Braised Pork Shoulder Recipes

BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Generously salt and pepper the pork shoulder and let meat come to room temperature (about 2 hours) Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Add olive oil to a large, deep pan, Over medium-high heat, sear pork until brown on all sides; set aside.
• Dump excess oil from pan, leaving a coating of oil.
• Add onions to pan and sweat over low heat until translucent.
• Return pork to pan and add remaining ingredients.
• Cover and place in oven, and cook for 2 to 3 hours (internal temperature should be about 140-150°F) or cook on stove top for 2 to 3 hours over low heat.
• Remove pork from pan and let rest 10-15 minutes before slicing.
• Serve with a starch and vegetables.

SUCCULENT BRAISED PORK

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Pat the pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
• In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, and working in batches brown the meat on all sides until a golden crust forms. Transfer the pork to a plate. To the pan add the onion, celery, and carrot and sweat until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sweat another 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes to cook off the raw flavor and caramelize it. Sprinkle with the flour and cook another 2 minutes to cook off its raw flavor. Whisk in the wine and reduce it by half. Return the pork to the Dutch oven, then stir in the beef stock, parsley stems, and bay leaves. Add the water if liquid does not come up to the top of the pork. Do not cover the pork with liquid. Cover the pan and place it in the oven to braise until the meat is fork tender, about 3 hours. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.

BRAISED PULLED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Place pork shoulder on a large parchment-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, 2 tablespoons salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, paprika, dry mustard, cumin, and cayenne. Rub pork with spice mixture, being sure to cover all sides. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours and preferably overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Remove pork shoulder from refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels. Heat a large Dutch-oven over medium-high heat and add vegetable oil. Add pork shoulder to Dutch-oven and sear, turning, until golden brown all over, about 4 minutes per side.
• Add 2 cups of water to Dutch-oven and position pork shoulder fat-side up, and cover. Transfer to oven and cook until meat shreds easily with two forks, 5 to 6 hours. Baste with pan juices every hour.
• When cooked, remove from Dutch-oven and shred meat with two forks. Serve meat on buns with barbecue sauce.

ITALIAN BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Rinse and dry pork roast. Season all sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add roast to the hot skillet; turn and sear until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer roast to a large lidded baking dish, leaving pan drippings in the skillet.
• Add carrots, onion, shallot, and garlic to the hot skillet and reduce heat to medium. Saute in the pan drippings until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes; do not overcook.
• Pour red wine, beef broth, and tomato puree over the roast in the baking dish. Add sauteed vegetables, parsley, and thyme.
• Cover and bake in the preheated oven until meat pulls apart easily, 2 to 3 hours.

SLOW-BRAISED PORK SHOULDER WITH CIDER & PARSNIPS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Heat the oil in a large lidded flameproof casserole and brown the meat in batches, then set aside. Fry the onions, celery and parsnips with the bay leaves for 10 mins until golden brown. Sprinkle in the flour and give a good stir, then add the pork and any juices back to the dish.
• Add the cider and stock so that the meat and vegetables are covered. Season and bring to a simmer, then cover and put in the oven for 2 hrs. Serve sprinkled with parsley, with mashed potato and greens, if you like.

BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Crisp pancetta in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat, until fat is rendered, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon.
• Add onions to Dutch oven. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 25 minutes. Transfer to plate using slotted spoon.
• Season pork with salt and pepper. Add oil to Dutch oven, and sear pork, fat side down, until golden, about 5 minutes. Flip, and repeat.
• Add garlic and spices to pot. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ale, stock, pancetta, and onions; bring to a simmer. Transfer to oven, and braise pork, covered, basting every hour, until meat is falling off the bone, about 4 hours. Shred meat (just what you're using) using 2 forks, and drizzle with warm skimmed jus.

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.

