Ah the Boiled Dinner…. I think God invented the boiled dinner just for Sundays. If you want to talk about an easy and delicious meal we need not say more than one simple word – “Cozido” (or Boiled Dinner). If you’ve never made a boiled dinner out of intimidation, let me set your mind at ease because there literally could not be a less complicated, less stress free and less time-consuming prep time.
Growing up a good Cozido was always an option for Sunday dinner and it was such a treat. My mother would always get her biggest pot on the stove and fill it with this amazing piece of smoked meat, onions, cabbage, potatoes and of course meat. She would set it going when we got home from church and a couple of hours later we would have a feast.
The one and only downside to this is the price of the meat, at an average of $3-$5 per pound this 10+ pound piece of meat can get quite pricey just due to the sheer size of it. What you need to do is look for a sale as I did! I found a great deal on this one for $1.69 per pound and fed 10 adults with it! Now that’s a great value!
One of the best parts of this meal is that you can add in anything you like really. I see this one pot meal as Portugal’s answer to Ireland’s Corned Beef. It’s got a great flavor that when boiled with other ingredients is enough to flavor the whole meal. You can keep it simple as we do with onions, cabbage, potatoes and chouriço or you can add in carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips any hearty vegetable you like really. Just be prepared for everything to take on that yummy smoky flavor.
I got a great deal on this smoked shoulder. Whatever you do make sure what you are buying for this recipe is a SMOKED shoulder, not a picnic ham, not a fresh shoulder, but a SMOKED one. The flavor is completely and totally different from fresh pork.
Cut open the packaging, drain and rinse under cold water.
You will likely find this mesh on the skin of your meat, this is meant to keep the meat all together and should be used in cooking. In their words, let it be (for now).
The great thing about this recipe is you can add or take away as many ingredients as you like. My family likes boiled onions, so we add in three good-sized onions. If you don’t care much for them, still add one in for flavor. If you would like more, go for it.
For this recipe, we want to be sure the onions stay in tact, so all that is required is peeling, don’t cut them up or they will melt right into the dish which is not the goal here.
To add in that Portuguese flavor, all you really need is one link of hot chouriço. I don’t peel for this recipe, I just add some slits along the bend of the chouriço.
Fill a very large pot with water. I am using my Pampered Chef Executive Stock Pot.
This may look funny, but some people in my family prefer potatoes with skins and some don’t. So, I do them both ways for this recipe.
Place your rinsed shoulder in the pot.
Now add in your onions and cabbage.
Add in the chouriço.
Cover the pot and boil. The shoulder is already pretty well cooked, so you are just really melting the fat a bit, heating it through and cooking the potatoes and other veggies… That being said, it is important to give the boil enough time to allow the flavors to infuse together. So, you will want this to come to a boil and then turn it down to a low boil for a minimum of 90 minutes.
Once done, remove the mesh from the pork.
And serve on a platter.
Pork Shoulder Boiled Dinner (Cozido)
Serves 10
Ingredients:
1 10 lb. Pork Shoulder
6-8 potatoes, peeled (or not)
3 large onions, peeled
1/2 cabbage
1/2 lb. hot Portuguese Chouriço
Directions:
Place potatoes in the pot and cover with water. Place pork shoulder in the pot and cover with water. Add in onions, cabbage and chouriço. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat down and continue a low boil for 90 minutes to 2 hours. Remove mesh from the meat and discard. Enjoy!
*** Gluten-free