I'll give you the recipe the way I like it best, with one proviso. I used a boneless center cut pork roast. I think this meat might be too lean for this dish. Maybe not, but if you overcook it, the way that I did, I gets pretty dry, even though it was braised in wine. You might consider a different cut or be careful not to overcook. How to tell when it's been cooked enough is difficult (for me) to determine. The cooking times below have been reduced from the ones I used. The wine I used was the 2004 Dr. L Riesling from Dr. Loosen, surprisingly good for $8.15.

Using a non-reactive pot (I used Calaphalon One for this.), heat 4 tbsp good olive oil (I used evoo, but I don't know that it's necessary. I don't like to skimp on ingredients.) over medium high heat til hot but not to the point of smoking. Add a four pound roast and brown on all sides for 6-8 minutes. Put the meat on a platter and cover. Add 3 chopped large Vidalia onions, 10 cloves of chopped garlic, and 6 stalks of chopped celery. Sautee for about ten minutes, stirring frequently and bringing up any bits form the bottom of the pot into the mix. When fully sauteed, but not browned, return the roast and any accumulated juices to the pot and add one bottle (750) of Riesling. A moderately sweet Rieling works well here. Add 6 bay leaves, 8 cloves, sea salt and pepper to taste, some fresh dill and sage. Cover the pot and reduce heat to simmer.

Allow to simmer for about an hour. Then remove the roast and wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Then wrap the foil package in a clean dish towel.

Strain the liquid into a saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract as much flavor as possible. Boil over high heat til reduce to about 1 cup total and add any liquid from the roast that may have extruded. Whisk in one cup heavy whipping cream and boil a little til it begins to thicken. Then remove from heat. Don't overthicken the sauce or it will separate. Adjust the seasoning.

Slice the roast and serve with the sauce.

If anyone makes this dish and has any suggestions for the cut of meat to use or how to determine the proper cooking time, please let me know. Next time I will check the temperature periodically with a meat thermometer to avoid overcooking. Since the roast will continue to warm up for a while when removed from the pot, I intend to take it out not quite fully cooked.

Thanks. I'll give that a try. Sounds like it might even work with spare ribs or "country style" ribs. Two questions.
1) What is the purpose of wrapping the roast in a dish towel after wrapping it in foil? I'm not questioning the method. I just have never seen that before.

2) When straining the liquid, should I use a $160 Chinois, or will a $5 strainer suffice?

I adapted this from a wild boar recipe in a magazine. I beleieve wrapping in the towel is to stabilize the meat temperature while the sauce is prepared. I guess you could keep it wrapped in foil in a warming oven also.

I used a cheap strainer.

Board-O. I'll give this a shot, looks good.

Then give me any tips you have on the cut of meat and how to tell when it's done without repeatedly sticking it with a meat thermometer.

Board-O,

I had a glass of the 2004 Dr. L Riesling as part of an '04 Riesling flight at Cowboy Ciao in Scottsdale last weekend. It was much the best when sampled next to a Betts & Scholl from Australia and Smith-Madrone Spring Mountain from California.

I wouldn't hesitate to purchase a few at $8.15 a bottle.

Cheers,

Otis

I went back and bought 3 more. It's great for cooking and plenty good enough to drink, especially when drinking wine with non-winos.

Board-O - Next time you cook a pork roast, try adding a dash of cinnamon to the dredge. You'll be shocked at how complimentary the flavor is. Your diners will all be wondering what that additional note is. It's very nice.

Will do. I think it will go well with the moderately sweet Riesling.

Board-O this is a fantastic recipe. Here is my take on it:

Cut of meat--the recipe calls for a braise and you pointed out that the loin will dry out (I agree). So I went with a braise cut--pork shoulder. I choose a 3.5lb boston butt (the lower half of the pork shoulder). You can use the top half but will need to trim the extra fat.
Other than the cut, the only thing I changed was I used less celery (2 stalks) and I added 2 cups chicken stock to the braise liquid.

I cut the shoulder into 3 chunks, about the size of softballs. I seasoned and seared each side until well brown. I briefly seared the onion, garlic and celery, added 2-1/2 cups wine and the stock and brought to a boil. I added meat and covered and oven braised at 350 degrees for 2 hours. I removed the lid and continued braising for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees, which had the effect of simultaneously roasting the meat and reducing the liquid.

I removed the meat and strained the liquid. I had 1 cup of jus and reduced slightly with 1 cup of cream.

We had picked up some fresh butternut squash and goat cheese ravioli in the moring so I went with those, tossed in a sage brown butter and slices of prosciutto.

My wife (my 2nd biggest critic) said it was *&%king awesome.

Pics:Pics

If I was to go with a pork loin, I'd probably brine it and then roast it (500deg, then 350deg) to med, probably about 155deg internal, but then it wouldn't be braised.

The pictures look great. Thanks for the advice.

Corkster - where did you find such a small butt roast? All I can get here are the monster 8-pounders. And I was DROOLING reading your recipe and looking at the pictures. I had to literally wipe off my chin.

I love Boston Butt. It is an awesome cut of pork for a long, slow roast.

Lilac, I hear they have big butts in Texas The butts at my local Shopper Food aren't really the whole butt, hence the discrepancy. Theyr'e really the lower half of the shoulder, so when taken with the shoulder peice would be about 8 lbs total.

In any event, you can use any part of the shoulder, the top half (about 4.5 lbs) around here go for $1.28 lb--cheap. I opted for the lower half only because it doesn't come with the big bone and makes for easier portioning into chunks.

The recipe is deliciously simple and I recognized that when Board-O posted it. Plus pork shoulder gives off a very deep intense meat jus after long cooking.

I'd recommend this dish, do it sunday while watching football. If you watch the salt, one really can't mess it up, it almost self-cooking like most long-cooked meats.

Yes - the butts are big here (she says looking in the mirror - ).

Boston Butt is my "go to" meat for BBQ. I cook it all night the night before in a low oven (225-250-F). I'll put it on the grill to get some char before I pull it and serve it with sauce on the side. Makes the most amazing sandwiches you've ever had. And, por supuesto, the sauce is made from the drippings - that almost goes without saying.

Now I'm drooling again. Glad I have a couple of these in the freezer. I'm going to thaw one out for your recipe. I might even add some fingerling potatoes to the last 30-minutes of cooking. Serve it with some braised red cabbage.

Oh MAN!

Board O and Corkage,

Did you serve this with a riesling as well? If so what Pradikat level? If not what did you serve?

This dish really cries out for a Riesling, and one with a little sweetness. The reduction of the braising liquid results in a sauce with some sweetness to it. I'd go for a Spatlese or maybe an Auslese.

Made this(Corkage's revisions) on Saturday night. Used a Selbach Weisser Kabinett since the Dr. L is around $14 out here. The first night we had this with a Zind Humbrecht that had an initial attack with residual sugar but finished dry. This worked well, but the 2nd night with a Muller-Catoir Spatlese was much better. I would definitely go with the Spatlese from the go next time.

I paid $8.25 for the Dr. L.