French 4-Spice Pork
French 4-Spice Pork
By: Scott
French 4-Spice Pork is a full-flavored hearty dinner. Although it could seem like a lot, take your time to plan and it could be a weeknight meal. Or, if you feel like impressing your friends or family, this food is good enough to make for a Sunday afternoon meal or for company on a Friday or Saturday night.
Pork with Four Spices (Porc avec quatre épices)
Quatre épices is the name of a spice mixture that flavors patés and other dishes. It resonates with deep, earthy flavors. Here, I have used it to season a pork butt in a simple recipe. It starts on the stove top and finishes in the oven. You could use a slow cooker as well. But, you would need to brown the pork to develop some of the flavors before putting it in the slow cooker. Simple sides are best because the intense flavor of the pork will overpower nearly any other flavors on a side.
Servings: 4-6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Meal: Dinner
Method: Dutch oven
Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- About 7 lbs of pork butt
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 onion chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 Tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons white pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, plus additional
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350º. Generously season all sides of the pork with salt and pepper.
Step 2
Heat oils in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the pork on all sides.
Step 3
Add remaining ingredients, place in oven and cook until tender, about 2.5 hours.
Step 4
Remove from oven, pull the pork apart with a fork and stir it around in its juices.
Step 5
Grate a little more nutmeg over the pork, stir again and serve.
Notes
When I was making this 4-Spice Pork, my friend Amy telephoned and I was telling her about it. She loved the idea of the pork and suggested this Orange and Black Olive Salad as a complement.
The pork also goes well with mashed potatoes (with lots of butter) and buttered asparagus.
Leftover pork? Don’t worry, recipe coming to turn the leftover pork into rillettes – a divine spread for a toasted baguette.
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