Slow-Cooked Pork Shoulder
It was extremely cold for the past few days and it was forecasted for snow yesterday. Yes, the snow did arrive. In fact, it started to snow yesterday evening and throughout the night. A flurry of snow was falling down from the sky as I was looking through the window. I had a sense of excitement for a while. I was at home – it has always been very well insulated that we didn’t even have to switch on the heating, feeling rather comfortable most of the time.
Snowy weather like what we have just experienced makes me crave for comfort food. I love to cook one pot & one pan food. Not because it is easy to prepare, but it is tasty and great flavour is always guaranteed. The best is always to cook a big pot and have more than enough to feed for a few days. The taste always gets better the next day!
Just a few days ago, a reader of my blog asked me to share some simple pork recipes. I then knew I wanted to make a slow-cooked dish using pork. Using fragrant herbs like bay, thyme and tarragon make this slow-cooked pork dish really irresistible. I personally love to use pork shoulder, not only because it is inexpensive, it gives almost melt-in-the mouth texture when slowly braised. The meat fall apart after about 1 – 1.5 hours of slow cooking in the liquid along with other ingredients, which give this slow-cooked dish a great explosion of flavours!
Slow-Cooked Pork Shoulder
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
30 minutes
Yield:
4-6 persons
Ingredients:
For the Slow-Cooked Pork Shoulder:
1 tbsp olive oil
800g pork shoulder, cut into chunks
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
5-6 garlic, peeled and keep whole
150ml white wine
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
4-5 carrots, peeled and cut into cubes
a small handful of thyme
2 bay leaves
450ml chicken stock or water
300g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
a big handful of tarragon, chopped
150ml double cream
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Put the olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add the pork and cook for 5-6 minutes until brown. Add the garlic and onion, cook for about 2 minutes until they are fragrant and soft. Add the white wine and let the alcohol evaporates. Stir well.
2. Add the potatoes, carrots, thyme and bay leaves. Stir to combine and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock. Bring it to the boil for a few seconds. Lower the heat, put the lid on and cook for 1 – 1.5 hours or until the meat start to fall apart. Skim off any scums from time to time.
3. 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the chestnut mushrooms, tarragon and season with salt and pepper. Add the double cream, stir and continue to cook until the end of the cooking time. Serve warm with some crusty bread, rice or pasta.
