Pork & Apple Stew

Recently, I went to a German restaurant to celebrate my brother's 34th birthday. My mother ordered the special, Pork and Apple stew. I overlooked that for the braised lamb shoulder but I kept it in my mind as it would be a perfect meal to make a few weeks down the line.

It is full-swing Fall here in Milwaukee and I am full-swing into my autumn comfort foods. Slow-braised pork combined with apples and fennel does it for me. You really can't beat that combination for a meal on an October night.

Peeled and cored Granny Smith apples are the apple of choice. They are crisp and hearty and will hold up well in an hour-long simmer. Fennel pairs well with Granny Smiths and after a long stew, the fennel softens up, like onions, and flavors the broth. It really emits the essense of autumnal weather.

You  will need:

• 3 lb pork butt, cut into 1" cubes
• 3 tablespoons vegatable oil
• 1 fennel bulb
• 2 medium onions, diced
• small head of cabbage, chopped
• 1 cup of apple cider
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 2 sprigs of parsley
• salt and pepper

Heat oil in a heavy pot. Season pork with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown the pork on all sides. Transfer to bowl. Add fennel, onions and the cabbage and saute for about 5 minutes. Add cidar to deglaze pan. Make sure to scrape up all the browned bits. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Return pork to the pot along with chicken broth, apples, bay leaves, rosemary and parsley. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1-1.5 hours until pork is tender. Remove rosemary, bay leaves and parsley before serving.

The stew was done after about an hour. The pork was at the right amount of tenderness. It simply melted in my mouth. It can be easy to stew the crap out of the pork and dry it out so moniter it closely. It makes all the difference. The pork should be just as tender as the onions and fennel.

The apples cooked down and became part of the broth. It oozed its sweety, tartiness into the stew but it tempered well and was not too sweet. The rosemary and parsley gave it a nice herbacous touch.

The pork and apple stew is an easy stew to make and you should consider making it a staple during the October month. It is hard to restrain myself from eating more right now but I need to make it last a few days!

A good brew is the beverage of choice.