Classic Homestyle Pork Stew

This easy and delicious home-style pork stew is the perfect hot, filling meal that is absolutely loaded with root vegetables and tender, falling-apart pork shoulder. It only requires a bit of prep and not too long a cooking time, making it a perfect weekend dinner for the whole family.

For more delicious pork shoulder recipes, why not try making Instant Pot Pulled Pork or some Pulled Pork Sandwiches!

Classic Homestyle Pork Stew

Pork is such a tasty meat, and there is so much variety in the different cuts. Each different piece can be used in a thousand different ways in a thousand different recipes.

Certain cuts, like the humble pork shoulder, are a bit more limited in what they can do. This is because of the sheer quantity of connective tissue within the meat, necessitating long, slow cooking times.

This makes it amazingly perfect for use in stews. This recipe for a classic pork stew uses all of the comforting ingredients and flavors you would expect to create a tender, succulent, and warming stew.               

Classic Homestyle Pork Stew Ingredients

Make sure you look at the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts so that you know exactly what to buy for this recipe.

• Pork shoulder, cut into ½ inch pieces

• Flour

• Salt & pepper

• Thick cut bacon

• White onion

• Minced garlic

• Beef stock

• Worcestershire sauce

• Tomato paste

• Red wine

• Dried rosemary

• Dried thyme

• Medium carrots cut into 1-inch chunks

• Russet potatoes cut into 1-inch chunks

• Celery

• Sliced white mushrooms

• Bay leaves

• Fresh parsley   

How To Make Classic Homestyle Pork Stew

• Whisk together the flour, salt & pepper

• Place the pork in the flour mixture and toss until the pork is coated, shaking off the excess

• In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat

• Cook the bacon until it is tender-crisp

• Remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate

• Add in the pork and cook in batches until all sides of the cubes are browned

• Remove and place on a plate

• Add in the onions and sauté for 6 minutes, or until soft

• Add in the garlic and sauté another 2 minutes until browned slightly and fragrant

• Whisk together the broth, Worcestershire, tomato paste, rosemary, and thyme, as well as the red wine

• Pour a small amount of the stock mixture into the bottom of the Dutch oven and deglaze by scraping the browned bits off of the bottom of the pot

• Pour more stock to clean the bottom by scraping it up, followed by the rest of the broth

• Add the pork and bacon back into the pot

• Add in the vegetables and bay leaves and then stir until combined

• Bring the mixture to a low boil, cover, and reduce the heat

• Cook for 40 minutes, until the pork is fork-tender, remove and serve  

How To Play Around With The Flavor Profile Of This Stew

This recipe is a pretty cut and dry pork style, giving you all of the warming, homey flavors and feelings you would expect from a pork stew.

This makes it pretty tricky to play around with many of the ingredients because so many of them are integral to that flavor profile that works so well as a stew.

The best way to change some of the flavors, however, would be to play around with the stock and wine.

Instead of beef stock, you could use chicken or pork. Chicken stock will make it taste a bit more well-rounded, with a bit less of an intense, umami flavor profile, whereas pork will make the whole dish taste a lot “porkier.”

The red wine could easily be swapped for white wine in place of whatever red wine you might have chosen. This won’t impact the flavor too much, as most of what the wine contributes is acidity and a bright, intense flavor profile, but if you choose a white wine you like filled with lots of specific flavors, like berries or citrus, you will definitely get some of those flavor notes in the stew.

How To Know When Your Pork Is Done Cooking

The problem with cooking such tough cuts as pork shoulder knows exactly when they are done.

Unlike the more tender cuts, pork shoulder can take a really long time; if you eat it too soon, it will be almost unbearably tough.

This is because of the connective tissue within the meat. It needs a long time cooking to allow it to melt into gelatin, which helps it fall apart and feel succulent to our tastes.

The easiest way to figure out if your pork is done or not is to stick a fork into it. If the pork is done, the fork should pierce the pork with almost no resistance and come right out again.

Looking for more delicious Pork recipes? Try these out:

• Instant Pot Pork Roast

• How to Cook a Boneless Pork Loin Roast

• Saucy Brown Sugar Baked Pork Chops

Enjoy!! I hope that I have given you a new stew idea for the winter! Pork isn’t really the first thing we think of when it comes to stews but it should be!

Love,

Karlynn

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