This simple Polish pork shoulder stew is satisfying in the colder months, packed full of flavour and it will take barely 10 minutes of your time in the kitchen as it pretty much cooks itself. It will become your family’s new favourite.
Prep time: 10min Cooking time: 1h 30min Serves: 4
Why you will love this recipe
It works amazingly with potatoes, rice or pasta depending on how heavy you want your dinner that night. You can serve it with the steamed or boiled vegetables of your choice like broccoli, green beans and carrots. Traditionally it is served with crunchy pickled vegetables on the side. Think pickled sweet gherkins or red bell peppers and cabbage just to name a few. Alternatively, serve it with both cooked and pickled vegetables, the way I like to eat it in our house.
How to get the best results
I should make a note to avoid lean pork chop steaks as they aren’t fatty enough and will taste dry even if you cook them for a long time. The fat in pork shoulders is what breaks down in the cooking process and makes it melt in your mouth. If you can get the pork shoulders still on the bone, it would be even tastier! I sometimes buy pork ribs and add them to the stew just to enrich it even more. Trust me you will love it too. The times when I felt like making a variation of this recipe, I add one handful of dried wild mushrooms. You need to soak them first for 20 minutes in a little bit of warm water, and then add the whole thing into the simmering pork shoulder stew.
So why the fattier pork shoulder cut is better?
Cold fresh air is finally here, and days are visibly shorter now. It won’t be long before we get the first frost. This pork shoulder stew is one of my favourite to put on when we need a wholesome, warming meal. The slower you cook it the more tender it becomes.
What happens is that at around 70°C the connective tissues containing collagen begin to dissolve into gelatin. After a while, the muscle fibers that had been held tightly together begin to easily spread apart.
So slow cooking it for about 1,5 to 2 hours is ideal. Once it’s done, it will have a pulled pork texture that dissolves in your mouth.
Can I cook pork shoulder stew quicker?
On a manic night, when a hungry toddler has no patience and I started the dinner a tad too late, I found that 1 hour of cooking time was still fine. The meat wasn’t quite as tender as I would like to but it wasn’t chewy either. Just make sure you keep an eye on keeping it topped up with enough water so that it covers the meat.
Ingredients
For the Stew:
- 700g (25oz) Pork Shoulder Steaks
- 1 Onion (diced)
- 2 Tbsp Plain Flour (heaped)
- 1 Tbsp Rapeseed Oil or Sunflower Oil
- Salt and Black Pepper
Optional: - 8g (0.3 oz) Dried Wild Forest Mushrooms (not Shiitake) Pre-soaked
or - 3 Chestnut Mushrooms (diced)
- 40g (1.4oz) Red Bell Pepper (diced)
For the Side:
- Boiled Potatoes, Pasta or Rice
- Boiled or steamed broccoli, carrots, leeks (anything that your family likes)
- Pickled Vegetables of your choice (These Polish Pickled Cucumbers and Polish Pickled Vegetable Salad are our favourite)
Method
- Salt on both sides and cut each pork steak into 3 parts.
- Heat up oil in a Saute Pan & fry the meat on each side, on high heat until deep golden brown
- Add diced onion and fry until golden but don’t burn it!
- Top it up with cold water until it covers the meat, stir it well
- Optionally, add the mushrooms at this stage
- Add a pinch of salt and pepper & let it simmer on low heat for 1h 30 minutes (keep the water level just covering the meat)
- In the meantime peel and boil your potatoes and anything else you choose to serve with it.
- Once the pork is soft enough, use half a glass of the sauce mixed with a dash of fresh cold water (to cool it down) and whisk in the flour.
- Pour the combined sauce with flour back into the simmering stew and whisk everything gently. Bring to a boil for 1 minute and switch off the heat.
- Salt and pepper to taste
Extra Tips for great pork shoulder stew
- You can add pork ribs to the pork shoulders stew which would make it taste even better. If you decide to do it, just treat the ribs the same way you do the shoulder steaks. Salt them first and fry on high heat for a few minutes on each side.
- If you can’t get your hands on the Polish pickled vegetables I mentioned, feel free to use the raw shredded carrot mixed with a shredded apple with a pinch of salt and sugar (yes! Pinch of sugar to release the natural juices in them) What we are looking for is a crunch and this super quick raw salad just hits the spot. Trust me 🙂
- Let it cook itself. I set the timer for 30 minutes at the time and can even leave the kitchen. Just come back to it a couple of times to add more water which evaporated. Your vegetables can be sorted in the last 30 minutes of the cooking time.
- If you own a pressure cooker, this meal takes 50 minutes and it’s done! I’ve tried a couple of times and it is just as good! The only difference was that I had to add a little less water as it didn’t evaporate. Once I perfect the pressure cooker version, I will share it on the blog.
- Use an alternative flour like Corn flour for a gluten-free version
Please let me know if you tried it and I hope you enjoy it! 🙂