Rachael's Daytime Talk Show
Slow-Cooked Maple Pork, Slow-Baked Potatoes with Apples and Onions, Sweet and Savory Red Cabbage and Beets -- 11/30/12

Slow-Cooked Maple Pork, Slow-Baked Potatoes with Apples and Onions, Sweet and Savory Red Cabbage and Beets

Ingredients

  • Slow-Cooked Maple Pork
  • For the Brine:
  • 1 quart apple cider
  • 1/4 cup kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon peppercorns
  • A small handful sage leaves
  • A small handful thyme sprigs
  • A handful parsley
  • 1 large shallot or small onion quartered
  • 3 cloves crushed garlic
  • 1 orange, sliced

  • 1 4- to 5-pound pork shoulder

  • For the Glaze:
  • 1/2 cup dark amber maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup grainy mustard
  • 2 tablespoons coarse black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons dry mustard

  • Slow-Baked Potatoes
  • 3 pounds medium, thin-skinned potatoes
  • EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for liberal drizzling
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 bunch leeks, halved lengthwise, cut into pieces 1 1/2-inches thick

  • Red Cabbage and Beets
  • 1 red cabbage, shredded
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 large beets, grated into large bowl or shredded in a food processor
  • 2 Honeycrisp apples, shredded or grated
  • 1 cup cloudy apple cider
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • Kosher salt and pepper
  • A few juniper berries, optional
  • 2 large fresh bay leaves

Yields: 8-10

Preparation

For the Slow-Cooked Maple Pork:
For the brine, combine ingredients with 1 quart water in a large pot. Heat to dissolve sugar and salt then cool completely. Add pork shoulder and refrigerate over night.

Bring pork to room temp and heat oven to 275ºF.

Combine glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Pat the pork dry and slather with half the glaze. Transfer to a roasting pan and roast 5 hours. Slather with remaining glaze and continue cooking until tender, about 1 hour more. Let cool 30 minutes and shred or slice as you serve.

For the Slow-Baked Potatoes:
Preheat oven to 275ºF. Slow-bake potatoes 3 hours.

Using the bottom of a glass, squash potatoes to crack them open and flatten them a bit. In a skillet, heat EVOO and add in leeks. Cook to wilt. Combine leeks with potatoes in a casserole.

Raise oven temperature to 425ºF and bake until crisp.

For the Red Cabbage and Beets:
Place all ingredients in a pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and wilt cabbage, cover and reduce heat, cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally.