What's on the Grill #258: Slow Cooked Pork with Cabbage, Apples, & Cider

Hello, 2013.  It's hard to believe you are here, mostly because I have no idea where the last few weeks of 2012 went.

We experienced an Isle of Wight invasion for the holidays, with Zoë's family coming stateside for Christmas.  We went from a house population of two to nine.  It was crazy, it was fun, and it was busy. We also cooked.  A lot.  

Of all the dinners we worked through, a few of them are worth sharing.  They are also the only meals I had time to photograph.  The first is a grilling take on slow cooked pork, thanks to my friends at Angry Orchard.

Slow Cooked Pork with Cabbage, Apples, & Cider

Adapted from Chef Andrew Urbanetti

2 tbls canola oil
Bone-in, skinless pork shoulder, aka Boston Butt, approximately  5 pounds
2 large, white onions, medium dice
6 garlic cloves, smashed
6 thyme sprigs
2 bottles of Angry Orchard Dry Cider
4 ounces apple cider vinegar
1 small red cabbage, quartered, cored, and julienned
2 green delicious apples, peeled and chopped
4 tbls unsalted butter
salt and pepper

Chief Urbanetti's recipe calls for using a dutch oven in the oven.  As I tend to do, I take cooking outside and forgo the oven for the grill.  Either way will work, as would the substitution of a slow cooker, or crock pot, for the dutch oven.  

Pre-heat grill to indirect-medium low, about 250 F.

In a dutch oven, heat canola oil over high heat until shimmering.  The grill's side burner works great.

Generously season pork with salt and pepper.  

Brown on all sides.  Remove and set aside.

Carefully pour off remaining oil.

Add onions, garlic, and thyme; lower heat to medium and cook until lightly browned and softened, about 5 minutes.

Raise heat to high, add cider and cider vinegar, and scrape up any remaining brown bits on the bottom of the pan. 

Carefully place pork in dutch oven, cover, and place on grill.

Cook for about 5 hours, checking every so often. 

Pork is ready when it falls apart easily with a fork.  When ready, remove dutch oven from grill, and carefully lift pork out; set aside. Remove and discard any large sprigs of thyme.

Add cabbage to the pan, and place back on the grill, with the dutch oven uncovered, but the grill lid down. When pork is cool enough to handle, remove bone (it should slide out very easily), and roughly chop meat, removing any large chunks of fat.

Remove dutch oven from grill, add apples, and whisk in butter until incorporated.  Add chopped pork.  Season to taste and serve immediately.

The pork was delicious.  The sweet, yet dry, cider worked perfectly and the addition of cabbage and apples was a special treat.  I've braised pork before, but have never used cabbage or apples.  I wish I had.  It's a great addition.

Anytime you make something with 5 pounds of pork, you are talking meals, not just a meal.  It's a good thing too, for when feeding hungry jet lagged English, it's great to have some good leftovers in the fridge.

Note: This is another post made possible by the good people, and most excellent cider makers, at Angry Orchard.