Braised Pork With Cider And Onion Recipes

CIDER-BRAISED PORK SHOULDER WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Score fat and any skin on pork in a crosshatch pattern. Make slits all over meat with a small sharp knife and insert a garlic sliver in each slit. Pat pork dry and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a 4- to 5-quart ovenproof heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown meat on all sides, turning occasionally with the aid of tongs and a carving fork, about 8 minutes. Transfer pork to a plate.
• Add onions to pot and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Add 3/4 teaspoon salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden and caramelized, 8 to 10 minutes more.
• Stir in cider and return pork to pot.
• Cover pot with a tight-fitting lid and braise pork in middle of oven until very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• Transfer pork to a serving dish with the aid of tongs and carving fork. Boil cooking juices with onions until mixture is reduced to about 2 cups, 2 to 3 minutes, then season with salt and pepper and serve with pork.

CIDER-BRAISED PORK CHEEKS

Steps:

• Season both sides of pork cheeks with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with flour and press it into the meat to coat thoroughly.
• Heat clarified butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Sear meat on both sides until richly browned, adjusting heat lower if necessary. When cheeks are browned, reduce heat to medium. Transfer cheeks to a plate to rest.
• Remove all but 2 tablespoons fat from the skillet. Add onions, carrots, and celery to skillet. Cook and stir until softened and sweet, seasoning with a pinch of salt. Add vinegar and stir to deglaze the pan. Pour in the cider and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer. Add sage and rosemary. Reduce heat to low and transfer cheeks back to pan. Cover. Cook until fork tender but not falling apart, 2 to 3 hours depending on the size of the pork cheeks. Transfer to a plate.
• Bring liquid to a boil over high heat, skimming off fat as it rises to the surface. Reduce volume of liquid by about 60 to 70%. Sauce will start to thicken up. Taste for salt and season as needed. Transfer cheeks back to liquid. Continue to cook over medium-low heat until cheeks are heated through and tender and sauce is thick enough to coat cheeks.

CIDER-BRAISED PORK SHOULDER WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F
• Score fat and any skin on pork in a crosshatch pattern. Make slits all over meat with a small sharp knife and insert a garlic sliver in each slit. Pat pork dry and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a 4- to 5-quart ovenproof heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown meat on all sides, turning occasionally with the aid of tongs and a carving fork, about 8 minutes. Transfer pork to a plate.
• Add onions to pot and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to turn golden, about 5 minutes.
• Add 3/4 teaspoon salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden and caramelized, 8 to 10 minutes more.
• Stir in cider and return pork to pot.
• Cover pot with a tight-fitting lid and braise pork in middle of oven until very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• Transfer pork to a serving dish with the aid of tongs and carving fork.
• Boil cooking juices with onions until mixture is reduced to about 2 cups, 2 to 3 minutes, then season with salt and pepper and serve with pork.
• Cooks' note:· Pork can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, uncovered, then chill, covered. Reheat in liquid, covered, at 325°F 1 hour.

BRAISED PORK WITH CIDER AND ONION

Steps:

• Coat the casserole dish with olive oil. Put onions, crushed garlic and bay leaves in casserole dish.
• Very generously coat all sides of pork shoulder with fresh ground pepper. Place the pork on top of onions and pour over cider. Cover. Place in oven turn to 150 degrees.
• Cook for 3-3.5 hours turning a couple of times.
• Once finished. Take out pork, set aside covered with foil. Add creme fraiche and mustard to make sauce.
• Slice pork too with onion and cider sauce. Serve.

