Pork and clams tonight

I sit here late on a Sunday night listening to 97X (WOXY.com) and contemplating a weekend gone too quickly. Cincinnati friends please tell when 97X moved to Austin (?). Portland sure, but Austin? I'm kidding Austinites...

Anyway, about the hog. We decided to take a shot at the remaining 1/2 pork shoulder roast from last weekend. This time, we went with a Portuguese-style pork and clam stew. Instead of a braise in the oven, this one got a slow simmer on the stove.

The pork shoulder marinated several hours in wine and vinegar and red pepper. After a quick sear, it went into a ceramic pot with a base of onions, garlic and more red pepper. Simmered for about 2 hours and started falling apart. We finished by bringing the heat up and adding a couple pounds of manila clams. They only took a few minutes to open up and then it was dinner time.

This approach worked very well. No problems with dry or over-done meat this time. It turned out exceptionally juicy and tender. The clams gave things a nice briny edge. The vinegar gave a tang. A bit of heat from the red peppers But the pork was the star this time. Very tasty combination.

Not a bad way wrap to the weekend...