Braised Pork with Barbecue Sauce and Pineapple Relish

This recipe has many advantages, but before I get into all of that, here is a birthday shout out to my brother! I won’t say how old he is turning today, but he is my senior and someone I always look up to….not only because he is taller, but because he is such a good person. He looks out for people and loves his family. Although he might not like to hear the mushy stuff, I love you, big bro! 😀

Ok, so now back to the food for today! It is brought to you by a friend of mine. A friend I met through another friend. These two friends are finally getting married this summer–yay! She is so fun and the perfect match for my other friend. Anyway, she brought this meal over one night while I was pregnant. So, here’s the thing. I don’t like pork. I am so-so with bacon (not a fan of it on its own, but ok in stuff), and can barely tolerate ham. But, K is a huge fan. But, she made it for us, so of course I was going to have some. It ended up being really good! I asked her for the recipe, and meant to make it sooner, but apparently I’ve been busy and didn’t have time to learn how to deal with pork.

I eventually made it, but with a couple changes. K and I were both thinking my barbecue sauce would go nicely with it, so I added that.

I also made a couple changes in the relish. But at the end of it, K loved it. Still good, and the barbecue sauce just made it a bit different. You could leave it out and serve with the braising sauce instead. K just happens to love barbecue. Well…the other change is that I’m not pregnant anymore. And apparently my pregnant tastebuds were okay with pork. Non-pregnant me? Still not. Oops. Oh well. It was ok, and just goes to show that pregnancy does weird stuff to you–haha!

Some perks to the dish are that you can prep things ahead of time…

and it is like a slow cooker with the braising in the oven, so I could start it and forget about it while I played with the Fudgelet. I also like recipes that work smoothly together–the pineapple juice for the pork? Yeah, it comes from the canned pineapple in the relish. Very cool.

So, if you like pork…or are pregnant and didn’t like pork previously, you should try this!

Directions for Braised Pork with Barbecue Sauce and Pineapple Relish

Braised Pork

• 1.5 pounds pork shoulder or Boston pork butt, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1-1.5 cups chopped onion
• 2-inch piece ginger, sliced
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Oil
• Barbecue sauce

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a bowl, stir together the brown sugar, salt, paprika, cumin, coriander, and pepper.

Sprinkle over the pork pieces.

In a Dutch oven, or similar pot, heat oil over medium heat. Brown the pork pieces in batches.

Set the pork aside, then add a bit of oil to the pot and add the onion, ginger, and garlic.

Stir, cooking for 2 minutes then add the pineapple juice and chicken broth.

Return the pork to the pot and braise in the oven until the pork is tender (3 hours).

Remove the pork pieces from the pot and place on a baking sheet.

Coat with the barbecue sauce and broil until the tops are browned, but not burned.

 

Serve with the relish (below).

Pineapple Relish

• 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 Tablespoon peeled and minced ginger
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1/2 red onion, diced (I left out for my husband)
• Salt and pepper

The directions said to “use a grill pan over high heat, alternatively you can use the oven at high heat for the pineapple” but this didn’t work. Next time I would just use the pineapple as is. Then add it to a bowl with the cilantro, ginger, lime juice, and onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

 

Directions for Braised Pork with Barbecue Sauce and Pineapple Relish (without pictures)

Braised Pork

• 1.5 pounds pork shoulder or Boston pork butt, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1-1.5 cups chopped onion
• 2-inch piece ginger, sliced
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Oil
• Barbecue sauce

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a bowl, stir together the brown sugar, salt, paprika, cumin, coriander, and pepper. Sprinkle over the pork pieces. In a Dutch oven, or similar pot, heat oil over medium heat. Brown the pork pieces in batches. Set the pork aside, then add a bit of oil to the pot and add the onion, ginger, and garlic. Stir, cooking for 2 minutes then add the pineapple juice and chicken broth. Return the pork to the pot and braise in the oven until the pork is tender (3 hours).

Remove the pork pieces from the pot and place on a baking sheet. Coat with the barbecue sauce and broil until the tops are browned, but not burned. Serve with the relish (below).

Pineapple Relish

• 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 Tablespoon peeled and minced ginger
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1/2 red onion, diced (I left out for my husband)
• Salt and pepper

The directions said to “use a grill pan over high heat, alternatively you can use the oven at high heat for the pineapple” but this didn’t work. Next time I would just use the pineapple as is. Then add it to a bowl with the cilantro, ginger, lime juice, and onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste.