Mom/Chef: dinner last night

Found a three pound-ish chunk of pork shoulder in the freezer the other day and pulled it out to defrost. Yesterday afternoon when baby went down for a nap, I decided to get some dinner done. Now normally I would go Mexican with this and make carnitas, but the veggies I have lying around speak less of Mexico and more of Provence. So I seasoned the pork well on all sides with salt and pepper and got some oil screaming hot in my favorite pan, a Le Creuset knock-off from IKEA that works amazing on stews and roasts. I browned the pork on all sides, then deglazed with some white wine. Added some chicken stock and water to come ¾ of the way up the sides of the roast, threw in some sliced onion and celery, a big thyme sprig, a bay leaf and a couple of whole pepper corns. Then I slapped the lid on and threw it in the oven at 275 F.


After two hours of cooking I threw in some parsnips and carrots and put it back in for another two hours. When I could poke at the pork and have it fall to bits I pulled it from the oven, spooned the meat and vegetables out and placed the pan back on the stovetop over medium-high heat. In a small bowl I mashed up about 3 Tablespoons of flour with two tablespoons of bacon drippings (butter would have also worked) and stirred this into the bubbling liquid. This simmered five minutes until it thickened up into a light gravy, got some salt and pepper added to it and then I hit it with some sherry vinegar (red wine or white wine vinegar would also have worked but I was out of both) and the meat and veggies were dumped back in along with some roasted baby beets I had in the fridge. The end result? Provencal Roast Pork with root veg.

It turned out great, really good flavor and tender pork. The only problem? The beets turned the sauce bright red. Maybe I will heat those on the side next time. The best part? Tonight, leftovers!