Small adventures in cooking - Pork shoulder steaks

As an entire beast the pork shoulder is quite something.

Barbecued slowly it makes the central feature of a classic American pulled-pork sandwich. Cut into steaks, as it is here, it responds well to hot, fast cooking, the spices and lemon juice helping to tenderise the meat before its brief cooking.

If you have a barbecue, it's well worth firing it up for these.

Serves 4
4 x 150g pork shoulder steaks
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp chilli flakes
Juice of a lemon
A handful of flat-leaf parsley, very finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Take a rolling pin and give the steaks an enthusiastic bash until they are of vaguely uniform thickness - about a thumb.

Crush the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar and combine with the chilli flakes, lemon juice, parsley and olive oil. Rub all over the pork, cover and leave for an hour.

Get a frying pan or barbecue hot. Season the steaks with salt and pepper, and cook for five minutes on each side. Remove to a plate and rest for a couple of minutes before serving with whatever vegetables you fancy.

Recipe from Small Adventures
in Cooking by James Ramsden, published by Quadrille, £14.99.