The availability of ingredients and and the addition of time allows for the development of flavor. We marinate meats and vegetables for cooking. We dry rub too. Aromatics penetrate. Flavors combine. Spices hydrate. When it comes to making broths and stocks, we often overlook these flavor-ehancing steps. Until recently. We chose to rub a blend of lemongrass and palm sugar over pork shoulder bones, skin and fat. We added sherry and soy sauce to the mix and marinated the flavorful components overnight.
The following morning we put the fat, bones, skin, and marinade into the pressure cooker. We covered everything with water and pressure cooked the broth for 45 minutes. After letting the pressure dissipate naturally we tasted the broth. It was rich, floral, and meaty. The flavors came together. Did marinating the skin and bones make a difference? We believe the answer is yes, because the broth had both nuanced aromatics and a deep, savory impact. This made a tremendous influence on the way we view the development of flavors. It has us thinking of bones and skin as essential ingredients, which absorb and then radiate additional, complementary flavors. And if we had roasted, grilled or fried the skin and bones prior to pressure cooking the combination of heat and the marinade would have created a unique profile we may not have achieved otherwise. How we think of ingredients allows us to get more out of them.
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