Slow-Cooked Pork Shoulder with Braised White Beans

Preparation

1. Pork:

   Step 1

   Sprinkle pork all over with 3 Tbsp. or 5 tsp. salt. Tear 4 bay leaves and 1/4 cup sage leaves into small pieces and scatter over pork. Place pork on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap; chill 12 hours.

   Step 2

   Let pork sit at room temperature 1 hour. This will help it cook evenly.

   Step 3

   Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high. Cook pork, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 15–20 minutes. Transfer pork to a large plate.

   Step 4

   Remove pot from heat and pour off any fat. Discard fat and any leaves in pot; wipe out pot. Add remaining 2 Tbsp. oil to pot along with garlic, juniper berries, peppercorns, sage sprigs, and remaining 4 bay leaves. Cook over low heat until garlic just starts to brown around the edges, about 1 minute. Pour in wine and vinegar. Return pork to pot, placing fat side up, and cover with parchment paper, tucking edges down around sides of pork (this prevents it from drying out). Cover pot with a lid, transfer to oven, and cook pork 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300° and cook, turning pork every 30 minutes or so and adding a splash of water if braising liquid is reducing too quickly, until meat is very tender and pulling away from the bone, 2 1/2–3 hours.

   Step 5

   Let pork sit until cool enough to handle. Remove bones; discard. Shred meat into 2”–3” pieces, removing any excess fat (it should pull apart very easily but still hold together in pieces). Transfer meat to a large saucepan and strain braising liquid over; discard solids. Cover and keep warm over lowest heat until ready to serve.

2. Beans:

   Step 6

   Combine tomato, garlic, sage, beans, and 2 Tbsp. oil in a large pot. Pour in cold water to cover by 1 1/2” and bring to a simmer over medium heat, skimming foam from surface as needed. Reduce heat so that liquid is at a very gentle simmer; cook until beans are almost tender but still slightly starchy in the centers (you want them to be about 75 percent cooked), 35–45 minutes. Preheat oven to 300°F while the beans are still cooking.

   Step 7

   Remove beans from heat; season with several generous pinches of salt and add remaining 1/4 cup oil. Transfer to oven and bake without disturbing beans (you want a film to form on the surface) until tender, 15–25 minutes. Finishing the beans in the oven ensures that they are evenly cooked and creamy. Turn off oven and leave beans inside to keep warm until ready to serve.

3. Greens and assembly:

   Step 8

   Working in 2 batches, cook spinach in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender and no bite remains, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and let cool slightly, then squeeze out excess water.

   Step 9

   Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a medium skillet over medium and cook garlic, stirring, until softened and barely golden, about 1 minute. Add spinach and stir just to coat leaves in oil and warm through.

   Step 10

   To serve, spoon beans plus a bit of their cooking liquid onto plates. Arrange several pieces of pork and spinach over beans. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with sea salt.

4. Do Ahead

   Step 11

   Beans can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool in liquid; cover and chill. Reheat gently before serving.