MONDAY MORNING RECIPE - PORK POT ROAST COOKED ON THE STOVE TOP - SERVES 6

Today's recipe came from a food blog called Cook2EatWell, hosted by Elizabeth.  The original recipe can be found here.  I always recommend looking at the original recipe, in case I have missed anything out. She adds a lot of tips (several I have included below but I am sure there are more), and I always enjoy their photos.  The finished result we were very happy with, and it was so tasty!  

Pork Pot Roast (cooked on the stove top)

Serves: 6

Approximate calories per serving: 591

Elizabeth's equipment she used:

Large, Heavy Pot - 7-quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven

Kitchen twine - to tie the roast for even cooking

Aluminum foil - to loosely cover the pork after browning.

Cooking time: 3 hrs. 30 mins (see my notes at the bottom).

4-5 pound Boneless Pork Shoulder picnic or pork butt

2 teaspoons Salt

½ teaspoon Black Pepper

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Medium Onion finely diced

1 Celery Rib Diced

3-4 Garlic Cloves minced

1 tablespoon Tomato Paste

½ cup White Wine

2-3 cups Chicken Broth enough to cover ¼ of the roast

3-4 Thyme Sprigs

1 Rosemary Sprig

1 Bay Leaf

2-3 Carrots cut into ½ inch rounds (about 1 – 1½ cups)

1 pound Small Red Potatoes keep whole, do not cut

Tie the roast with kitchen twine to hold it together and to ensure even cooking. Season the pork with the salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the pork shoulder.

Cook for approximately 3 minutes, or until browned. The meat will release from the pot when a crust forms on the outside. If it is hard lift and is sticking to the pot, give it another minute or so.

Turn the pork a quarter turn and cook 3 minutes to brown the side. Repeat with the remaining two sides until the entire piece is browned.

Take the pot off the heat. Remove the pork roast from the pot and place on a pan or a large platter. Loosely cover with aluminum foil.

Do not wash the pot. Place it back over medium heat. Add the onions and the celery. Cook the vegetables for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Next, add the garlic and tomato paste to the pot. Stir well and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.

Add the white wine to the pot and stir while gently scrapping any bits off the bottom of the pot. Continue cooking until most of the wine has cooked out, about 1-2 minutes.

Return the pork roast to the pot, along with any juices collected on the pan. Add enough chicken broth to go ¼ way up the thickest part of the roast.

Next, arrange the potatoes, carrots, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf around the roast.

Raise the heat to medium-high and let the broth to come to a simmer. Then, lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pot.

Cook for approximately 3 hours or until it is tender. It should give and tear easily when a fork is inserted and twisted.

During the cooking time keep the liquid at a simmer. If it’s boiling too vigorously, lower the heat a bit. If it’s not simmering, raise it. Check on it every ½ hour or so, especially after raising or lowering the heat.

Remove and discard the rosemary, thyme stems and the bay leaf. Serve the roast with the carrots and potatoes and a side of rice, a piece of crusty bread, Texas toast or your favorite side dish.

Elizabeth's Notes:

If you don’t drink wine or don’t have any on hand, use broth instead and follow the same instructions (this is what we did).

Make sure to use a pot that’s large enough to fit the roast and arrange the carrots and potatoes around it (we have a funny story about this below).

Tie the rosemary and thyme together with kitchen twine to make it easy to pick out the stems (we had no twine and didn't really have a problem removing the herbs, though I can see how it would help).

Full nutritional information can be found on the website.

A good tip from Elizabeth is to choose small red potatoes to avoid cutting them in half or quarters.  (I am all for cutting down on steps when cooking.)   Also, with the long cooking time the whole potatoes will hold their shape best (We couldn't find the small potatoes and cut ours into large-ish chunks).

Her other tips I am including are If you do not have fresh herbs, you can substitute dry herbs but reduce the amount. Use about ½ teaspoon of each.

If you do not use wine, deglaze the pot with chicken broth instead. Use the same amount and follow the same instructions.

You will have a well-rounded meal with the added potatoes and carrots, but Elizabeth also suggests serving it with a side of rice and crusty bread, a slice of Texas toast or your favorite side dish.  (The first time we just had it on its own.)

Store leftovers in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze for 2 months.

What we thought:

It was delicious and we have lots of leftovers.  Here's the funny story which Gregg wanted me to include.  He enjoys giving people a smile too.  Also, maybe it will help newcomers to check the labels thoroughly before purchasing.

While it was cooking I mentioned that it was awfully big for a 2 lb. roast and he said he was sure on the size as he had checked the label thoroughly.  I was grateful he had done the shopping.  I got a call from him to say he could only find a 2-pounder. I said that would probably be better for us anyhow, size-wise, no problem.  

My brain doesn't do portion size very well, and even for me it looked too big for the size of the pot.  It was the biggest one in our cupboard.  He mentioned he wasn’t sure whether all the vegetables would fit, and I watched as he poked them around the edge and down the side to fit them in. Vegetable purée I was thinking.  It wasn’t easy! 

We often go back and forth when we are in the kitchen. I am the corner-to-corner person, he is the adventurer, I have to measure everything, he throws it all in, which works great as he has given us some excellent culinary results with his seat-of-the-pants cooking style.  Gordon Ramsey would be impressed.  But, pain that I am, I again said that looks REALLY big.  He was emphatic that it weighed 2.15 lbs. when he purchased it.  Okay, I won’t say any more.  However!

I couldn't stop thinking about the size.  In the middle of the cooking time, me, "Do we still have the wrapping?"  I can’t stop myself, I was curious.  I really wanted to check the weight as the meat seemed to be taking a lot longer than the recipe called for. 

I think Gregg was wondering himself now as he said, “Okay, I’ll check.” and went back into the kitchen to look for the wrapping in the trash. There was silence and then I heard him having a chuckle. More silence and when he came back he had a big smile on his face. It wasn't the weight he had looked at.  It was actually the price per pound, which was $2.15, so the number he looked at while in the store was the price per pound and not the weight. Turns out the weight was actually 8 lbs! 

We had a good laugh and I hope our story gave you a smile.  I am so glad my portion-size scrambled brain was not so portion-size scrambled this time!  

And, we have a lot of leftovers! 

As for the cooking time, it took forever to cook this roast. "Surely it should be done by now?” to which Gregg replied, "It's 8 lbs!  It's going to take a while."   I think it took well over an hour longer to cook, maybe more as we were supposed to keep it on slow.  You should be okay if you follow the exact weight measurements, and not have the problem we did.  Check your packaging thoroughly would be my advice.

The first meal we ate was incredibly tasty.  But there is a lot of fat.  After one night in the fridge, a layer had solidified on top.  I got a large spoon and scooped it off.  It still had an excellent taste and we also added a very nice crusty roll that second night.

If I haven’t mentioned it before, the broth/gravy is excellent!

Next time I will buy a more leaner cut but final result? It was a delicious meal.  On a chilly day, comfort food at its best.

I try to remember to add the full address of the website, in case you prefer to copy and paste instead of using the link above this page:

https://www.cook2eatwell.com/pork-pot-roast/