I need help with a pork stew.

[callahan9119]

A long time ago I stumbled across a description of fabada, which is a spanish stew of various sausages, bacon, great northern beans and such. I kinda customized it for my American palate (no blood sausage etc). It's a thing we eat often now.

My problem is they were out of chorizo sausage, but I picked up what appears to be pork shoulder cut up and figured I could use that, it's got plenty of fat and connective tissue which made it seem ideal for a stew.

The ingredients I plan to use in this are 2 pounds of that diced shoulder, dry GN beans, diced sweet pepper, onion and garlic, bay leaf and chicken stock, plus other seasonings.

My problem is I usually cook the beans in the stock and then add the sausage, as it doesn't need much time to cook. Pork shoulder is a different beast and will need a lot of time to break down.

Would you just put it all in a large "chef's pan" after sweating the aromatics and pepper, get it to a good simmer, cover and plop it in the oven for hours? I've never tried making a stew with pork shoulder. It's not really even fabada at this point, I just want a decent stew of bean and pork.

 

[Andy M.]

I would suggest searing the pork all over in a hot pan with oil before adding it to the stew ingredients. The browning will add a ton more flavor to your stew. After browning, proceed as you indicated.

BTW, sounds tasty.

 

[Zhizara]

You're on the right track. I'd just simmer it on the stove top, but in the interest of staying cooler, the oven would work just as well, and would probably not heat up the house so much.

Low and slow. Cook the pork along with the beans. The timing should be just right with the GN beans.

 

[callahan9119]

I would suggest searing the pork all over in a hot pan with oil before adding it to the stew ingredients. The browning will add a ton more flavor to your stew. After browning, proceed as you indicated.

BTW, sounds tasty.

Yeah, I was unsure whether I would brown it or not. When i make an Irish stew with lamb shoulder cuts I don't brown it, I do with beef though. Think I'll brown this up as you suggested, I'm not using bacon so this should add more flavor.

thanks for the replies and if you have any suggestions

 

[callahan9119]

I'd just simmer it on the stove top, but in the interest of staying cooler, the oven would work just as well..

I was just gonna edit my previous post, but I guess I can't. I read a Jamie Oliver recipe for a beef stew and he used the oven with a pan I have, ever since I've used that technique for stewing lamb and beef. It seems to heat more evenly and I get a better result without have to worry over it sticking/burning with the crappy heating elements on our apartment stove or telling our little daughter to get out of the kitchen.

For the fabada I do it on the stove top, but with this shoulder I'll just go with my usual way I suspect.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

It sounds wonderful. And you can always sub in Andouille sausage, even a good polish sausage for a flavor change.

 

[callahan9119]

We're limited to what's available in the local markets, all we get is chorizo and hot/sweet Italian sausage...rarely kielbasa. I won't use stuff they don't grind there. I've tried it with the Italian style stuff but it wasn't "right" if you can understand my meaning.

We are hard for money so I like to make cheap, hearty stuff with beans, rice (often risottos with sushi rice), roast root veg/potatoes, inexpensive cuts/sausage and other cheap things, so I'm just kinda trying to adapt a usual bean dish with other cheap cuts.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

We're limited to what's available in the local markets, all we get is chorizo and hot/sweet Italian sausage...rarely kielbasa. I won't use stuff they don't grind there. I've tried it with the Italian style stuff but it wasn't "right" if you can understand my meaning.

We are hard for money so I like to make cheap, hearty stuff with beans, rice (often risottos with sushi rice), roast root veg/potatoes, inexpensive cuts/sausage and other cheap things, so I'm just kinda trying to adapt a usual bean dish with other cheap cuts.

I understand that, been there myself.

 

[callahan9119]

I actually prefer "peasant food" to be honest. It's funny that risotto is considered somewhat gourmet here in the U.S., when it's one of the easiest dishes to make if you don't mind stirring a bit for thirty or forty minutes.

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

I was just gonna edit my previous post, but I guess I can't. I read a Jamie Oliver recipe for a beef stew and he used the oven with a pan I have, ever since I've used that technique for stewing lamb and beef. It seems to heat more evenly and I get a better result without have to worry over it sticking/burning with the crappy heating elements on our apartment stove or telling our little daughter to get out of the kitchen.

For the fabada I do it on the stove top, but with this shoulder I'll just go with my usual way I suspect.

Hmm, strange. I used to be able to edit my own posts but now I can't either. Wonder if that was an intentional change to the board. Maybe a question for the support board.

Then again, maybe I can. Maybe it's a timed thing? This post shows I can edit it at the moment.

 

[Zhizara]

Hmm, strange. I used to be able to edit my own posts but now I can't either. Wonder if that was an intentional change to the board. Maybe a question for the support board.

Then again, maybe I can. Maybe it's a timed thing? This post shows I can edit it at the moment.

20 minutes is the time limit. After that, especially if correcting a recipe, just ask a moderator and someone will fix it for you.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I would first cut the pork shoulder into 1 inch cubes before browning them. That way, they will cook into tender pieces more quickly, and maintain their shape, rather than having shredded meat in your stew. Also, you can season the meat with S & P, garlic, onion, sage, etc. before it goes into the stew pot.

Cutting the meat into cubes gives you more control and makes the meat more versatile as well.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North