Pork Shoulder Stew with Cider
This pork stew with cider features tender pieces of pork shoulder cooked in a rich, flavourful broth alongside simple vegetables. Hearty, filling and delicious it makes a perfect cold weather meal. See my serving suggestions at the bottom of the post.
Servings 6 servings
Calories 327kcal
Equipment
- Large pan with lid
- Large non-stick pan
Ingredients
- 1⅔ pounds pork shoulder cut into large pieces
- 2 medium onions sliced
- 1½-2 celery ribs chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 10-12 prunes pitted, roughly chopped
- 3 medium carrots peeled, cut in half lengthwise then widthways into 3 parts
- 4.23 ounces green beans cut into 3 pieces each
- ⅔ pound mushrooms wiped, not rinsed, thickly sliced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1½ tablespoons all-purpose/plain flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 juniper berries
- 2 allspice berries
- 3 sprigs of thyme or ⅔tsp dried
- 1 cup cider dry or medium, regular or alcohol-free
- 1½ cups chicken stock use 1½ stock cubes
- Sea salt and pepper to taste I recommend rainbow coloured peppercorns
Instructions
- Brown meat: Heat one tablespoon of oil, add the meat and cook for a few minutes over a medium heat until lightly browned all over. Transfer the meat to a bowl.
- Sautee vegetables: To the same pan add the bay leaf, juniper and allspice berries, onion and celery. Cook gently for about 5 minutes until softened stirring often (add a drop of oil, if needed). Towards the end of cooking stir in the garlic.
- Add pork: Return the pork to the pan (along with the juices), add the prunes, stock, cider, sprigs of thyme and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper. Cover and bring to a simmer then lower the heat and cook gently for 1 hour and 10 minutes stirring occasionally. In the meantime, prepare the vegetables.
- Brown mushrooms: In a large, non-stick pan heat 1 tablespoon of oil, add the mushrooms and cook over a fairly high heat for about 4 minutes until lightly browned. Do not add salt and stir only once or twice (so the mushrooms don’t release moisture). Stir in the soy sauce and cook for a minute or so until fully absorbed. Add the flour and butter, lower the heat and stir until the flour is no longer visible. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Add vegetables: To the stew add the mushrooms, carrots and beans. Stir, cover and bring to a simmer again then cook for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Serve: Remove from the heat and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve with fresh parsley (and thyme, as an option).
Notes
- Pat the meat dry before making the stew.
- If your pork shoulder pieces are quite small (or if using a small pan) brown them in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Also reduce cooking time (to about 1 hour in Step 3).
- To save time prepare the mushrooms, carrots and beans while the pork is simmering in the broth (Step 3).
- Once you’ve added all the vegetables the mixture may look like it doesn’t have enough liquid but don’t add any more at this point because the vegetables will release moisture as they cook. You can add a splash of stock, if needed, once the stew is cooked.
- Best served hot. The flavour will continue to develop as the stew cools, and it will taste even better the next day.
- Refrigerate leftover pork shoulder and vegetable stew for up to 4 days.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.