A family favorite, Oven Braised Pork with Root Vegetables is a comfy, homey dish, full of potatoes and carrots with the most succulent pork you can imagine. It’s truly spoon-tender. And the potatoes with the silky gravy? Talk about comfort.
Oven Braised Pork with Root Vegetables
This sumptuous (and downright cheap) meal is a keeper! It’s one of those “I can’t wait for the weather to cool off so I can make it” recipes.” If you have a meat and potatoes person in your family, they’ll love you for this one!
About Oven Braised Pork with Root Vegetables:
This is a long, low, and slow cooked dish. It’s so perfect on a winter weekend; you can get it going in the afternoon and then let it slowly braise away in the oven until that pork is so beautifully done and the potatoes all browned and roasted.
I love those cold, winter days when the kitchen is all warmed up and the aroma of good cooking wafts through the house, especially when there are winter chores to be done (like shoveling!) or fun activities like playing in the snow with the littles.
oven braised pork with root vegetables
Variations:
While I love this recipe with potatoes and carrots (as shown), which pair so well with the luscious gravy, this is the perfect recipe to toss in some of the other roots as well. Parsnips, turnips, and rutabagas are often ignored and languish in the stores.
I love the tart, tangy bite of a little parsnip and rutabagas are like mild turnips. I still remember my first bite of rutabaga at a friend’s house when I was a teenager. I had to ask what it was and I’ve loved them ever since.
Hints for Success:
When you brown the pork for this, take your time. You’ll want the meat deeply browned for maximum flavor. The browned substance, the fond, that builds up on the bottom of the pan as you brown the meat is the basis for much of the flavor in this simple pork pot roast dinner.
In addition to the fond, the flavor is built up too, from the herbs and wine. Then there is a small little surprise of just a touch of dark jelly at the end. Don’t be tempted to leave it out; if you are unsure if you’d like it, add a wee bit, taste, and then add a tiny bit more. Black currant is my first choice, followed by blackberry, but in a pinch, I’ll add a bit of everyday grape jelly.
That jelly will deepen the flavor but it’s not enough to make the dish “sweet.” That jelly just adds a little sumpin’ sumpin’ that’s unidentifiable in the final dish but is going to elevate that luscious gravy into something totally crave-able!
Leftovers:
This recipe makes enough for four to six people, but by all means, increase it if you want leftovers. Long, slow braises like this generally are even better the next day. That practically screams to maximize time by doubling the recipe.
- Store in the fridge for up to four days. Reheat individual portions gently in the microwave, stopping to rearrange as they heat. Gravy can be finicky if over-heated.
- For larger amounts, add a little water and simmer on low, covered, gently turning the meal in the pan several times, until just warmed through.
- To freeze, add the meal or portions, to containers and to minimize ice crystals, freeze after cooling in the fridge. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Saving Money on Oven Braised Pork with Root Vegetables:
You can probably easily bring this Oven Braised Pork with Root Vegetables for about a third of the cost of a beef chuck pot roast dinner. I priced this recipe in April 2010 at $4.75 & remade in April 2014 for $6.87.
Pork Shoulder:
Competitively shop for pork, paying attention, especially, to the times below:
- One of the cheapest proteins to be found. The lowest prices are in the fall after harvest and a month or so before any big holiday when ham is served, Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. Something has to be done with the rest of the animal. Know the pricing in your area and take advantage of sales.
- This recipe uses just 2 1/2 pounds of shoulder; you might not be able to buy one that small. Learn how to deal with it and break down a larger pork shoulder Pork Shoulder (also called Boston Butt) on Large Pork Roasts.
- Maximize your dollar by doubling this recipe or make something different, maybe a pulled pork, with the rest.
Vegetables:
If there’s an Aldi or Lidl nearby you cannot go wrong!
- I always look for onions, carrots, and potatoes in larger bags. They’re usually cheaper per pound. Check the bags carefully to make sure none of the vegetables are damaged or showing signs of rot.
- Keep the potatoes and onions away from each other, in a dark, well-ventilated area.
- Carrots go in the fridge; watch so they don’t languish on the bottom of the veggie drawer. Poke holes in the bag, and turn them now and then so they don’t sit in condensation.
Wine:
- It pays to sign up for emails, watch the flyers, and know when the best sales are, usually a minor one in the fall and the major one in the Spring, often late February to early March. Check the bargain bins.
- Most importantly, talk to the wine guy in the store; his/her job is to keep you coming back not to sell you the priciest thing. A good one will ask you your price range and what you’re making and direct you to options from the classic pairings to more unusual ones you may not have thought of or known about.
- Cooking is an ideal way to use a partial bottle of leftover wine.
Oven Braised Pork with Root Vegetables
Oven Braised Pork with Root Vegetables
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: appox 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
- Category: Pork Main Dish
- Method: Braise
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds (about) of pork shoulder, cut into 6 large pieces
- salt & pepper (don’t be stingy here, especially if using homemade stock)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup (or so) red wine (or substitute water)
- 1 1/2 cups pork, beef or chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 small sprigs thyme, or about 1/4 teaspoon dried
- 6 carrots, cut into large chunks
- 6 medium potatoes, peeled
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dark jelly such as blackberry or black currant, optional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Pat the pork dry and season well with salt and pepper, brown on all sides in pan, working in batches if necessary. Transfer pork to a plate.
Add onion and celery to the pot. Sweat till softened, five to seven minutes. Add garlic and sweat another minute or two. Stir in the tomato paste, cook till lightly caramelized, about three minutes.
Watch this carefully, you will need to stir it and work it. It’s a fine line between caramelized and burnt. Dust with flour, cook a short minute or two to cook off any raw flavor, stirring. Have your wine or liquid ready; it will cool things off quickly if it looks like there is danger of burning.
Whisk in wine or water, scraping bottom of pan, simmer till reduced by half. Add the stock or broth. Return the pork to the pan with any juices, add bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Add water to bring the level of the liquid to just near the top of the pork, but do not allow the liquid to cover the meat.
Cover and place in oven to braise for two & half to three hours total at 325 degrees, until meat is fork tender. After an hour and 45 minutes in the oven, add in the potatoes and carrots. To promote browning of the vegetables, turn them in the sauce as you put them in. Check the liquid level and add a bit of additional water, if needed. It should be about halfway up the meat at this point.
Check it for doneness and liquid level again at about 2 and 1/2 hours. Depending on how hot your oven runs, it may be close to being done.
When meat is tender, transfer meat, potatoes, and large carrots to platter, reseason if necessary. Remove bay leaves and thyme stems, defat sauce, and taste. If it seems a little flat, stir in the jam, it is a “stealth” ingredient and adds richness and rounds out the flavor; you won’t recognize it the dish.
You may force the sauce with its diced vegetables through a sieve for a smoother consistency, or pass just as is, as I usually do.
Nutritional Analysis per serving: Note: this analysis does not take into account defatting the sauce) Calories 779; Total Fat 34 g 53 %; Saturated Fat 4 g 18 %; Monounsaturated Fat 16 g; Polyunsaturated Fat 4 g; Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 164 mg 55 %; Sodium 328 mg 14 %; Potassium 1952 mg 56 %; Total Carbohydrate 54 g 18 %; Dietary Fiber 5 g 21 %; Sugars 7 g; Protein 52 g 104 %; Vitamin A 150 %; Vitamin C 84 %; Calcium 11 % Iron 29 %
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