Pork and Cider Stew

Pork and Cider Stew
13th November, 2018

Pork, cider and mustard seem to be made for each other and this stew combines them all in a hearty and warming recipe. As a stew, this is one of my favourites to tuck into

Don’t forget to serve this with some bread to mop up the delicious sauce

Ingredients

Sunflower oil

200g pancetta

1kg pork shoulder, cut into 5cm cubes

30g plain flour

50g butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

400 mls chicken stock

330 mls dry cider

1 bay leaf

3-4 thyme sprigs

1 Tbsp chopped sage

3 carrots, peeled, halved and quartered

2 potatoes, peeled and diced into 5cm cubes

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp creme fraiche

Method

Heat the oven to 170 C

In a large casserole dish add a good dollop of oil and bring up to a medium temperature. Add the pancetta and fry off until crispy and browned. When done remove from the pan and keep to one side

Add a dollop more oil to the pan

Roll the cubed pork in flour and shake off any excess. It's likely you'll have to do this batches so add the cubed pork to the pan and begin to brown off. When done, remove from the pan and keep to one side and keep going until all the pork is seared and browned off

Add the butter to the pan and melt. Add the onions, bay and thyme and cook the onions until soft and browned

Add the pork and pancetta back into the pan and then add in the stock, cider and sage. Bring the pan to the boil

Cover the casserole dish and place in the bottom of the oven and leave to cook for an hour and a half. You can check on it as it goes to see if you need a dash more liquid. Don't let it dry out too much

After 90 minutes, remove from the oven and add in the carrot and potato. Check for liquid. If you need more then add some stock or cider and place back in the oven for another 45 minutes

Remove from the oven and add the mustard and creme fraiche and give a stir

You can chill this down to reheat later or serve straight away