Pork Shoulder, Smoked Chilli & Beans

Big joints of slow-cooked meat are something you’d have pretty regularly in Portugal, especially in the winter. We have used haricot beans here, but really you can use any sort of bean that you like. The smoked chilli has come to us over time. We didn’t really see it on the road but discovered it in Melbourne, from a shop called Casa Iberica. A lot of our inspiration has come from walking through markets overseas but, back home, to walk through a deli like that and see so much on every shelf has been really special.

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Instructions

1.	Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2.	Rub the pork with the garlic and smoked chilli and combine in a deep braising tin with the bay leaves, onion, pepper, wine and chicken stock.
3.	Season well with salt and pepper.
4.	Cover with a layer of baking paper, followed by a layer of foil, then transfer to the oven.
5.	Cook for 2½ hours, or until the meat is very soft.
6.	Remove the pork from the tray and strain the liquor into a small pot, reserving the vegetables.
7.	Add the haricot beans to the liquor and bring to the boil.
8.	Cook for about 30 minutes, until the beans are cooked through.
9.	Remove the beans using a slotted spoon and add to the vegetables.
10.	Boil the cooking liquor to reduce it to one-third of its original volume, then add the vegetables to the pan with the beans.
11.	Roughly shred the pork and add to the pan.
12.	Stir to heat through and serve in a sharing bowl with enough liquid to make it nice and moist.