chocolate pasta with pork ragout

After the success I had with creating an Iron Chef America inspired dish last week it fueled my desire to attempt to replicate a dish I saw Chef Michael Symon make on the same episode. His dish was a chocolate pasta with a pork and boar shoulder ragout, however, I wasn’t able to find boar, so I stuck with just pork shoulder.

Since I could not find any recipes available on the Food Network website for any of the Iron Chef America episodes, I had to draw upon Chef Symon’s description of the dish and my experiences with braising. Obviously I did not make this in under an hour, but I also did not have any sous chefs or Alton Brown narrating my every move.

Despite my eagerness to attempt to replicate his dish, I was a little apprehensive about properly balancing chocolate and chili peppers in a savory dish. However, when it was all said and done I couldn’t have been happier with the results. The reduction sauce was amazing with the dark chocolate notes hitting you first as it finished with the heat from the chili peppers.

My only critiques would be I wish I had reduced the sauce a little more, as I felt it was a little thin for my tastes, and I could have added a touch more heat. The next time I do this I will probably try a more potent pepper, something in between a jalapeno and a habanero.

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5 pound pork shoulder, trimmed
olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 tablespoons chili powder, 1 reserved
2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon reserved
salt and pepper, to taste
2 14.9 ounce cans Double Chocolate Stout, 1 reserved for chef
1 1/2 cups orange juice, reserve 3/4 cup
1 1/2 cups chicken stock, reserve 3/4 cup
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
4 medium carrots, 2 roughly chopped, 2 julienned
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
6 to 8 garlic cloves, smashed
2 jalapeno peppers, roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, julienned
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 ounce of 60% or greater chocolate, grated (about 4 squares of a Lindt bar)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

assemblage

• Wash, pat dry, trim any excess fat from and lightly coat the pork shoulder in olive oil
• Liberally apply salt and combine the brown sugar, chili powder and cayenne pepper before rubbing it on the meat
• Wrap in plastic wrap and, if possible, refrigerate overnight
• Remove meat from refrigerator, if necessary, and deposit it in a slow cooker
• Pour in the chocolate stout, orange juice and stock, then the onion, roughly chopped carrot, celery, garlic and jalapenos
• Cook on low for up to eight hours
• When finished cooking strain/separate the fat from the braising liquid and begin reducing in a medium sauce pan along with the reserved orange juice and stock
• Once the braising liquid has reduced by half whisk in the tomato paste, taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary
• Whisk in the grated dark chocolate, then finish the reduction sauce by whisking in the butter and remove from heat
• Shred the pork, add in the remaining chili and cayenne powder and toss together, then ladle in about a quarter of the reduction sauce to heat it up and keep it moist

presentation

Like most pasta dishes I make, I kept the plating simple. I piled up some of the pork on the chocolate pasta, which were cut like fettucine noodles, sauced the dish and topped it all off with some julienned and sauteed carrots and red bell pepper. For the finishing touch I used my zester to grate some 70% dark chocolate like it was cheese.