Diced Pork Shoulder Recipe

Leave a Comment / Recipes / By Faye Keenan

If you are looking for the perfect recipe for diced pork shoulder then this creamy casserole would be ideal.

Contents show

You can serve it with buttery mash and steamed greens for a meal that the whole family will enjoy.

Diced Pork Shoulder Recipe - Eatability (1)

What Do You Need?

To make this diced pork shoulder casserole you will need a large casserole dish or Dutch oven that can be used on the stove top and in the oven. You will also need a small frying pan to crisp the bacon.

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To prepare the ingredients, you will need a chopping board and a knife.

If you feel like you need a hug in a bowl, check out our Creamy Chicken Soup recipe

Tips And Tricks

To create the perfect casserole every time, follow these simple tips and tricks.

Browning the meat – It is important to brown the meat when making a casserole. This helps to seal in the flavours and releases meat juices into the dish that will provide a deep taste. It also gives the meat a nicer texture.
Frying the vegetables – The onions and the mushrooms will taste nice and have a better texture if they are fried before the liquid is added to the casserole. The carrots cook in the liquid and turn soft, so they don’t need to be fried first.
Adding the cider – When you add the cider, you should wait for about a minute before you add the chicken stock. This is to allow the meat to absorb some of the cider so that it takes on that lovely, apple flavour. It also lets some of the alcohol cook out of the cider and this is important as it can leave a bitter taste if you don’t.
Checking the meat – Before you remove the casserole from the oven you need to make sure that the meat is cooked. With pork shoulder, it should be soft and tender. Use a fork to check if it is cooked – the meat should flake away easily.
Adding liquid – If too much of the liquid evaporates during cooking, you can add a bit more water. Make sure you add the water a small amount at a time so you don’t dilute the flavours too much.
Thickening the sauce – If the sauce is too runny when you take the casserole out of the oven, you can thicken it with a mixture of corn flour and water. Add a little bit at a time until you achieve the desired consistency.

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How Can You Customise This Recipe?

There are several ways that you can change this diced pork shoulder recipe if you want to.

Diced pork shoulder – The diced pork shoulder works really well in this recipe but you can also make it with other meats like stewing steak, lamb or even some chicken. Remember to adjust the cooking time depending on which meat you use.
Cider – You may want to swap the cider for some cloudy apple juice if you want to keep this recipe free from alcohol. Make sure you use a good quality apple juice that is not from concentrate.
Vegetables – Feel free to switch out the vegetables for your favourites or whatever you have that needs using up. This recipe is very versatile.

Are you trying to follow Meat Free Mondays? Give our Baked Pumpkin Risotto a try

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Recipe by Faye Keenan

Course: Recipes

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

Ingredients

2 Tablespoon Sunflower oil
500 grams Diced Pork Shoulder
0.25 Teaspoon Salt
0.25 Teaspoon Ground black pepper
0.25 Teaspoon Celery salt
1 Onion (peeled and chopped)
12 Baby mushrooms (halved)
2 Carrots (peeled and chopped)
250 ml Dry cider
420 ml Chicken stock
0.5 Teaspoon Thyme (dried)
150 grams Bacon lardons (or chopped streaky bacon)
1 Tablespoon Cornflour (mixed with 3 tablespoons water) –
60 ml Double cream
2 Tablespoons Parsley (fresh, chopped)

Directions

Begin by preheating your oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.
Add 1.5 tablespoons of sunflower oil to a large casserole dish over a high heat. Let the oil heat up then add the pork. Add the salt, pepper and celery salt and mix to coat all of the pork in the seasoning. Fry the pork to brown it, making sure that you move the meat around the dish to brown all of the sides. This should take around 6 to 8 minutes.
Once the pork is browned, turn the heat down to medium. Add the onion and cook it for around 5 minutes until it has softened, stirring it regularly.
Once the onions have softened, add the mushrooms and cook them for several minutes.
Next, add the cider. Wait for around a minute, then add the chicken stock, theme and the carrots. Adjust the heat until the casserole reaches a boiling point and the liquid is bubbling. Make sure you give it a good stir to combine all of the ingredients.
Once the mixture is boiling, place the lid on the casserole dish and put it in the oven. It will need to cook for between 2.5 and 3 hours, until the pork is cooked through and is soft and tender. In the last hour, give the casserole another stir and make sure that it is not too dry. If too much of the liquid has evaporated then add a little water.
Just before you are ready to take the casserole out of the oven, you will need to cook the bacon. Add the remaining 0.5 tablespoons of oil to a frying pan over a high heat. Let the oil heat up then add the bacon. Fry until the bacon is nice and crispy, then remove from the heat.
Take the casserole out of the oven. Use the corn flour mixture to thicken the sauce as required. This depends on personal preference and on how much the sauce has reduced during cooking. You may want to add the mixture a little bit at a time.
Once the sauce is the right consistency, stir in the double cream. The residual heat from the casserole will heat up the cream as it mixes with the sauce. Taste the sauce to check for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
Sprinkle the bacon lardons on top of the casserole, and then it is ready to serve. Once you have dished up the casserole with your choice of side dishes you can garnish it with fresh parsley.