Polish-Style Braised Pork Shoulder Chops/Steaks

I haven't been feeling up to much cooking lately. Funny how being nauseous and exhausted 24/7 will do that! I did manage to make one dinner this week though. Reiver had found some pork shoulder chops for a good price, so I cast about for something tasty to do with them and hit upon this recipe. Served it with some roast potatoes and a beet salad and it was excellent!

The original recipe just calls for pork and onions, with optional mushrooms as an additional extra. I added the mushrooms and also threw in some carrots and peas toward the end of cooking, both to bulk it up a bit and to boost our veggie intake. So, in the end, it came out as what basically amounted to a pork stew.

We both really liked this one. Although I think I would add a bit more flour next time since, with only 1 Tbsp. of flour, the sauce didn't thicken up very much at all. Other than that, though, it was lovely!

Photo goes here.

Polish-Style Braised Pork Shoulder Chops

Slightly adapted from Everyday Healthy Recipes

Ingredients

• 700g-1kg pork shoulder chops/steaks
• 1 Tbsp. oil (optional, see below)
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 Tbsp. paprika (sweet or hot according to preference)
• 1/2 Tbsp. mixed dried herbs¹
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 allspice berries
• 3 onions, halved and sliced thick
• 3 cloves garlic, halved or chopped
• ~100g white or cremini mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• 1 1/2 c. chicken or vegetable stock, divided
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon or Roman mustard
• 1 tsp. light soy sauce or Maggi sauce
• 1/2 tsp. honey (optional)
• 1-2 Tbsp. flour
• 2-3 carrots, cut into coins (optional)
• 1 c. frozen peas (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F).
2. If the pork has a fat cap, trim it off.
3. If you have trimmed fat, render out some of the lard to cook with. Otherwise, heat up 1 Tbsp. of oil in a Dutch oven.
4. Combine the salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and herbs and use this mix to season the pork on both sides.
5. Sear the pork over medium heat for ~2 minutes on each side.
6. Add the bay leaf, allspice berries, onions, and garlic.
7. Add the mushrooms (if using).
8. Pour in ~1 c. of the stock.
9. Cover and transfer to oven for 1 hour.
10. Combine the mustard, soy sauce, honey (if using), flour, and a small amount of the remaining stock and stir to combine.
11. Add the remaining stock to the mixture to form a sauce.
12. Pour the sauce into the Dutch oven along with the meat and onions and do your best to stir it in.
13. Add the carrots and peas (if using).
14. Cover and return to oven for an additional 40 minutes.
15. Serve with potatoes or rice and/or a vegetable side of your choice.

¹ The original recipe calls for herbes de Province. I didn't have any, so I used a mix of Italian seasoning and dried tarragon. If you're making your own blend from scratch, you could consider including basil, fennel seeds, lavender (very sparingly!), marjoram, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, savoury, and/or thyme. ^Back