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1. Choose a heavy-bottomed or enameled cast-iron pot into which the pork can fit snugly. Put in the butter and oil, turn the heat on to medium high, and when the butter foam subsides, put in the meat, the side with the fat, if it has any, facing down. Brown the meat deeply all over, turning it when necessary. If you see the butter becoming colored a dark brown, turn the heat down a little.

2. Add salt, turning the meat to sprinkle all sides. Lightly crush the peppercorns with a mallet or meat pounder or even a hammer, then put them in the pot together with the bay leaves and vinegar. With a wooden spoon, quickly scrape loose browning residues from the bottom and sides of the pot, but do not let the vinegar simmer long enough for it to evaporate. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pot tightly, and cook, turning the pork occasionally, until the meat feels tender when prodded with a fork. If during this period the liquid in the pot becomes insufficient, replenish with 2 or 3 tablespoons water.

3. Transfer the pork to a cutting board. Let it settle for a few minutes, then cut it into slices about ⅜ inch thick or slightly less, and arrange them on a warm serving platter.

4. Tip the pot and spoon off most, but not all of the fat, and all the bay leaves. Add 2 tablespoons water, turn the heat on to high, and while the water boils away scrape loose with a wooden spoon any cooking residues from the bottom and sides. Pour the pot juices over the pork and serve at once.

Drunk Roast Pork

THIS TIPSY ROAST cooks at length in enough red wine to cover it, achieving extraordinary tenderness and acquiring a beautiful, lustrous, deep mahogany color. Without agonizing over the choice of wine, you should select one able to perform its crucial role in this preparation. A Barbera or Dolcetto from Piedmont would accomplish the job perfectly. So would one of the Tuscan wines made entirely from the sangiovese grape; or, from other countries, an Australian or South African Shiraz, or a well-made California Zinfandel, or a Côte du Rhone from France. Have an extra bottle or two on hand so you can serve it with the pork.

For 6 to 8 servings

3 medium carrots

3½ to 4 pounds pork center loin OR Boston butt, trussed up tightly with string

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons butter

Flour, spread on a plate

2 tablespoons grappa, marc, calvados, or grape brandy (see note)

1½ cups or more dry red wine (see suggestions above in prefacing note)

Whole nutmeg

2 bay leaves

Salt

Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

1. Peel and wash the carrots, then cut them lengthwise into sticks ⅜ inch thick or slightly less.

2. Take a long, pointed, fairly thick tool such as a meat probe, a knife-sharpening steel, a chopstick of the sturdy Chinese kind, or even an awl, and pierce the meat at both ends in as many places as you have carrot sticks, keeping the holes about 1½ inches apart. Stuff the carrot sticks into the holes.

3. Choose a heavy-bottomed or enameled cast-iron pot, preferably oval in shape, just large enough to contain the meat snugly later. Put in the oil and butter and turn on the heat to medium high. When the butter foam begins to subside, turn the meat in the flour, coating it all over, and put it in the pot. Brown it deeply all around, turning it to do so.

4. When you have browned the meat, add the grappa or other brandy. Allow it to simmer a few seconds, then pour in the wine until it is just shy of covering the meat. If the 1½ cups do not suffice—it will depend on the size pot you are using—add more.

5. Add a tiny grating of nutmeg—about ⅛ teaspoon—the bay leaves, several pinches of salt, and liberal grindings of pepper. Turn the pork once or twice. When the wine begins to simmer briskly, adjust heat to cook at a very gentle simmer, and cover the pot tightly. It’s advisable to place a double sheet of heavy aluminum foil between the pot and its lid.

6. Cook at slow heat for 3 hours or more, occasionally turning the meat, until it feels tender when prodded with a fork. After cooking for 2½ hours,