Angie Mar's Pork Shoulder Steak with Cherry Compote and Herbed Butter

For the compote, in a small saucepan, combine cherries, sugar, and white wine vinegar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir constantly until cherries are slightly candied but still intact and the mixture is syrupy, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a shallow bowl and spread out to cool. Refrigerate immediately until chilled, 2 to 3 hours, to preserve the vibrant color. (As the compote chills, its color will brighten into a beautiful jewel tone.)

For the butter, in a food processor, pulse the softened butter, herbs, salt and pepper until just combined. (You can also do this by hand in a mixing bowl.) Set aside.

For the pork steak, preheat oven to 400°F.

Trim away the top third of the head of garlic, then place in foil and dress with olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap garlic and roast until cloves are golden and soft, about 25 minutes. (The garlic may also be roasted with the pork.)

In a large oven-proof saute pan over high heat, heat the pork fat or olive oil. Season the pork shoulder heavily on all sides with salt and sear for 1½ minutes on one side, then flip and sear for another 1½ minutes. Continue to slowly sear the pork, flipping every minute, for 8 minutes.

Add all of the herbs, and baste the pork with its own rendered fat for 1 to 2 minutes to release the essential oils and aromatics in the herbs. Pile the herbs off to one side of the meat and place the pan in the oven.

Roast pork for 5 minutes, then flip and roast for another 5 minutes. Remove pork from the saute pan and rest on a plate for 10 minutes.

To serve, carve the pork off the bone and slice into ½ inch pieces. Arrange on a serving platter and pour any accumulated juices from the resting plate over the pork. Dot the herbed butter over the meat and dress with cherry compote, serving any extra in a small bowl on the side. Arrange the roasted herbs on top as garnish and serve with the roast garlic on the side.