Normandy-Style Braised Pork Shoulder with Apple Cider and Creme Fraiche

This is the kind of French cooking you will never find on a restaurant menu. It comes from Normandy, where apples and pork have always been paired together, and it belongs to the tradition of peasant food: simple, slow, and deeply satisfying. The whole thing comes together with a pork shoulder, some apple cider, and a few herbs.

Preparing the Pork

Start by trimming a pork shoulder and cutting it into roughly two-inch chunks. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Brown the pork in a mix of butter and oil. As each piece gets color on it, remove it from the pan and set it aside.

Building the Braise

Slice up an onion and cook the slices in the same pan over high heat for about three minutes. You want a little color on them.

After the onions have softened, pour in a full pint of dry apple cider. Follow that with a generous pour of apple cider vinegar to deglaze the pan.

Add two bay leaves, a bundle of thyme, and some roughly chopped sage. Season with a good pinch of salt. Return the pork to the pan, cover it, and slide it into a 300-degree oven for about an hour and a half.

Finishing the Dish

When the pork is done, the pieces should be very tender but not completely falling apart. Remove the pork from the pan and discard the thyme bundle and bay leaves. Put the pan on the stovetop and reduce the liquid by half.

Once reduced, stir in some creme fraiche along with a bit of black pepper and salt to taste. Return the pork to the sauce and let it sit for a minute or two to warm through.

Serve it family style alongside mashed potatoes, making sure to spoon all those juices over the top. Finish with a sprinkle of chives or parsley.

Key Takeaways

• This is a Normandy peasant dish built on the natural pairing of pork and apple
• Dry apple cider plus apple cider vinegar creates the braising liquid, and creme fraiche finishes the sauce
• Low and slow at 300 degrees for 90 minutes gives you tender pork without it falling apart completely