Apple Bourbon Braised Pork Recipe

The other night I was looking for a recipe idea that just screamed Holidays. We’ve been going over plans for the move, getting paperwork in order and dealing with a sudden and potentially devastating problem that came just one month too early. I needed something realy holiday flavored to get me back in the spirit of the season before it fizzled out on me and this dish was just the ticket.

When I walked into the kitchen, all I was sure of was that I wanted to pair the pork with a few apples I had left over.  What I ended up with is one of those “hooRah!” moments that simply come together perfectly.  A blent of svaory, sweet and spicy that we just couldn’t get enough of.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.  It really is something close to perfection, especially during the holidays.

Apple Bourbon Braised Pork

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs your choice of pork roast, pork stew meat or pork short ribs
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 2 apples, cored and cut in 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. ground allspice
• 1 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 cup sherry
• 1/4 cup bourbon whiskey
• approximately 1 cup chicken stock
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp. olive oil, for searing.
• Additional sherry and bourbon if necessary, for sauce

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Season pork liberally with salt and pepper. Sear all sides of pork well in a heavy dutch oven or other heavy oven-safe cooking vessel.  Remove and set aside.

Add onions to same pan and cook until translucent, approximately 3 minutes.  Add garlic and cook another 1 minute.  Remove pan from heat and add sherry.  Return to heat and stir with a long handled spoon, making sure to scrape off any bits on the bottom of the pan.  Add apples and all spices.  Stir well to combine.

Remove from heat, stir in bourbon and return pork to pan, nestling the meat down into the veggies and apples.  Pour in chicken stock until pork is covered about half way.  Cover and bake for approximately 35 minutes or until meat is tender and internal temp is at least 165 degrees.

Remove pork from pan and cover loosely with foil.  If necessary, return pan to heat and add a bit more sherry and bourbon to achieve desired constancy for topping meat.

Slice, top with apple mixture and enjoy!

What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time:

I think next time I’ll add at least one more apple, sliced very fine to the sauce at the end for some additional crunch and a bit of fresh apple flavor.  Perhaps a bit of apple juice or hard apple cider would be a good addition as well.  But otherwise, this is one crazy good dish!

Links to other recipes like this:

• Apple Bourbon Pork Tenderloin, from A Fridge Full of  Food.
• Pork Chops with a Bourbon-Sliced Apple Glaze, from Culinary Disasters
• Pork Chops with Apples, from Just Braise