Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders - Emeril Lagasse [83]
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
¾ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
4 ounces thick-sliced bacon, diced
1½ cups chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1¾ teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups clam juice, clam stock, or light fish stock
4 cups heavy cream
1 pound littleneck clams, scrubbed well and purged (Spaghetti with Clams)
1 pound mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1 pound skinless cod, halibut, or other firm white fish, cut into 1-inch cubes
¼ cup sliced green onion
1. Place the diced potatoes in the bottom of the crock of a 6-quart slow cooker and sprinkle with the celery and bell pepper.
2. In a medium sauté pan, cook the bacon until it is crisp and most of the fat has rendered, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, thyme, 1½ teaspoons of the salt, and ¾ teaspoon of the pepper and cook until the onion is softened and the garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the clam juice and cook, stirring, until the liquid comes to a boil and thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the hot bacon-stock mixture over the potatoes in the slow cooker.
3. Add the cream to the hot pan and bring to a simmer. Pour the hot cream into the slow cooker, cover, and cook, undisturbed, on high until the potatoes are tender, about 2½ hours. Add the clams and cook until they have opened, about 30 minutes, stirring once midway. Add the mussels and cook until they have opened, about 15 minutes. Season the fish with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and add to the slow cooker along with the green onion. Cook just until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily, about 15 minutes longer. Serve the chowder hot in shallow bowls.
4 quarts, 6 to 8 servings
SLOW-COOKED PULLED PORK
This simple recipe serves a crowd and will make folks think you slaved over a smoker all day long. The meat is slathered with delicious spices and seasonings and kept overnight in the fridge. The next day, it gets transferred to the slow cooker, and that’s it! It is not even necessary to add any liquid to the slow cooker—the pork will exude the most delicious juices as it cooks.
One 6-to 7-pound Boston butt pork roast, bone in or boneless
8 large cloves garlic, peeled and halved lengthwise
2½ tablespoons light brown sugar
1½ tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon sweet pimentón (smoked Spanish paprika)
2 teaspoons Mexican or regular chili powder
1½ teaspoons Mexican or regular oregano, crumbled between your fingers
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon ground coriander
12 to 14 soft buns or rolls, for serving
Your favorite barbecue sauce, for serving
1. Place the pork in a shallow baking dish. Using the tip of a paring knife, make 16 narrow but deep slits in the meat, evenly spaced and on all sides, and insert a piece of the garlic into each slit. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, pimentón, chili powder, oregano, cumin, crushed red pepper, cayenne, and coriander and stir to combine. Using your hands, rub the spice blend evenly over the entire surface of all sides of the meat. Cover loosely and refrigerate overnight.
2. Remove the pork from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature for 1 hour.
3. Place the pork in the crock of a 6-quart slow cooker, fat side up, and cook on high until tender and falling apart, about 8 hours. (As the meat becomes tender, break the roast into several smaller pieces.)
4. Remove the meat from the crock and transfer to a large heatproof bowl or platter. Remove any excess fat and/or bones and discard. Using two forks, pull the meat into shreds. Ladle on