CIDER-BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Generously salt all sides of the pork shoulder chunks. Heat oil in a heavy pot over high heat. Brown pork shoulder pieces until surface is seared and crusty, about 3 or 4 minutes per side. Transfer browned pork to a plate. Add onions to oil and reduce heat to medium and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook and stir about 2 minutes. Add torn sage leaves; cook until onions soften and begin to brown, stirring frequently. Pour cider into pot; stir to deglaze bottom. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir in cider vinegar. Reduce heat to low.
• Transfer pork shoulder pieces to cider mixture. Cover; simmer gently on low 1 hour. Remove lid and turn pieces over. Cover; simmer on low until meat is fork tender, 1 to 2 more hours. Transfer pork to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
• Raise heat to high and bring sauce to a simmer. Whisk in creme fraiche. Simmer until liquid is reduced by half and is slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in a pinch of cayenne. Transfer pork back to pot; reduce heat to low. Baste pork with sauce while it heats through and becomes perfectly tender, and the sauce is as thick as you want it, about 15 more minutes.

PORK SHOULDER BRAISED IN HARD CIDER

Steps:

• Make Sachet d'Epices:Wrap the thyme, parsley, and peppercorns in a small piece of cheesecloth and tie with twine to form a sachet.
• Brown Pork:Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Use paper towels to pat pork dry, then season generously with salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven or other pot with a tight-fitting lid over high heat for 2 minutes, then add enough oil to barely coat bottom of pot and heat until shimmering. Cook the pork until well browned on all sides, turning with tongs once each side is seared (remember not to move the meat too soon or it will not brown properly and will stick to the pot; wait until it releases easily). This will take a total of 12 to 15 minutes; reduce the heat if the bottom of the pot is getting too dark (you want browned, not burned, bits for flavoring the sauce). If, after removing the pork, you see burned bits, wipe out the pot and add more oil before proceeding. (Or deglaze pot with a little water, bringing it to a boil and scraping up the burned bits; pour off liquid and bits.)
• Cook Aromatics:Reduce heat to medium and add leek, garlic, parsnip, and celery root. Season with salt and pepper. Stir frequently and cook until leek is translucent, about 2 minutes.
• Braise Pork:Return pork to pot, and pour in 1 cup cider. Bring to a boil, and deglaze pot, scraping up browned bits from bottom. Add remaining 3 cups cider and the stock along with the herb sachet. (The liquid should come about halfway up the sides of the pork; add more stock if it doesn't.) Bring to a boil on top of the stove. Cover, and put in the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Cook until the pork is very tender (it should offer little resistance when pierced with a knife), 2 to 2 1/2 hours, turning over with tongs about halfway through so the meat cooks evenly.
• Finish Braising with Garnish Vegetables:Transfer the meat to a plate and strain the braising liquid through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids to extractas much liquid as possible (discard solids). Return the liquid and the pork to the pot and add the garnish vegetables, nestling them into the liquid; the liquid should almost reach top of vegetables. Bring to a boil on the stove, and then return to oven and cook until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Lift out the vegetables and arrange them on a serving platter. Transfer pork to another plate. Cover both and keep warm near the stove.
• Make a Beurre Manie:Rub the softened butter together with the flour until completely incorporated. Pour off and measure the cooking liquid remaining in the pot; you should have about 2 cups. Return it to the pot and boil until reduced to 1 cup, about 6 minutes. Whisk in the beurre manie and continue whisking until the liquid comes to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 1 minute (to remove the raw starchy taste). Turn off the heat and stir in the cream (if using) and mustard.
• Serve:Use a fork to shred the meat into large chunks. Transfer to platter with vegetables. Serve with sauce and more mustard on the side.

CIDER-BRAISED PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Pat chops dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown chops in two batches, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.
• Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot and cook onion over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir garlic, flour, and 2 tablespoons apple butter and cook until onions are coated and mixture is fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in cider and thyme, scraping up any browned bits with wooden spoon, and bring to boil. Add browned chops and any accumulated juices to pot, cover, and transfer to oven.
• Braise until chops are completely tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Transfer chops to serving platter. Strain sauce, then use a shallow spoon to skim off fat. ( Note - a fat separator, if you own one, is a much better method to discard excess fat.).
• Whisk in vinegar, parsley, and remaining apple butter. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing sauce at table.
• NOTE - The chops and sauce can be refrigerated separately for up to 2 days. To serve, heat sauce and chops together over medium heat until chops are warmed through.