it a little. You want most of the sauce on the bottom of the ramekin/cup. Set aside to completely cool and set up hard.
In large mixing bowl, whisk the whole eggs and the egg yolks together until completely blended. Gradually whisk in the sugar. Add the heavy cream, vanilla and nutmeg and whisk together until all is incorporated.
Evenly divide the mixture between the prepared cups. You will have enough custard to fill the cups about 2/3 full. Place the cups in a roasting pan large enough so that the cups have at least two inches of space between them. Pour enough of the hot water into the pan to reach half way up the side of the cup.
Bake the custards for about 50 to 60 minutes, until the tops are slightly golden and the custard is set. Check to see if the custards are set by inserting a thin bladed knife into the center of one of the custards. If it comes out clean they are ready. If not, bake a little longer. Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and then carefully remove the cups from the water. Let cool completely to room temperature. Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
To serve, run a thin bladed knife around the edge of the custard and invert onto a serving dish. Gently shake the custard out of the cup. The syrup will come out and run all over the custard. Garnish with fresh berries.
I wish you a Happy, Healthy and Safe New Year.