AUTUMN PORK STEW WITH APPLES, TURNIPS, AND MUSTARD

AUTUMN PORK STEW WITH APPLES, TURNIPS, AND MUSTARD image

Number Of Ingredients 18

Ingredients

Serves 6
Baking apples like Baldwin, Cortland, Golden Delicious, and Jonagold will all hold their shape in this stew.
*3 slices (about 3 ounces) bacon, cut crosswise into small strips
*3½ pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch chunks
*Salt and pepper
*3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
*2tablespoons canola oil
*2 medium onions, chopped
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*1 teaspoon dried thyme
*2 bay leaves
*1½ cups (1 bottle) lager beer
*1 cup fresh apple cider
*½ pound baby carrots
*5 small (3 inches or less) turnips (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into ¾-inch wedges
*2 large baking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¾-inch wedges
*1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
*1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Steps:

In a large, heavy Dutch oven over medium heat, fry the bacon until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove and drain the bacon, leaving the fat in the pot. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss the pork with 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and the flour to coat, and set aside. Increase the heat to medium-high, add half of the pork in a single layer (do not crowd), and cook without moving until deeply browned on the bottom, about 3½ minutes. Turn the pieces and cook, again without moving, until second side is deeply browned, about 3½ minutes longer. Remove pork to a clean medium bowl, add a tablespoon of oil to the pot, and repeat with the rest of the pork, reducing the heat if the drippings begin to burn. Return the pot to medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of oil, and add the onions. Cook until just starting to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, and bay leaves, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 40 seconds. Add the beer and cider, increase the heat to high, and, using a wooden spoon, scrape any stuck bits from the bottom of the pot, about 2 minutes. Add the cooked pork with accumulated juices, submerge it in the liquid, bring to a boil, reduce heat to very low, cover pot, and simmer until the pork is tender, 1½ to 2 hours. Tip the pot and spoon off as much fat as possible. Add the carrots and turnips, submerge them in the liquid, cover the pot, increase the heat to medium, and cook until the vegetables are just becoming tender, about 15 minutes. Add the apples, submerging them in the liquid, cover the pot, and continue cooking until carrots, turnips, and apples are all tender but not mushy, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Add the mustard and most of the parsley and stir to mix, taste the stew and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary, and serve at once, sprinkling each portion with some of the cooked bacon and the remaining parsley.