Braised Pork With Ruby Choucroute

This delicious meal should be on your next Sunday dinner menu.



Becky Low shares how to make braised pork with a pickled cabbage.

Braised Pork With Ruby Choucroute
1 cup water
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 clove minced garlic
¼ cup salt
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup ice cubes
2 cups apple cider
2-3 pound pork roast
2 tablespoons oil
1½ – 2 pounds Sweet n Sour Red Cabbage* or Sauerkraut
Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes (see recipe below)
Cider jus (see recipe below)

Brine pork from 3-24 hours for best flavor. Bring water, peppercorns, cloves, thyme, garlic, salt, and brown sugar to a boil. Stir to dissolve sugar and salt. Add ice cubes and apple cider, cool. Place pork in large ziplock bag, add brine, squeeze out excess air and seal closed. Place bag in a pan – in case the bag leaks. Refrigerate from 3-24 hours.



Prepare Sweet n Sour Red Cabbage (see recipe below).



Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Drain brine from pork and discard brine; pat dry pork with a paper towel. Season to taste with salt and pepper (careful with salt, brining the meat adds salt).



Heat oil on high in dutch oven or roasting pan. Carefully place pork in hot pan and sear all sides (about 5-10 minutes per side). Remove pork from the dutch oven. Place Sweet n Sour Cabbage (or sauerkraut) in bottom of dutch oven. Nestle pork on top of cabbage; cover and place in oven to roast until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees (depending on thickness of meat, 1-3 hours)



Remove from oven and rest for 5-10 minutes.



Place Cream Cheese mashed potatoes on plates, add red cabbage, top with slices of pork. If desired, drizzle with cider jus.



Notes:

* Ruby choucroute is pickled red cabbage or sauerkraut. Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage is a mild substitute. Prepare Sweet n Sour Cabbage or purchase sauerkraut of your choice. Recipe serves 6-8
Sweet ‘n Sour Red Cabbage
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1½ – 2 pound head red cabbage
1 medium raw peeled beet, optional
1 teaspoon caraway seeds, optional
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup apple cider

Melt butter over medium to medium low heat in a large dutch oven with a lid; add onion and saute until softened (about 8-10 minutes). Remove core and shred cabbage (about ⅛-inch thick shreds, or to preference). Peel optional beet, remove top and tail, shred. Add cabbage, beet and all remaining ingredients to dutch oven. Cover and cook over low heat for about 45 minutes or until tender.
Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes
3 pounds russet potatoes (about 6-cups diced)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 package (8-oz) cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup half n half
Milk, to thin as desired

Peel potatoes, cut into chunks and place in saucepan. Add water until it is visible around potatoes in the pan, but not covering potatoes; salt to taste (1-2 teaspoons). Cover pan and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and gently boil until potatoes are fork tender (about 20 minutes).



Drain excess cooking liquid; add cream cheese, butter and half n half; mash. Season to taste with salt and pepper (may like to try garlic salt), thin to desired consistency with a little milk, mashing and stirring.
Cider jus
1 ½ cups apple cider
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup maple syrup
1-3 teaspoons cornstarch

Place apple cider and apple cider vinegar in saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce volume by about one half. Add maple syrup. If desired, to thicken, mix cornstarch with a little cool apple cider and stir into reduced jus; stirring, bring to a boil. Jus will be slightly thickened and clear.



Becky Low represents The Dairy Council of Utah/Nevada. For delicious dairy recipes and nutrition information go to
www.dairycouncilutnv.com or Facebook www.facebook.com/DairyUTNV.
For nutrition research go to www.nationaldairycouncil.org.

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