Braised Pickled Pork

Up until coming across this recipe on an episode of Better Homes and Gardens I cannot even remember ever having eaten pickled pork let alone attempting to cook it myself. Both Noel and I loved the idea of cooking something.

It seemed very easy to prepare and was another slow cooker recipe so it was definately up our alley. Needless to say it wasn't long before we tried it and I must say it has been a regular meal in our house ever since.

Although we enjoy this meal I have to admit the first time we cooked this recipe we found it very salty due to the pickling/curing process used by the butcher. Now we actually soak the peice of pork in a saucepan full of cold water (ensure meat is fully covered) overnight and drain well prior to cooking. This reduces the content of salt in the meal considerably.

Braised Pickled Pork

(recipe source: Better Homes and Gardens)

Serves: 6

Points per serve: 4.5

1 kilogram pickled pork

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 carrots, peeled and chopped into 2.5cm pieces

1 stick celery, finely sliced

1 red onion, diced

6 cloved of garlic, skin removed

1/2 bunch fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

10 black peppercorns

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 cup red wine

3 cups chicken stock

Heat olive oil in a large heavy based pan. Add the pickled pork and brown well on all sides. Remove and set aside.

To the same pan add the carrots, celery, red onion, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns and cook for 2 - 3 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to capture the pan juices. Add tomato paste and red wine, stirring to combine for 1 minute.

Slow cooker: Place the pork in the slow cooker dish, top with wine mixture and add chicken stock. Cook on high for 4 - 5 hours or on high for 7 - 8 hours.

Stove Top: Return the pork to the pot with 3 cups of chicken stock. Simmer for 2 hours.

Served sliced with the vegetables from the pot.