Sawtooth Atomic Pork Butt

Colorado is home to some of the best microbreweries in the US. One personal favorite that I discovered living up by Longmont is Left Hand Brewing Company. One of their exceptional beers is Sawtooth Ale, which was NY Times #1 bitter, besting all the British bitters at their own game. Herein Sawtooth served as both the braising medium for a little gastronomic guesswork, as well as the soothing salve to recover from the heat of this dish.

From gastronomic guesswork

Using a 3 pound pork butt, first this was brined for 2 hours in salt water at room temperature. Next it was broiled in a little grapeseed oil for 16 minutes, rotating every 4 minutes to hit each side. Finally it was braised with 2 bottles of Left Hand Sawtooth Ale, a little epazote, a good amount of guajillo chile powder, 2 sweet onions and a coating of habanero chile powder. Yah we were going for damn hot here, but with a great base flavor. The butt was slow cooked at 250F until an internal temperature of 145F was reached, and then allowed to rest for 15 minutes while keeping the braising liquid warm. I really liked the flavor, but intentionally this was at the edge of consumable - I guess some of us like discomfort food once in a while for the comforting effects of the endorphin rush. Still, the flavor of the sawtooth was evident in the braising liquid the pork was finished with, and a cold one soothed the pain.