Slow-Braised Pork Shoulder with Cider and Parsnips

By: Deborah

This slow-braised pork shoulder with cider and parsnips is a rich, comforting dish with melt-in-your-mouth pork, caramelised parsnips, and a flavourful cider sauce. Perfect for cosy dinners!

PREP: 20

COOK: 2 30

TOTAL: 2 50

Course: Main

Cuisine: British

Servings: 6 people

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Equipment

Ingredients

1 kg (2.2 lb) pork shoulder cut into 4cm to 5cm chunks (see Notes)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions sliced
2 celery sticks trimmed and roughly chopped
3 parsnips (approx. 400g) peeled and cut into 2.5cm chunks
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp plain flour
250 ml (1 cup) cider
500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock (made using a stock cube or pot)
a handful of flat leaf parsley chopped, to garnish
mashed potatoes to serve (optional)

Instructions

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Season the pork with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil over a high heat in a large lidded flameproof casserole. Brown the pork all over, in 2 to 3 batches - this will take approx. 4 to 5 minutes for each batch. Set the browned pork aside on a plate or in a bowl. Add the remaining tbsp of oil to the casserole and fry the onions, celery, parsnips and bay leaves for 10 minutes, until golden brown, stirring frequently. Sprinkle in the flour and give it a good stir, then add the pork and any juices back to the dish.
Add the cider and stock, stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Check the seasoning, adding more if needed, to taste. Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 2 hours. Remove the casserole from the oven, remove and discard the bay leaves. Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve with mashed potatoes and your favourite vegetable side dishes, if you like.

Notes

Pork shoulder - you can use pork shoulder steaks or a pork shoulder joint. If buying a joint, buy a piece that's a bit bigger (roughly 1.3kg) as you'll need to remove and discard the layer of fat before cutting it into chunks. This means you'll still have roughly 1kg for the recipe.

Alcohol-free option - replace the cider with apple juice and a splash of cider vinegar.

Herbs - add fresh rosemary, thyme or sage for extra depth.

Alternative root vegetables - try swapping the parsnips for chunks. of carrots, sweet potatoes or swede.

This slow-braised pork shoulder with cider and parsnips recipe is easily adapted if you’re cooking for less or more people. You'll need 2 casserole dishes (or 1 very big one) if you're doubling the recipe!

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

KEYWORDS comfort food, freezable, make ahead, pork casserole recipe, pork shoulder joint recipe, pork shoulder steaks recipe, winter warmer

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