Shoulder, Carnitas, 82°

Cook Shoulder as “Carnitas” until the centre reads 82 degrees. The mark to keep is 82°. Before you pay, check once that the cut named on the package matches the cut on the slip. If the seam of sinew is badly split, change the slip from a short sear to a long cook. Cook Shoulder as Stews to 82° at the centre. Plate as Carnitas. Angle 2: check thickness before the clock. At the butcher, open Shoulder so the slip shows 82° first, 82 next, and “Carnitas” beside them.

This week, before you enter the butcher, write the cut, the method, and the core temperature at the top of the shopping slip, and at home keep the heat until the thermometer shows that figure. If the grain is coarse, give more time at the same temperature, and do not time a thin slice and a chunk the same way. The order is Shoulder, 82°, 82, then “Carnitas”. When the thermometer is done, look again only at 82° for Shoulder and leave 82 on the slip.

Do not call the meat done from color alone, and do not read the temperature as a grade score. Check that the core temperature on the slip and the thermometer match, and do not kill the heat before that mark even if the color changes first. If the seam of sinew is badly split, change the slip from a short sear to a long cook. Match Carnitas with 82 at the butcher before you close 82° for Shoulder. Cook Shoulder as “Carnitas” until the centre reads 82 degrees. The mark to keep is 82°.