Cocoa Curry Pork Shoulder with Chickpeas
One of the easiest, most delicious pots of food anywhere, this Cocoa Curry Pork Shoulder is perfect for entertaining because it’s foolproof and it will make your kitchen smell intoxicatingly good. The sweet-savory crust is addictive and the chickpeas and dates essentially fry right in the pork drippings. Serve with cool yogurt and lots of warm flatbread (or something comparable).
- Yield: Serves 4 to 6 1x
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 4.5 to 5 lb. boneless pork shoulder or “Boston Butt”
- Salt and pepper, as needed
- 4-ounce jar of Thai-style red curry paste
- Scant tablespoon of cocoa powder (dark or regular work)
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white distilled, rice wine, or apple cider vinegar
- 5 pitted dates, halved
- 14.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt (Greek or regular)
- Zest of one lime, plus extra limes for serving
- Store-bought naan, pita bread, or tortillas for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Put the pork in a large Dutch oven and season well with salt and pepper.
- In a bowl, combine the curry paste, cocoa, brown sugar, and vinegar. Rub this all over the pork, using all of it. Pour 1 cup water all around the meat (not over top). Cover and put in the oven for 3 hours.
- Remove the lid after three hours and add the chickpeas and dates all around. Season everything again with salt and increase the temperature to 425. With the lid off, cook for 40 to 45 more minutes, until you have a deeply browned crust and the meat is falling apart. The chickpeas should have soaked up the sauce by now.
- Let the meat rest for 10 minutes when it comes out, and then shower with the chopped cilantro and scallions and the lime zest.
- To serve, you can “pull” the pork or sort of slice it into big chunks/pieces. Season the yogurt with salt and pepper to taste and serve this alongside the pork, chickpeas, and dates, cut limes, and warm flatbread, pita, or tortillas. Enjoy!