Recipe: Braised Pork Shoulder with Mustard Reduction Sauce

A while back, I posted up on Twitter that I was going to slow cook some pork shoulder in the oven.  The response that came back was really obnoxious… people writing that at least I wasn’t calling it barbecue or asking why I would do such a thing to a good cut of pork.  One person even went so far as to let me know that I wouldn’t enjoy the dish at all since it wasn’t going to be cooked over a grill.  Apparently in the Twitter world, BBQ purists are very vocal.  Well, all that nonsense aside, this recipe turned out really well.  Good enough for me to proudly post on the site.  That being said, let’s get to it.

When you are going to braise or slow cook anything, planning is really the key.  You’ve got to start cooking early enough in the day for the meat to tenderize and break down through low heat cooking, otherwise you’ll end up with some tough, chewy meat.  To plan for this, you need to know how much your cut of pork weighs and schedule about 45 minutes per pound.  I was cooking a six pound, bone-in shoulder so I planned on about four and a half hours of cooking time.  Add to that another hour to bring the meat up to room temperature, bringing the total time to about five and a half hours.

For this recipe, we are going to use a wet rub on the shoulder.  This rub is more like a paste and spreads on very easily.  We will be braising the shoulder in a mixture of apple juice and apple cider vinegar.  Only use 100% apple juice for this recipe- if you have an apple juice blend it will be too sweet.  For the vinegar, I always find that Bragg’s is the best brand simply because it has the best apple flavor.

Ingredients for the wet rub:

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon whole mustard seed

1/4 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Ingredients to braise the pork shoulder:

One 4-6 pound pork shoulder. Bone-in adds more flavor.

2 cups 100% apple juice

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Ingredients for the mustard reduction:

2 cups of the cooking liquid, strained

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon whole mustard seed

1 tablespoon butter

Okay, so let’s get the oven fired up to 400 degrees. Take the meat out of the fridge and pat it dry with paper towels. Spread the wet rub all over the top and sides. Allow the meat to sit on the counter for about an hour to get to room temperature.

Smear the wet rub all over the meat. Let sit to come to room temp. Photo by Scott Groth

Place the meat in a roasting pan and add in the apple juice and apple cider vinegar. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. I used the heavy duty wide foil- it just seems to work better for me when using the roasting pan. Toss the roast into the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 215 degrees. We are going to cook this shoulder slow and low.

When you have cooked the shoulder for about 45 minutes per pound, take the roasting pan out of the oven. Using an instant read thermometer, check that the internal temperature is about 140 to 145 degrees. The roast will continue to cook out of the oven through carry-over cooking. Taking it to 160 or 165 will result in dried out meat. PLEASE cook the meat to your desired temperature- if you feel better cooking it to 150 or 155, do it that way. However you cook it, be sure to let the roast rest in the cooking liquid for about 10 to 15 minutes before cutting. Move the roast to a platter or carving board.

Let the meat rest in the juice. I had to take a little piece to try- delicious! Photo by Scott Groth

Next, we need to degrease the cooking juice. I use a gravy separator as it is the easiest means to this end. Once you have removed the fat from the cooking liquid, toss it back into the roasting pan. Place the pan on a burner, or if the pan is large enough place it on two burners. Turn the heat to medium and begin to reduce the juices. While the juices are reducing, add in the Dijon mustard.

Start to reduce the sauce over the stove. Photo by Scott Groth

When the sauce has reduced by about 1/2, add in the cream and mustard seed. You will need to stir frequently now. As soon as the sauce coats the back of a spoon, turn off the heat and whisk in the butter. You should now have a sauce which has a ton of flavor and depth.

You know the sauce is ready when it leaves trails when you stir. Photo by Scott Groth

For this particular dish, we chunked the meat rather than slicing or shredding. It was served over a bed of long grained wild rice which I cooked in chicken stock. With the rice, the delicious juicy meat and awesome pan sauce drizzled over the top, you can’t go wrong with this dish. Eat it up and enjoy!

Braised pork shoulder over wild rice. This was a pretty good dinner. Photo by Scott Groth