Chef John's Pumpkin-Braised Pork Recipe

Recipesfull introduces to you: Popular Recipes. (Chef John's Pumpkin-Braised Pork Recipe). You'll see this titled 'Pig in a Pumpkin' on the blog even though we're not using a whole pig, we're using a whole pumpkin! If you're looking for a fun, and very seasonably appropriate way to cook some pork shoulder, I can't think of a better, or more beautiful one, which is why I really hope you give this a try soon. Season the pork any way you want. I plated mine up with buttery mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

Brief

Prep 15 mins

Cook: 4hrs15 mins

Additional: 8hrs15 mins

Total: 12hrs45 mins

Servings: 10

Yield: 10 servings

Chef John's Pumpkin-Braised Pork Recipe

Ingredients

3 ½ pounds boneless pork shoulder

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

⅓ cup thinly sliced shallots

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 volleyball-sized sugar pumpkin

2 cups hard apple cider

or more as needed

Meat and Poultry

Directions

Step 1

Cut pork into large chunks. Place in a bowl. Add salt pepper cayenne thyme fennel seeds rosemary and shallots. Mix thoroughly and cover pork with parchment paper. Refrigerate to let flavors develop 8 hours to overnight.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Step 3

Add flour to pork and mix to coat. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook pork in 2 batches until browned about 3 minutes per side.

Step 4

Insert the tip of a knife at a 45-degree angle into the top half of the pumpkin. Slowly cut all the way around to remove the 'lid'. Scrape seeds and fibers off the bottom of the lid and inside of the pumpkin using a large spoon or ice cream scoop.

Step 5

Line the bottom of a baking pan with parchment paper and place pumpkin on top. Stuff the pumpkin with the browned pork; pour in cider. Cover with the top.

Step 6

Bake in the preheated oven until pork is very tender about 4 hours. Pour in a little more cider after a few hours in the oven since a lot of it evaporates. Remove from the oven and let rest; brush pumpkin with some of the rendered fat from the bottom of the pan.

Step 7

Scoop pork onto serving plates and cut out pieces of pumpkin to serve alongside. Combine remaining rendered fat with cooking liquid from inside the pumpkin. Let sauce rest for a few minutes so you can skim off most of the fat. Spoon sauce over the pork.

Nutritional Information

Chef John's Pumpkin-Braised Pork Recipe

Servings Per Recipe:10

Calories: 348.2

% Daily Value *

Protein: 20.2g 40%

Carbohydrates: 29.3g 9%

Dietary Fiber: 2.1g 9%

Sugars: 8.2g

Fat: 16.6g 26%

Saturated Fat: 5.8g 29%

Cholesterol: 62.5mg 21%

Vitamin A Iu: 26915.1IU 538%

Niacin Equivalents: 9.1mg 70%

Vitamin B6: 0.4mg 28%

Vitamin C: 33.7mg 56%

Folate: 66.7mcg 17%

Calcium: 101.3mg 10%

Iron: 4.2mg 24%

Magnesium: 59.5mg 21%

Potassium: 1493.9mg 42%

Sodium: 631.9mg 25%

Thiamin: 0.6mg 60%

Calories From Fat: 149.8

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.