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Chef John's Pumpkin-Braised Pork
Chef John's Pumpkin-Braised Pork
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Prep Time:
15 minutes
Cook Time:
255 minutes
Total Time:
765 minutes
Delicious fall dish: Stuffed pumpkin with seasoned pork cooked in hard cider, slow-baked to perfection.
Ingredients:
  • 3.5 pounds boneless pork shoulder
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 0.25 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 0.5 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
  • 0.33333334326744 cup thinly sliced shallots
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 volleyball-sized sugar pumpkin
  • 2 cups hard apple cider, or more as needed
Instructions:
  • Cube the pork. Toss it in a bowl with salt, pepper, cayenne, thyme, fennel seeds, rosemary, and shallots. Mix well and cover with parchment paper. Chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight to enhance the flavors.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) for the perfect cooking temperature.
  • Coat pork with flour and mix well. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, then cook pork in 2 batches until browned on each side for about 3 minutes.
  • Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the top off the pumpkin at a 45-degree angle and remove the lid. Scrape out the seeds and fibers from the lid and inside the pumpkin using a large spoon or ice cream scoop.
  • Layer the baking pan with parchment paper and nestle the pumpkin inside. Fill the pumpkin with the browned pork and pour in the cider before sealing with the pumpkin top.
  • Roast pork in the preheated oven until incredibly tender, approximately 4 hours. Drizzle in additional cider halfway through cooking to compensate for evaporation. Rest the pork after removing from the oven; baste pumpkin with rendered fat from the pan.
  • Serve the pork on plates, with pumpkin on the side. Mix remaining fat with cooking liquid from the pumpkin and let sauce sit for a few minutes to skim off excess fat. Pour sauce over the pork before serving.

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