Sunday Supper 6: Apple Ginger Braised Pork Shoulder with Sweet Pan Jus

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Recipe by: Me!

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The Chicago weather remains brutally cold and wintery, but it's February so I'll allow it. But as long as we're going to be forced to endure subarctic windchills, I will keep returning to the dutch oven and roasting pot to keep myself fed and warm.

This week I was in the mood for some juicy and pull-apart tender shredded meat. Something that could go from a main dish on its own to a taco, a nacho, a lettuce wrap or more as the very cold week wears on. Immediately, for me, this meant pork shoulder. Pork shoulder is a stand-by for me because it's relatively inexpensive, has the delicious richness that can only come from pork fat, and takes on additional flavors very well. Add to that the fact that it's a pretty easy and forgiving cut of meat to cook (if you know what to do), and it becomes a trick worth keeping up your sleeve.

I have a pretty killer barbecueish pulled pork recipe using pork shoulder in my back pocket that I keep for potlucks when I need to impress. (Maybe I'll share that one some time). But that didn't feel like the right thing this time. I wanted to mess around with some new flavors to create a juicy, versatile meat-of-many dishes. After some research around the ol' internet and looking through the cupboards, this is what I came up with.

Pork, apple, and ginger make a lovely flavor thrupple, and I was excited to see if I could imbue the flavors of apple cider and ginger beer into the pork. The final dish has all the melt-in-your-mouth texture of a long-braised fatty piece of meat, but manages to also feel fresh and almost light in your mouth thanks to the one-two punch of the subtle spiciness of ginger beer and the unexpected sweetness of apple cider.

If sweetness isn't necessarily your thing, don't worry. Most of the sweetness, in the end, comes from the jus. So go easy there, and you'll get what you want.

You don't technically *have to* tell your pork to sleep well before you start the 3 hour braise. But I always do.

The basis for this recipe is, of course, the pork. I worked and wrote the recipe for boneless pork shoulder, because it was the easiest thing for me to acquire at the time. This could easily be adapted for a bone-in pork shoulder with a bit more heat or braising time. Also, because they're similar cuts of meat, you could also sub in pork butt (which would have even more fat marbling for deliciousness). The cooking time may vary, so keep an eye on the meat, watch the temperature, and keep going until you get the texture you want.

I pushed myself this time, and got the oil very VERY hot before searing the pork. I sometimes get a little nervous and back off on the heat and end up with gray meat. Don't do that. Get that oil screamin' hot and sear the pork 1-2 minutes per side for deep browning and crispiness.

It's okay to rough chop your veggies here. I discard them at the end to make the jus. You want to impart their flavor on the meat and jus, but won't be eating the actual remaining solids. Let's be honest, have you ever truly enjoyed a mushy, moist carrot or potato out of the bottom of a roasting pan? In my opinion, that's not the way vegetables are meant to be eaten. For shame.

The apple/ginger flavor profile definitely pushes this toward a fall dish. And lord knows apple cider is much easier to find, and fresher, in the fall. I managed to find some in my market, but I imagine a substitution of apple juice or hard apple cider would work fine, too. Go with a high ginger-content ginger beer to really get that oomf. Trust me.

Serve this up with the braising liquid jus and some vegetables of your choice (I did some spicy mashed sweet potatoes) and you'll get the feeling back in your fingers and toes in no time.

THE RECIPE

Category: Dinner Difficulty: Medium

Keywords: Pork, Meat, Braise Time: 3 hours, 3o minutes / 45 minutes active

Ingredients

• 1 boneless pork shoulder (3-4 lb)

• 2 T olive oil

• 1 yellow onion, rough chop

• 2 celery stalks, chopped

• 3 carrots, chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed

• 1 ½ c. apple cider

• 1 ½ c. ginger beer

• 1 c. chicken stock

• 3 sprigs rosemary

• 5 sprigs thyme

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 t. Cornstarch

• Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 300F.

2. Pat the pork dry with a paper towel and season liberally with salt and pepper on all sides.

3. Heat the olive oil over high heat in an dutch oven or oven-proof pot.

4. Sear the pork on all sides (approximately 1-2 minutes per side), then remove from pan.

5. Reduce heat to medium and sauté onion, celery and carrots until onions are translucent (approx. 8 minutes).

6. Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.

7. Pour in apple cider and ginger beer, raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.

8. Allow mixture to boil until liquid has reduced by almost half, 10-15 minutes.

9. Add rosemary, thyme, bay leaves and chicken stock to the dutch oven, then nestle the pork shoulder into the mixture so the liquid comes halfway up the sides of the meat.

10. Roast, covered, for 3 hours at 300° F, rotating the meat every hour or so and basting if necessary, until meat is fall-apart tender.

11. After meat is finished, remove it to a board to shred.

12. Using a slotted spoon, remove the solids from the broth in the pot and discard.

13. Bring the remaining broth to a boil over high heat and reduce by about half (10-15 minutes).

14. Mix cornstarch with 1T water to make a slurry, then add to the boiling, reduced stock. Reduce for 3-5 more minutes.

15. Shred pork and serve with jus.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and I plan to share more of my own creations soon. If you give this one a try, let me know, and tell me what you think.