Slow-Cooker Braised Pork With Prunes and Orange

Name: Slow-Cooker Braised Pork With Prunes and Orange
Total time: 4 h 15 min
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup sherry vinegar; 1/2 cup dry red wine; 3 pounds boneless, skinless pork shoulder, fat trimmed, cut into 2- to 3-inch chunks; 2 large shallots, minced; 1 orange, for 3 (3- to 4-inch) strips orange zest plus peeled, chopped orange segments, for topping, optional; 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning; Black pepper; 1 1/2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar; 5 1/2 ounces prunes (about 1 cup); 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

By Sarah DiGregorio

Updated Feb. 23, 2023

Slow-Cooker Braised Pork With Prunes and Orange — Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 4¼ hours
Rating: 5(149)
Comments: Read comments

This tart-sweet braise is inspired by porc aux pruneaux, a classic French dish, which usually involves soaking prunes in tawny port before adding them to a sauce for pork. Here, the prunes are soaked in a mix of vinegar and brown sugar, a less expensive way to amplify their mellow sweet-sour flavor. (But by all means, use tawny port instead of the vinegar-sugar combo if you like!) This slow-cooker version employs a quick microwave roux for just a bit of thickening power, and is fragrant with orange zest and tart from a generous amount of sherry vinegar to balance the richness of the pork and dried fruit. Serve pork and sauce over polenta or with seeded bread.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

3tablespoons unsalted butter
3tablespoons all-purpose flour
½cup sherry vinegar
½cup dry red wine
3pounds boneless, skinless pork shoulder, fat trimmed, cut into 2- to 3-inch chunks
2large shallots, minced
1orange, for 3 (3- to 4-inch) strips orange zest plus peeled, chopped orange segments, for topping, optional
2sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
Black pepper
1½tablespoons packed light brown sugar
5½ounces prunes (about 1 cup)
⅓cup chopped fresh parsley

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Put the butter in a microwave-safe bowl or large liquid measuring cup and melt it in the microwave, about 1 minute. Stir in the flour until the mixture looks like cake batter and microwave 15 to 30 seconds, just to warm the flour. Scrape the mixture out into a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker.
Step 2
Whisk ¼ cup of the sherry vinegar and the red wine into the roux in the slow cooker. Stir in the pork, shallots, orange zest, thyme, salt and several generous grinds of black pepper. Cover the slow cooker and set to cook on high for 4 hours.
Step 3
Meanwhile, stir together the remaining ¼ cup sherry vinegar, the brown sugar and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the prunes and set aside.
Step 4
About an hour before the pork is done, using a slotted spoon, add the soaked prunes to the slow cooker, along with about 1½ tablespoons of the soaking liquid. (Discard the remaining liquid or save it for a salad dressing.) Continue to cook until the pork is tender and the flavors are blended. If you would like to reduce the sauce, you can keep the slow cooker on high, remove the lid, and let it bubble for 10 to 20 minutes. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs. Stir in the parsley and serve with chopped orange segments, if desired.

Tip

For extra depth and texture, sear the pork first: Working in batches, sear the meat in a large skillet in two tablespoons of vegetable oil, without disturbing, for 5 minutes. (No need to sear more than one side.) Transfer the pork to the slow cooker; after the second batch, deglaze the pan with the ¼ cup sherry vinegar and ½ cup red wine, stirring to scrape up any browned bits, then scrape the mixture into the slow cooker. Proceed from there as the recipe directs.

Ratings

5 out of 5

149 user ratings

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Comments

Stacy2 years ago

This was just perfect in every day. Bright and deep and rich and tender. Served it over polenta and loved every bite. My husband went back for more 3 times.

Stacey2 years ago

Definitely a keeper for my family - this was a huge hit. I stuck to the recipe with the following exceptions: - used two pork tenderloins because my local grocer never has pork shoulder - soaked the prunes in half tawny port and half vinegar/brown sugar (using up a bottle of port) - used white wine vinegar because my grocery also has no sherry vinegar - ah, rural living

Alison R.1 year ago

Put this in the pressure cooker, 40 min on high, with the prunes in from the beginning (soaked for about 30 min) with all their liquid. Seared the pork in the same insert first. Used red wine vinegar instead of sherry vinegar because it’s what I had. Turned out wonderfully! Served over polenta with a side of roasted broccoli. Was even better the second and third day.

Lisa in CT2 days ago

A bit too much vinegar and salt for my taste. Next time I will add chicken stock in lieu of some of the vinegar, and limit the salt. Used dates because that was what I had but would not use them again. The skins on them stayed on the tough side. Prunes would be much better.

Blinesmom3 months ago

Sauce was delicious. I made the mistake of using boneless pork loin…not enough fat to keep it juicy:/ don’t do that.

Regina4 months ago

This is INCREDIBLE. We do the optional step of browning the pork pieces and deglazing the pan with the wine and sherry mixture afterwards to get all those browned bits into the sauce. Then we dump it all into the slow cooker with the orange peel, shallots and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. It is so so good and perfect for a dinner party. My 6 and 2 year olds even love it. So easy but feels fancy and tastes delicious!

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