From  Five Meals Every Man Should Master

Pork & Beans

Part I: The Pork

Even the best home chef can't be pan-frying fillet of sole for 12: too much last-minute hassle, no way to nail the timing. That's where the one-pot meal comes in, the richly satisfying braise that actually gets better if you cook it three days in advance, so the flavors have time to develop. A braise takes minimal last-minute effort and can easily be scaled for a huge group or to leave a week's worth of the best leftovers you've ever had.

"And the thing I especially love about pork and beans," Keller tells me, "is all the ways you can repurpose it into other meals." He shows me exactly what he means, whipping up the single best plate of huevos rancheros I've ever eaten (and eat them I do, hunched over his kitchen's counter) and a killer bean soup that takes all of about 10 minutes to make (see  below - mensjournal.com/leftovers for those recipes). But the pièce de résistance is the pork-and-beans proper, a classic Keller dish in which the simplest comfort food becomes a minor culinary miracle.

The Complete Recipe: Braised Pork Shoulder With Slow-Cooker Beans

Braising the Pork:

Ingredients• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4- to 5-lb bone-in pork shoulder
• 4 tbsp canola oil
• 2 chopped carrots
• 1 chopped Spanish onion
• 1 chopped leek, white part only
• 8 cups veal or chicken stock
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 diced garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns

Step 1
Sprinkle salt and ground pepper on the pork very generously on all sides (don't be shy; you can't really overdo it here).

Step 2
Place a large cast-iron pot on the stove on high heat, and add the canola oil.

Step 3
When the oil is shimmering, lower the pork shoulder into the pot gently. Sear on all sides until golden brown, rotating the pork by hand, setting it up on its edge when necessary – then remove the meat and set aside.

Step 4
Pour out excess oil, then add chopped carrots, onion, and leek. Stir to coat with remaining oil in the bottom of the pot.

Step 5
Lay the shoulder on top of the vegetables (fatty side up). Add the veal or chicken stock so that it comes only halfway up the side of the pork, then add rosemary sprig, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, garlic, and peppercorns to the liquid. Bring to a simmer.

Step 6
Cover the pot, leaving lid slightly ajar, and place in a 250 oven. Braise the pork for 3.5 hours, or until the meat is tender enough to pull apart with two forks.

Step 7
Remove the pork from the pot and let cool to room temperature. Strain braising liquid through a fine-mesh strainer, return the pork and liquid to the pot, and refrigerate overnight.

Step 8
Once ready to finish the dish, debone the pork and then cut the meat into 2-inch-square chunks.

Part II: The Beans

The dilemma: Dried beans take forever to get tender, and you invariably overcook some, turning them mushy before others lose their hardness. Keller's solution: Rancho Gordo-brand beans, which are guaranteed fresh from ranchogordo.com, and a Crock-Pot or other slow cooker to help achieve even cooking.

Ingredients
• 1 pound Rancho Gordo-brand borlotti or cannellini beans
• 6 cups veal (or chicken) stock
• 6 cups water
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 leek
• 1/2 carrot
• 1/2 white onion
• 1 oz bacon

Step 1
Wash and rinse beans – do not soak – then heat the stock and water in a pot and add to slow cooker.

Step 2
Tie together thyme and bay leaf and put in liquid with 1 tsp salt, leek, carrot, onion, beans, and bacon. Slow-cook on high until tender, about 4 hours. Cool and store in their liquid.

Part III: The Finish

Ingredients
• 3/4 cup large-diced leeks, white parts only
• 1 cup large-diced carrots
• Canola oil, as needed
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp red-wine vinegar

Step 1
Scrape fat off surface of pork-braising liquid. Discard.

Step 2
Warm the meat and stock over low heat. Remove the pork. Pour the braising liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into another pot.

Step 3
Return pork shoulder to its liquid. Simmer until needed.

Step 4
In a large skillet, sauté leeks and carrots in oil until tender.

Step 5
Strain the beans and put half in the skillet. Add one cup of the pork-braising liquid, the butter, and the red-wine vinegar to bind the sauce. Simmer 20 minutes, until the liquid thickens.

Step 6
Set pieces of warmed pork in the beans and serve.

Serves 2

Ingredients for the salsa:
(This will make more salsa than you need but you can keep it to eat with tortilla chips)
8 vine-ripened tomatoes
1 Jalapeno pepper, seeds removed then fine diced
1/3 cup red onion, finely diced
½ of 1 lime zest
Juice of ½ a lime
¼ cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

For the beans:
8 oz cooked beans
¼ cup water
1 cup braising liquid from pork shoulder
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
4 corn tortillas

For the pork:
12 oz of cooled pork shoulder, shredded
1 Tablespoon butter
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 whole eggs, poached
White wine vinegar, as needed

Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Core the tomatoes and blanch in the water for several seconds. Plunge the tomatoes in an ice bath. When cool, peel and seed, then small dice. (See mensjournal.com/lambsides for more on big-pot blanching).

Step 2
In a bowl, add the tomatoes, Jalapeno and red onion together. Add the lemon zest and squeeze half a lime onto the mixture. Toss in the cilantro leaves, add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Step 3
In a small pot, add the cooked beans, water and braising liquid. Let simmer until almost ready to put the dish together. Add the vinegars and butter to finish. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside

Step 4
In a sauté pan, add the pork shoulder and butter. Gently sauté, stirring the mixture until ready to plate. Find a warm spot on your stove and reheat the corn tortillas until softened. Set aside.

Step 5
In a medium sized pot, add water until at least 4-inches deep and bring to a light simmer. Add enough vinegar until you can detect a light vinegar taste. Carefully break each egg into separate small bowls. With a wooden spoon, stir water in circular motion twice or until a vortex forms in the middle. Slip eggs, one-by-one, into the vortex, careful not to break the yolks. After 1 1/2 minutes, or until whites are opaque, remove the eggs and set aside.

Step 6
To plate, add the beans on one side of the plate; add the shredded pork on the other, layer with salsa and top with poached eggs. Lightly sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Add shredded cheese to taste carefully roll tortillas and place alongside. Serve.
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Leftover #2: Bean Soup

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Ingredients:
4 cups cooked beans, heated
Chicken stock, as needed to get the right soup consistency (or replace with vegetable stock or water to make a vegetarian soup), heated
½ cup Extra virgin olive oil
Champagne vinegar
Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Step 1
Take leftover pain de campagne, crust removed and roughly torn into 1 inch cubes and toasted in the oven for 10 minutes.

Step 2
Place the beans and 1 cup chicken stock in a blender and puree until smooth. Add more stock or water to reach desired consistency. With the blender still running, add the extra virgin olive oil in a steady stream.

Step 3
To finish, add 1 teaspoon champagne vinegar, 1 teaspoon of salt and a few grindings of pepper; taste, and continue adding vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste.

Ladle the bean soup into bowls. Serve the toasted croutons on the side.