Cider Braised Pork

This is a very simple braised pork recipe, but it uses cider as the braising liquid. Pork and apples are a classic pairing but isn't one I think of very often. I've seen variations on this which includes apple slices, but instead this uses a bit of apple cider vinegar to get a little bit of extra apple flavor and a bit of sourness. I put this recipe together based on this Instagram Reel where it's given the French name Porc au Cidre, all measurements are approximate since none are given in the source material. This went well with some mashed potatoes and some veggies, though some fresh bread in place of the potatoes to soak up the juices wouldn't be bad either.

Ingredients

• 2-3 Lbs pork shoulder (boneless, trimmed of excess fat)
• 1 Large onion
• 1 Tbs butter
• 1 Tbs vegetable oil
• 1 Pint cider (hard, dry works well)
• ½ C apple cider vinegar
• 2 bay leaves
• 2-3 sprigs of thyme
• 1 Tbs fresh Sage, chopped
• ¾ C sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 300°F
2. Cut pork up into roughly 2 inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
3. In a dutch oven melt butter and oil, then brown the pork and remove.
4. Pour out extra fat, reserving approximately 2 Tbs. Roughly chop the onion and then brown in the dutch oven.
5. Deglaze the pan with the hard cider, then add in the vinegar and herbs. Add the pork back in then put into oven for about 90 minutes. You want the pork to be tender but not completely falling apart.
6. Remove and discard the bay leaves and thyme. Temporarily remove the pork pieces then put dutch oven on the stove over medium heat and reduce the liquid by about half.
7. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Taste and adjust seasoning at this point. Put pork back into the liquid to heat up.
8. Serve.