Braised Pork Shoulder

One of the pleasures of colder weather is the long,slow cooking of braises and stews. I especially love braises. The flavors are intense and tough cuts of meat are transformed into silky, melt-in-your-mouth bits of tenderness. 

Adam Roberts, aka The Amateur Gourmet, loves Molly Stevens' book on braising. I am a fan of Daniel Boulud's Braise: A Journey Through International Cuisine. He has more than one winning recipe in this book and every one I have tried has received rave notices from those sharing the meal.  Here is one our favorites; if you try it, I think it might become one of yours as well.

PORK SHOULDER WITH GUINNESS, DRIED CHERRIES AND SWEET POTATOES

1. 5 cups Guinness stout
   
2. 1 cup dried cherries
   
3. 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
   
4. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
   
5. 1 ( 5 1/2 pound)pork shoulder roast
   
6. kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
   
7. 3 large red onions, peeled and sliced
8. 1/2 teaspoons crushed black pepper
9. 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
   
10. 1 tablespoon tomato paste
    
11. 5 whole allspice, crushed
    
12. 2 bay leaves
    
13. 1/4 cup molasses
    
14. 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
    
15. 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
    

Bring the stout, cherries, and vinegar to a simmer in a saucepan. Transfer to a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

 Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Warm the oil in a large cast-iron pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Season the pork shoulder with salt and ground black pepper and sear on all sides until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the pork shoulder to a platter. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat in the pot.

Searing the pork shoulder

Add the onion and the crushed black pepper to the pot and saute for 7 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Cooking the onions and garlic

Add the pork shoulder, the marinated cherries and liquid, allspice, bay leaves, molasses, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 cups water. Bring the mixture to a simmer

Pork Shoulder ready for slow cooking

Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven*, and braise for 1 hour, turning the pork once during cooking. Ad the sweet potatoes and continue to braise for 2 more hours, turning 2 more times. If the sauce is too thin or is not flavored intensely enough, ladle most of it off into another pot and simmer it until it thickens and intensifies. Then add it back to the first pot.

Slice the pork and serve with the sauce on top.

*I used slow cooker for this recipe and adjusted the cooking time so that the shoulder cooked a total of about 5 hours on the high setting. 

Like most braises this dish improves by being cooked the day before. This allows the flavors to settle and merge making the meat even more flavorful.

Comments

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