A Pork Roast Feast Fit For The Season
Leaning hard into the shorter, cooler days, sweaters, rainboots and crunchy leaves, we created a cider pork roast recipe that embodies the way we want to cook right now—low, slow, and with all of the flavors of the harvest season. Apples are literally falling off the trees around us, and we were determined to capture that bounty in a recipe that concentrates their complex taste and myriad uses into a slab of hearty, braised pork shoulder. So when you’re at the pumpkin patch this month, and you see those gallons of unfiltered apple cider for sale, go ahead and buy one or two—we’ve got just the recipe for you.
What Is Pork Shoulder?
And, while we’re on the topic, is pork shoulder the same as pork butt? In short, “pork shoulder” is a term that is sometimes applied to a two different cuts of pork, pork butt (AKA Boston butt) and the “picnic shoulder” both of which come from the front quarter of a pig. (Yes, the pork butt actually comes from the shoulder, and yes, that’s kind of confusing.) Although a lot of people love fat-marbled pork butt for braising—us included—for this particular recipe, a pork butt would be too fatty. Instead, look for something called a “pork shoulder roast” which is boneless and skinless and not as fatty as a pork butt. Try using it in our simple pork stew, too!
Everything You’ll Need To Make Cider-Braised Pork Shoulder
Now that you know how to buy a pork shoulder roast, all you have to do is load up on other fall flavors—apples, shallots and fennel will infuse that tender, juicy pork with their autumnal goodness and your home will smell exactly the way you’d want it to this time of year. Here’s everything you’ll need to make this cider pork roast:
- Pork shoulder roast
- Shallots
- Fennel bulb
- Garlic
- Cayenne pepper
- Fennel seeds
- Unfiltered apple cider
- Apple cider vinegar
- Chicken stock
- Apples
How To Make Cider-Braised Pork Shoulder
- Pat the pork dry with a paper towel and salt the shoulder thoroughly.
- Brown the pork shoulder until it’s brown on all sides. Set it aside.
- Sauté shallots and fennel for a few minutes, then add some garlic. Sauté a bit more, then set them aside.
- Pour apple cider, apple cider vinegar, chicken stock, pepper, cayenne and fennel seeds, into your Dutch oven. Set the browned pork in there, too, and bring it to a boil.
- Cover the pot and pop it into the oven. Time to braise!
- After about two hours in the oven, pull the pot out and nestle the apples, fennel and shallots into the pot. As for how long to cook the pork shoulder? As always, a meat thermometer is really important to have on-hand for a recipe like this. Keep cooking for about 2 ½ hours, or until you get a reading of at least 145°F on a meat thermometer.
Tools You’ll Need
- Dutch oven
- Meat thermometer
- Sharp knife
- Tongs will be useful for browning the pork shoulder roast
More Autumnal Pork Recipes To Try
There’s something about this season that makes us hungry for the “other white meat”. If you find yourself in the same predicament, here are a few recipes you might really love:
Apple Cider Braised EVERYTHING
The arrival of apple season and the autumnal flavors that accompany it make us glad that summer is behind us—and that’s a pretty incredible thing to say! But we really do love nothing more than a cozy meal like this, simmering away in the oven, perfuming our homes and whetting our appetites.Try the recipe, and let us know how you like it, OK? Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!
