Cider Braised Pork Roast

This Cider Braised Pork Roast recipe features melt-in-your-mouth pork that's seared and then simmered to perfection in a sweet and savory broth. Serve this fall-inspired dish alongside mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles.

Prep Time30

Cook Time2 30

Total Time3

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Braised Pork, Cider Braised Pork Roast, Port Roast

Servings: people

Author: Silvia Dunnirvine

Ingredients

4 lbs pork butt roast
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp salt and pepper
1 large sweet onion sliced
2 green apples (tart apples), sliced
3 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp fennel seeds
fresh thyme
1/4 cup flour
1 cup apple cider (not apple cider vinegar)
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Mix the brown sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Season pork well on all sides with this mixture. If possible allow the pork to sit at room temperature with this dry mix for 30 minutes.
Heat oil in a cast iron dutch oven. On medium-low heat brown the pork roast on all sides until golden brown. Don't skip this step (see notes for details). Remove pork roast from pan.
To the pork greased cast iron pot add in sweet onion sliced and apples. Sauté until softened (about 5 minutes)
Stir in the flour, this will slightly thicken the broth and create a delicious apple sauce like gravy that you can pour over the pork roast when serving.
Whisk in apple cider, then add bay leaves, cinnamon stick, fennel and fresh thyme.
Top it with chicken or vegetable broth and add pork back into the pot.
Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook pork roast at 350 F degrees in the oven covered for about 2 1/2 hours or until fork tender.

Notes

Notes: during this step it is possible that the sugar on the pork will create a burn-like layer on the bottom of the pot. Try browning the pork on medium-low heat. Alternatively, you can do this step in a separate pan, or wash the pot after this step to remove the burned crust. I used a wooden spatula and was able to remove the thin burn-like crust, but it is important that this crust is removed before we go on to the next steps.

Nutrition