Pomegranate & Cherry Braised Pork

Last Saturday was one of those busy errand days where you do nothing but run from store to store, denture then come home and clean the house and go for a run. You know – they kind of day that makes you really hungry, but by the end of it, there’s no way you want to cook. Good thing I started this braise hours before dinner, before I’d cleaned the house and expended all my energy. Good thing it was a mostly one-pot meal and I’d already washed and put away all the prep dishes before collapsing. And dinner? Not to get overly Martha, but it was a very Good Thing.

I used pomegranate juice, fresh orange juice and red wine as my braising liquids and dried guijillo peppers and tart cherries for flavor. The juice and wine reduced into a deliciously concentrated sauce, the peppers lent some good spice to contrast the plump cherries and the meat was so very tender that I had a hard time moving it to the serving dish without it falling apart.

This dish is everything I wanted at the end of that long day. And leftovers were just as good or even better. My favorite kind of meal.

[print_this text=’Print Recipe’]Pomegranate & Cherry Braised Pork

2 tbsp. olive oil
1.5 – 2 lb. lean pork shoulder
salt and pepper
1 yellow onion, diced
1 cup POM pomegranate juice
1 cup red wine
juice of 1 navel orange
1/2 cup dried sweetened tart cherries
1 dried guajillo pepper, diced

Set a large oven-safe pot over medium heat. Heat the olive oil, then sear the pork for about 5 minutes on each side until a golden brown char forms. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, cover and place in the oven.

Turn the oven on to 325° and cook for 3 hours, turning occasionally.

Makes 6 servings.[/print_this]