CAUCASUS-STYLE BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Mince garlic, then mash to a paste with 2 teaspoons kosher salt using a heavy knife. Grind coriander and fenugreek seeds and red-pepper flakes to a powder in grinder, then stir together with garlic and 2 tablespoons oil in a small bowl. Make 2-inch-deep slits all over meat with a small sharp knife and push some of paste into slits. Rub remaining paste all over meat. Put pork in a bowl and marinate, covered and chilled, at least 8 hours.
• Bring meat to room temperature, about 1 hour.
• Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a wide 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown pork on all sides, turning with tongs and a large kitchen fork, about 8 minutes total. Transfer pork to a large plate and cook onion in fat remaining in pot, stirring occasionally and scraping up brown bits, until beginning to brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Return pork to pot and add water and remaining teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil, then cover tightly with lid and transfer to oven. Braise, turning meat once, until very tender, about 3 hours. Cool pork in pan juices completely, uncovered, about 1 1/2 hours, then chill, covered, at least 8 hours.
• Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Remove fat from surface of pan juices and reheat pork (with pan juices), covered, in oven 1 hour. Transfer pork to a platter using cleaned tongs and large fork. Stir cilantro, vinegar, and table salt and pepper to taste into pan juices and serve with pork.

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.

CIDER BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Pat pork dry with paper towels; season liberally with salt and pepper on all sides.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Brown the pork on all sides, taking care not to get the oil too hot. Remove the meat to a platter.
• Add onions and garlic to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender (about 10-15 minutes). Stir in 1 ½ teaspoons salt, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, apple cider and chicken broth. Nestle the pork shoulder in the pot (fat-side up). Cover the pot.
• Roast the pork shoulder in a 325°F oven for about 3-3 ½ hours, basting with cooking liquid every hour or so (if possible). The pork is done when the meat is falling off the bone (an internal temperature of about 205°F). Remove bay leaf and herb stems.
• Transfer the pork to a large cutting board. When it's cool enough to handle, shred the meat with two forks (discarding fatty pieces), and spoon plenty of that delicious cider cooking liquid and onions over top.

BRAISED PORK STEAK WITH ONIONS (OVEN)

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 300 F. Trim any excess fat from the periphery of the steaks (optional) and season them liberally with salt and pepper.
• Heat a braiser over medium-high (or a skillet if you will be braising in a roasting pan), add the olive oil and sear the seasoned pork shoulder steaks on each side, working in batches of 2. Set aside, lower the heat to medium.
• Add the onions and sauté until translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and chipotle in Adobo and stir them into the onions. Cook about 1 minute. Deglaze with the stout (or stock or wine) and be sure to scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the braiser/skillet.
• Add the brown sugar, cumin, thyme and all the stock. Stir to combine, place the pork steaks on top and cover with the braiser lid (or transfer everything to a roasting pan, place the steaks on top and tightly cover with 2 layers of foil so no moisture escapes). Place in oven and braise for 1.5 hours.
• After 1.5 hours check the pork for tenderness by pressing on it with a fork. If tender enough to your liking, braise uncovered for an additional 10-15 minutes for an appetizing finish. If not tender enough, cover and braise a bit longer until satisfied (add a bit of water if liquid is really low).
• Serve garnished with a bit of finely chopped parsley of fresh picked thyme leaves.

BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Using a spice grinder, grind the coriander and cumin seeds until they are a fine powder.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the pork shoulder with the ground spices and salt, then tie each piece so they cook evenly.
• Coat a Dutch oven with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Brown the first pork on all sides. Remove the pork from the pan and reserve. Ditch the fat in the pan and give a few drops of new oil. Repeat with the second pork and remove.
• Lower the heat to medium and toss in the fennel and onions and season them with salt and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper. Cook the onions and fennel until they are soft and very aromatic, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer.
• Add the wine and reduce by half. Stir in the mustard and add the bay leaves and thyme. Return the pork to the Dutch oven and add stock to the pan until it comes halfway up the side of the pork. Add salt if needed. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover and put the Dutch oven in the preheated oven.
• After 1 hour, turn the pork over and add more liquid to the pan if the liquid level has gone down. Cover and return to the oven for 1 hour.
• Turn the pork back over and return to the oven without the lid and cook for 45 more minutes. The liquid should concentrate.
• Remove the pan from the oven, remove the pork and reserve for 15 minutes, tented with aluminum foil. Skim any excess fat from the pan and reduce the pan juices, if needed.
• Slice the pork and serve with onions, fennel and juices.
• Wine Pairing Suggestion: Pinot Grigio