Ingredients
- Pork
- 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1 whole Pork Shoulder Roast (also Called Pork Butt)
- Salt And Pepper, to taste
- 4 c. Apple Juice
- 1 c. Beef Stock
- 3 whole Apples, Cored And Cut Into Wedges
- 3 whole Medium Onions, Sliced
- 1 whole Bay Leaf
- Wild Rice
- 2 1/2 c. Wild Rice
- 4 c. Water
- 3 c. Chicken Stock
- 1/2 stick 4 Tablespoons Butter
- 1/2 c. Chopped Pecans
Directions
- OPTIONAL: Saute onions until brown. (Or you may just add them raw to the roast.)
To make the pork roast, heat olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Salt and pepper pork roast, then sear on all sides to give it some color. Reduce heat to low. Add apple juice, apple slices, onions, and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 3 hours. (Or you may place in a 300 degree oven if you prefer.)
Toward the end of the cooking time, make the rice: melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add pecans and saute for a couple of minutes. Add wild rice and liquid, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until all liquid is cooked out.
When the roast is done, remove the roast, apples, and onions to a platter. Raise heat to medium-high (to high) and boil liquid, reducing it until thick and rich.
Spoon thick sauce over the roast, then cut the roast into slices. Serve with apples, onions, and wild rice.
(Note: add fresh thyme or rosemary to the roast before cooking if you have it on hand!)
Pork roast. Apples. Onions. Braised to perfection and served with a savory-sweet sauce.
Oh, how I love life. For life includes dinners like this.
The Cast of Characters: pork shoulder (also called pork butt), apple juice, apples, onions, beef stock, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Simple stuff, man!
And just look: the ingredients are bathed in a glorious light. This bodes well for our bellies.
Note: I caramelized the onions because I was caramelizing onions for something else. You can do this, but if you’d rather save a step, you may just add them raw.
Don’t be like me.
This is a pork roast/pork shoulder/pork butt. Make friends with it. The versatility is endless.
Honey Crisp apples. I used them because I thought they were pretty.
Not that this will matter once the pork and apples have been cooked to smithereens. But still. Pretty gets me every time.
Very generously salt and pepper both sides of the roast.
Heat a little olive oil in a heavy pot over high heat, then brown the pork on all sides.
Pour in the apple juice and a little beef broth…
Then slice up the apples into wedges…
And add those to the pot.
Add a bay leaf…
Then add the onions and bring the whole thing to a boil.
Then cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Toward the end of the cooking time, whip up some wild rice, which I love with a passion. Melt a little butter in a saucepan…
And add some chopped pecans. Unless you’re allergic to pecans. In which case, skip to the next step.
Throw in some dry wild rice.
Stir it around and cook it for a couple of minutes over medium-low heat…
Then add some water and some chicken stock for flavor. Bring it to a boil, then cover it and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed.
Ta-Da!
Why is wild rice so magical? It’s so strange and woodsy and chewy.
After the cooking time…
Remove the pork and apples from the pot. Use a slotted spoon to get most of the stuff out, then use a regular spoon to skim off any excess fat that’s risen to the surface (you may need to let it sit for just a few minutes to separate after removing the pork.)
And then. This is important. Your happiness and the future of this pork roast depend on it. Raise the temperature and boil/reduce the cooking liquid until it becomes very, very thick and rich—at least 5 to 8 minutes. More if it’s still thin.
Mmmm. See those violent bubbles? That’s when you know you’re close.
To serve, you can either place the pork and apples on top of a platter of wild rice (my original plan) or you can keep the two separate (I was lazy.)
Grab ladles of sauce…
And spoon it all over the top of the roast.
Goodness…gracious.
Look at how glossy and lovely it makes the roast. And the flavor…totally out of this world.
To serve it up, slice the roast with a sharp/serrated knife…
And place it on a plate with wild rice and plenty of apples. Spoon a little more liquid over each helping…it’s so, so good!
This’ll warm your belly. And make you smile.
Here’s the handy dandy printable!
