GRAIN-FREE, NUT-FREE, EGG-FREE, DAIRY-FREE, NIGHTSHADE-FREE
This scrumptious dish tastes like something that was complicated to make, but it’s so simple. I’ve been making a version of this dish for years now, and it never disappoints. If you can let it cook low and slow in a Dutch oven, the meat becomes fall-apart tender in just a few short hours. You can also make it in an Instant Pot, which cuts the cooking time in half. And the apple juice naturally reduces into a perfect jus to spoon over the pork once it’s done. For a veggie boost, nestle some cabbage wedges into the pot in the last hour of cooking.
PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 4 HOURS
SERVES 6
3 to 4 pounds pork shoulder or Boston butt, bone-in or boneless
Sea salt to taste
Olive oil or melted ghee for cooking
4 cups unsweetened apple juice
1 small green cabbage, cut into wedges, optional
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Sprinkle the pork shoulder liberally with salt. In a Dutch oven or large oven-safe pot set over medium-high heat, warm about a tablespoon of olive oil or ghee. When the oil is shimmering, add the pork to the pot, searing one side for about 3 minutes, or until a nice golden crust develops. You’ll know it’s time to flip when the meat releases from the pan easily. Let the other side sear for about 3 to 5 minutes too, then turn off the heat and add the apple juice to the pot.
Put the lid on the pot and place it in the oven. After about 2 hours of roasting, you can add cabbage wedges to the pot if you like, then return it to the oven, covered, to roast for at least 1 more hour.
After 3 to 3½ hours, the meat will be super tender. Transfer it to a serving platter, then, using two forks, shred it. Place the cabbage wedges around it and spoon over some of the cooking liquid from the pot.
Change It Up
− Make this in a slow cooker. You’ll need to reduce the amount of juice to 2 cups. Sear the meat as described, this time in a cast-iron skillet, then place the pork into the slow cooker and deglaze the skillet with about ¼ cup of the apple juice, scraping up any brown bits and adding that to the slow cooker too. Add the remaining 1¾ cups apple juice and cook the pork on low for 6 to 8 hours. In the final 2 hours, add the cabbage wedges if desired.