RECIPE: I thought the honey/apple cake would be good with pork. We agreed that it reminded us of good French bistro food.

[Marg CDN]

CIDER-BRAISED PORK SHOULDER WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS (an old, old recipe)

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 3 hr
1 (3- to 4-lb) bone-in fresh pork shoulder half
2 garlic cloves, cut into slivers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lb onions ++, halved lengthwise, then cut lengthwise into 1/4 “ thick slices
3/4 cup unfiltered apple cider (I used a good British one)

Preheat oven to 325̊F.
Remove the large deposits of fat from the surface. Make slits all over meat with a small sharp knife and insert a garlic sliver in each slit. Pat pork dry and season with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a 4- to 5-quart ovenproof heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown meat on all sides, turning occasionally with the aid of tongs and a carving fork, about 8 minutes. Transfer pork to a plate.
Add onions to pot and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Add 3/4 teaspoon salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden and caramelized, 8 to 10 minutes more. If you have trouble caramelizing, then cover for 15 minutes, but they should be completely soft.
Stir in cider and return pork to pot.
Cover pot with a tight-fitting lid and braise pork in middle of oven until very tender, 2 - 2 ½ hours, depending on the size of roast. You may want to put foil around the edge of the pot where it meets the lid, to ensure little moisture loss.
Transfer pork to a serving dish with the aid of tongs and carving fork. Boil cooking juices with onions until mixture is reduced to about 2 cups, 2 to 3 minutes, then season with salt and pepper and serve with pork.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
I served it with grainy Dijon mashed potatoes with roasted garlic.

 

[deb-in-mi]

Sounds delish The upside-down apple cake i made was sooo disappointing

 

[Marg CDN]

Yes, I have a lot of leftover sugar to eat now. Yikes, it was loaded.

 

[charley2]

Your pork recipe is similar to one I used to make often that also added a sliced apple and some dried apples with the liquid. It was so good.

Braised Pork Loin with Apples and Onions
Serves 4​

2 lbs center cut pork loin, trimmed to remove any excess fat and silver skin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground sage or poultry seasoning
2 tsp grape seed oil (

2 large sweet yellow onions peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
1 cup of dried apple slices, halved ()
2 cups chicken stock
1 large can frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4" to 1/2" thick

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Adjust the rack to the lowest position. Season the pork all over liberally with salt, ground pepper, and sage or poultry seasoning. Heat a large stewpot that has a tight-fitting lid, on high heat. (I used a Le Creuset pan, which worked quite well.) When hot, add the oil and brown the pork loin in the oil, all over, until deep golden brown. Remove the roast from the pot and set aside. Reduce heat to medium.

Add onions to the pot and cook them, stirring occasionally, until they begin to caramelize and turn brown, about 8 minutes. Add the dried apples, chicken stock, and apple juice concentrate to the onions in the pot and stir. Put the pork roast back in the pot and bring the pot to boil on the stovepot. Put the lid on the pot and put the pot in the preheated oven. Cook pork, covered, for approximately 1 hour. (I found this cooking time to be much too long...check at about 30 minutes). Remove the cover from the pot and add the Granny Smith apples and stir. Baste the roast with the pan juices. Return the pot to the oven, uncovered, and cook 1 hour more, basting occasionally with the pan juices (again, I think this cooking time was too long; you don't want to overcook the pork until it dries out.) Remove pot from the oven.

If the sauce seems too watery, place the pork on a cutting board and cover with a loose foil tent, and place the pot back on the stove on high heat and boil the juices down until they are syrupy, stirring as necessary so the apples and onions don't stick. Omit this step if there is little liquid in the pot. (I didn't find this step necessary.) Taste sauce and correct seasonings if needed.

Slice pork and place it on a serving platter, surrounded with apples and onions and drizzled with pan juices.