Happy Friday, cowboys and girls. Hope you had a terrific week, and if in New England, are enjoying the pleasant temps and scenic foliage. Just a lot to like going on. This weekend, we plan on doing some beautification on the homestead, clearing some brush, and opening up some views. It’s always a good day when I get to breakout the chainsaw, so I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.
Here’s a nice little recipe for the weekend, making use of some apples you’ve maybe picked. It’s from NYT Cooking, of course, but slightly simplified. What are we making, you might ask? Peruvian Pork Stew!
Cut a big honkin’ pork shoulder or butt into chunks. Season with salt and pepper, or whatever pork seasoning you like (I used Holy Voodoo) In a cast iron pan with olive oil, brown these bad boys and remove to your slow cooker. While these are browning, roughly chop an onion, and peel and chop a couple of apples. Throw those into the same pan you browned the pork in until they’re just tender, then add them to the slow cooker with the meat.
Dump in about 4 cups of chicken stock and whatever chilies you have on hand (the recipe calls for dried ancho, but I bet you could use canned hatch just as easily), and turn your slow cooker to low and let this do it’s thing for 6+ hours. You can enjoy with rice, or, like we did, some hearty greens.
This is kinda cool, because the apples essentially dissolve and add some depth to the chicken/pork stock. I bet if you used a bone-in shoulder, adding the bone to the simmer would be even better.
We also had this as leftovers for lunch, and mixed it up with some Japanese noodles for a pseudo-ramen style soup, as you can see in the photo. I think if you added some mushrooms (fresh, browned with the pork, or dried, added to the slow cooker) it would be pretty solid. Anyway, experiment and let me know what you think.
Here’s some stuff to read.
Finding the world’s tallest peak [Atlas Obscura]
… and how to make a Mountain [Uncrate]
… but, live like Laird Hamilton [Men’s Health]
On happiness [BBC]