Get the Recipe: Braised Pork with Apples
Pork shoulder chunks, carrots and parsnips cooked low and slow in apple cider and broth, then combined with apples for a fabulous Fall dinner. The delicious and plentiful gravy is perfect over mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
- 2 lb pork shoulder, fat trimmed and cut into chunks *see Note 1 below
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 clove garlic clove, crushed
- 1 medium carrot, chopped or sliced
- 1 medium parsnip, chopped or sliced (or use more carrot)
- 1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice, not apple cider vinegar! *see Note 2 below
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs, or a generous pinch of dried thyme leaves
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 large red-skinned apple (such as Honeycrisp), cored and cut into 8 wedges
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, 35% b.f.
To thicken the gravy:
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons cold water
For garnish:
- 2-3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Tip! Trim the pork shoulder well, removing and discarding as much of the fat as you can, leaving just the leaner, fat-marbled pieces of pork
- Preheat the oven to 340F (non-convection).
- Heat the cooking oil in an oven-safe skillet, braiser or Dutch oven with a lid over medium heat. (2 1/2 - 3 quart size is perfect). Season the pork with salt and pepper and add to the hot oil. Brown on all sides. *Don't crowd the pan. Cook the pork in batches if necessary. Remove the brown pork to a plate and set aside.
- Once all the pork is cooked and removed to the plate, add the onions and a splash more cooking oil if needed to the same pot. Cook, stirring regularly until soft and golden, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots and parsnips and cook, stirring, for a further 5 minutes.
- Return the pork to the pot and add the apple cider and broth to the pot. Place a few thyme sprigs on top and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Cover the pot and put into the preheated oven for 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until the pork is very tender.
- When the pork is near the end of the cooking time, melt the butter in a skillet and fry the apple wedges in the butter until lightly golden. Take the pork out of the oven and stir in the apples, mustard and cream. Return to the oven UNCOVERED for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix together the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl. When the pork comes out of the oven, stir the cornstarch mixture and drizzle into the hot dish a bit at a time, stirring constantly, until the gravy thickens to your desired level. You may not need it all. Taste the gravy and add additional salt and pepper as needed. If the gravy tastes flat at all, it needs more salt!
- Serve garnished with the chopped parsley. The plentiful and delicious gravy is perfect to spoon over mashed potatoes.
Notes
Note 1: To get 2 lb of trimmed and cubed pork shoulder you'll want to start with a 2 1/2 - 3 lb pork shoulder (depending on how fatty it is).
Note 2: Apple cider refers to non-alcoholic, pressed fresh apple cider usually found in the produce section at grocery stores. You can replace it with regular apple juice.
Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, for more tips on making this recipe, including substitution suggestions and step-by-step photos, that you might find helpful.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 345kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 94mg, Sodium: 167mg, Potassium: 722mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 2451IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 55mg, Iron: 2mg
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