Apple Cider Braised Pork
This Apple Cider Braised Pork is a cozy, one-pot comfort food meal that's perfect for all those gorgeous fall apples. Serve with a side of mashed potatoes and you've got a hearty winner of a family dinner!
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 3 1/2-4 lb. boneless pork shoulder roast
- 1 Tbsp. coarse kosher salt
- 1 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large red onion, cut into thick slices
- 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fresh apple cider
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinger
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 large Granny Smith apples, cored and quartered
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F with the rack in the center of the oven.
- Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels, trim any excess fat and then season with your coarse kosher salt and pepper. You'll heat your olive oil in a large Dutch oven to medium-high and once the oil is hot, you'll sear the meat on all sides until browned then transfer the meat to a plate.Add sliced red onions to the same Dutch oven and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Remove the onions to a bowl.
- Whisk together your apple cider, chicken broth, garlic, apple cider vinegar and Dijon mustard.
- Add your pork back to your Dutch oven and pour your apple cider mixture over the pork and top with your thyme sprigs.Braise the pork, covered, in the oven for about 2 1/2 hours, flipping the meat halfway through the cooking time. The meat should be just about fork tender at this point. I usually check my meat with a fork around 2 hours.
- Add onions back to the pot all around your meat along with your apples. You'll continue to cook, covered for another 30 minutes. The meat should be totally fork tender by this point.Remove the pot from the oven and let the meat rest for about 20 minutes before serving. I like to season the juices with salt and pepper and serve it over everything.