Berkshire Pork Bourguignon - a delicious Berkshire Pork Shoulder Recipe

Recently a friend of mine inspired me to make Julia Childs beef bourguignon. I had always thought it would be too difficult to make - I found it easy but very time-consuming but omg it is sooo delicious. I am now so obsessed with it I am even curing my own small slab of bacon just for this recipe.

Our beef supply is low so I tried it with some of our Berkshire pork Shoulder. (Searches on the interweb told me that pork doesn’t work in this recipe - maybe commercially raised pork won’t but our Berkshire pork shoulder was amazing.

I have also made this in the Instant pot and finished it in the oven - It was delicious even straight out of the IP - though it doesn’t have the nice crust and doesn’t thicken.

To make the pork in the instant pot -

• Saute the meat following the directions for browning then put on meat setting for 1 hour - let pressure release naturally.

• Take out some of the extra gravy to cook the onions in and then put the meat in the oven while you prepare the onions and mushrooms.

I am sure this will also work in the slow cooker too - I melted mine so I need a volunteer to test it for me lol.

Ingredients

For the Berkshire Pork

• 6 ounces unsmoked Berkshire bacon (British style) cut into small pieces

• 2-3 pounds Berkshire Pork Shoulder or leg cut into 1-inch cubes

• 1 tablespoon lard or olive oil

• 1 carrot peeled and sliced

• 1 small onion peeled and sliced

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

• 2 tablespoons flour

• 2 1/2 cups red wine full-bodied

• 2-3 cups stock or broth (I usually use homemade pork or chicken stock)

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 2 cloves garlic crushed

• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

• 2 bay leaves

For the onions

• 6 ounces pearl onions peeled

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 4 sprigs parsley (or 1 tbsp dried parsley)

• 1/4 tsp dried thyme

• 1/2 bay leaf

• 1/2 cup broth or stock

For the mushrooms

• 1 pound white mushrooms quartered

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 450°.

• In a large dutch oven, heat the lard or olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook for several minutes until lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon (leave the bacon fat in the pan to brown the pork.)

• Brown the Berkshire pork shoulder in the bacon fat/lard - don’t overcrowd the pan - brown in batches and put browned pork with bacon. Continue until all the pork has been browned.

• Add the onions and carrots to the dutch oven and brown them, stirring occasionally.

• Return the pork, bacon and any drippings to the dutch oven.

• Add the salt and pepper and stir to combine. Sprinkle with the flour and stir until the meat and vegetables are well coated. Put the dutch oven uncovered into the hot oven and cook for 4 minutes. Stir the contents of the pot and continue to cook for an additional 4 minutes. (this will give the meat a nice crust).

• Reduce the oven temperature to 325°.

• Add the wine to the pot and add enough pork stock to barely cover the meat. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, thyme and bay leaves. Cover the pot tightly with a lid and place back in the oven. Braise for 3-4 hours or until the pork is tender.

• While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.

For the onions

• In a large frying pan, heat the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat until the foam has subsided from the pan.

• Add the peeled onions and cook until they are lightly browned. Add the herbs, bay leaf and stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to a medium-low, cover and cook for 30-40 minutes -- until most of the liquid has evaporated. Transfer the onions to a bowl and set aside.

For the mushrooms

• In a large frying pan heat half the olive oil and butter until the foam from the butter begins to subside.

• Add half the mushrooms to the pan and cook until browned. They will first absorb the oil, and then begin to brown... do not crowd the mushrooms in the pan.

• Transfer cooked mushrooms to the same bowl as the onions. Continue with the remaining mushrooms, by heating the oil and butter until the foam subsides, adding the mushrooms and then browning them evenly.

• When the meat is tender, take out the bay leaves and add the mushrooms and onions

• Heat the contents through on the stovetop and serve with crusty bread and a good red wine.

I also served this with buttery mashed potatoes and Yorkshire puddings - it would also make a great pie filling!

Let me know if you tried it!