Cane River Pork Shoulder

C.B. Morrison was a dear friend, and a mentor to me during my late teens and early twenties. We shared a lot of interests, but first and foremost among them was a love of good food. I worked in, and later managed the barbecue restaurant he owned, and have kept a few select recipes from those days that I still use regularly.
The area I grew up in is known as the cane river, and the creole influence can readily be seen in the food there. One such creole inspired dish was a favorite of C.B.'s, and we cooked one every week for the Friday Buffet. His sister is still a dear friend of mine, and she asked me to cook this dish... the Cane River Pork Shoulder. Now, a pork shoulder is the front leg of a pig, from the shoulder to the ankle. It is a large piece of pork, about 20 pounds, give or take. You can buy a pork butt (the top half of the pork shoulder, not actually the butt. Pig butt is called a ham, but I digress) and half the ingredients to only feed 8-10 people, or buy a half-butt, and quarter the recipe for 4-6 people. I am cooking a half-butt today, so if cooking a whole butt, double this recipe, or quadruple it for a whole shoulder. This recipe was originally designed to be smoked on a pit, but I have found you can cook it in a roasting pan or in the oven with good results.

1 half-butt
1/2 large yellow onion, minced
1/2 clove garlic, minced
4 teaspoons Tony's Creole Seasoning
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

Mix onion, garlic, Tony's, and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Coat onion/garlic mix thoroughly with the Tony's and Worcestershire.

Using a sharp knife, cut holes throughout the pork. Stuff the holes with the seasoning mix. Whatever mix is left over, pack onto the outside of the pork. If using a half butt, place in a dutch oven and put in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour, uncovered (if using a whole butt or shoulder, throw it on a pit at 350 degrees, or place it in a roaster at 350 degrees. Remember, for a roaster to work properly, it needs to have the lid in place, so put a small rack inside the roaster to keep the meat from sitting in it's own juice, so it doesn't fall slap apart. Trust me, it will be plenty tender.)

After an hour, place the lid on the dutch oven. If using a pit, transfer the pork into a disposable aluminum pan, to help preserve the au jus.

Cook for approximately 4 more hours for a half-butt. A whole butt may require as much as 7 hours more, but after 4 hours on a pit, I would cover with aluminum foil. A shoulder could require as much as 12 hours. Also, if on pit, cover after 4 hours. And REGULATE your temp, keeping it between 300 and 350 degrees!

After about the 2nd hour for a half butt, or the 4th hour for a whole butt or shoulder, check the pork every hour. Put a fork in a thick part, and pull to one side gently. When the fork requires almost no resistance to separate the meat, it should be about done. Uncover the pork, and cook for an additional half hour, to crisp the meat. Remove from the fire, and let sit for a half hour. Slice, and serve with the au-jus.

This is a labor intensive piece of cooking, but once you taste it, you will understand why I love this recipe. It's a labor of love, and you can taste it in the finished product.

In the above pics, you can see me stuffing the pork butt. When it is all done, I will post more pics of the finished product.