I always know when a dish has turned out great…. I forget to get a good photo! We gobble it up and there’s nothing left but some scraps.
This Wine-Braised Pork with Cherry Miso Sauce is one of those dishes. I created this originally for a client dinner on my roof. It was a huge hit!
Since then I’ve re-created this many times, changing the wine from red to white and even to port. It all works. I lean towards using white wine in the summer and early fall, and red wine for the colder, winter months.
It’s hearty, filling and relatively hands-off once you brown the pork. The Cherry Miso Sauce is optional as the sauce is made during the braising. The Cherry Miso brings on a level of sweet and savory. Can’t go wrong either way. Try adding a few simple pickled red onions for a nice crunch and acidity.
Happy eating,
~Monique
Wine-braised Pork with Cherry Miso Glaze
4 lbs boneless pork shoulder (coppa)
Salt and pepper to season
1 tbls olive oil & 1 tbls ghee
1 yellow onion, rough chopped
3 carrots, rough chopped
3 celery stalks, rough chopped
1 tbls tomato paste
1 cup red or white wine
2 tbls 1 to 1 gluten-free flour (or regular flour if gluten isn’t a concern)
1 head of garlic, sliced in half (exposing all of the cloves)
1 bunch parsley
2 cups broth
1 bay leaf
Cut the pork in half lengthwise, then each side into 4 pieces so you have 8 portions. Liberally salt and pepper all sides. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Choose a large Dutch oven or straight-sided skillet with a lid; melt the ghee over medium-high heat and add the olive oil.
Sear four pork portions on each side to form a good golden color. Set aside in a pan to catch the drippings. Repeat with the remaining portions, setting aside with the others.
Add the onions, carrots and celery directly to the hot pan. Saute about 5 minutes or long enough to begin browning. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
Sprinkle in the flour. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up all the brown goodness from the bottom of the pan. Allow the wine to come to a simmer.
Nestle the browned pork portions and the garlic halves into the pan. Pour in enough broth to cover only about half of 3/4 of the pork (don’t cover the pork all the way.) Add in the fresh parsley (stem and all) and bay leaf. Cover and place in the oven. Braise for about 3 hours.
Remove the pan from the oven, and carefully lift the lid to allow the steam to escape. Use tongs and a large slotted spoon to remove each portion of pork to a platter.
Set a strainer over a bowl, and pour the sauce and veggies into the strainer. You can discard the veggies (but I like to squeeze the garlic out of the shells and then snack on the veggies or blend them into a soup the next day.) Adjust the sauce seasoning if needed.
At this point, you can either drizzle some of the sauce over the Wine-braised Pork portions on the platter, or plate them individually and drizzle with sauce. OR you can pour the sauce back into the pan and carefully nestle the pork back in to keep warm for a bit.
I really like to top the Wine-Braised Pork with this Cherry Miso Glaze and/or a few pickled red onions.
Serve with parsnip puree, mashed potatoes, or a cheesy polenta.