Last week, we celebrated several of Fall’s best flavors with Homespun‘s Poached Pear & Butternut Squash Salad. But why stop there? Our dream fall spread deserves a meat entrée to write home about. So this week, we handed over the reigns to Chef Jason again, this time to bring us his Bourbon Honey Braised Pork Shoulder.
This is one of those wonderful excuses to pull out your trusty Dutch oven; you’ll be slow-cooking this pork shoulder tender for a couple of hours, but as you’ll see, the fruits of your labor will be worth it.
Upon browning the pork, your sautéed garlic and onions will meet the smooth honey, brown sugar, sherry vinegar and bourbon reduction. And by introducing a blend of rich aromatics (thyme sprigs, black peppercorns and whole coriander seeds) to the pot, the macerated pork will be simply teeming with flavor. My favorite part? This meat entrée pairs so so so perfectly with seasonal roasted fruits such as figs, pears, apples, plums and onions. And just you wait until we share Chef Jason‘s recipe for those broccolini bundles! Cheers, Kat
- 2-3 lb Boneless Pork Shoulder, cut into 1 lb portions
- 3 T high-heat cooking oil
- 2 onions, peels and quartered
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 T whole coriander seeds
- 1 T black peppercorns
- 8 sprigs Thyme
- 1/2 cup Honey
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 1/2 cup sherry vinegar
- 1 cup water/stock
- salt
- black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 300 F.
- Pat dry pork shoulder with paper towels and season with salt and black pepper. In a dutch oven, heat pot on medium high heat. Add oil. Begin searing pork shoulder until browned. Do not overcrowd pot. Set aside once all sides are browned.
- Remove any excess grease from pot. Saute garlic and onions. Then add honey, brown sugar, sherry vinegar and bourbon. Reduce by 1/2 and add thyme sprigs, black peppercorns, whole coriander seeds.
- Place pork shoulder back into pot. Add water/stock then place dutch oven lid on and place into pre-heated oven. Cook for 2-3 hours until pork is fork tender.
- Once the pork is tender, allow it to cool to room temperature. Place pieces onto a cutting board and portion to desired sizes. With a fine mesh strainer, strain braising liquid into a medium sauce pot and discard the aromatics. Begin to reduce the liquid by 1/2 and skim any grease that comes to the top.
- Place the portioned pork shoulder back into the clean pot and cover with reduced liquid. Reheat in oven at 300 F and baste every 8 minutes until the pork is glazed and glossy. This could take up to 20 minutes.
- Serve with seasonal roasted fruits such as figs, pears, apples, plums and/or onions.
Well so much for my mostly-vegetarianism. I think I found my next Sunday dinner.
Right? Such a perfect Sunday night dish! xo
Looks delicious!!!! Where did you get the wooden rimmed plates?
Hi Kimberly, you can actually get them in my shop! Email our Shop Boss Brit at shopboss@waitingonmartha.com for details and pricing. They’re vintage though and beyond amazing, you definitely need a set! xo MKR
This recipe was fantastic! Rich, sweet, just perfect