FEATURE RECIPE
Pork shoulder braised in beer

Pork shoulder braised in beer

Using pale ale instead of a darker, heavily hopped beer prevents this dish from tasting too bitter because the flavours intensify during the cooking process.

Serves 10

Cooking Time Prep time 15 mins, cook 3 hrs 10 mins



60 ml   (¼ cup) olive oil
2   onions, coarsely diced
4   carrots, coarsely diced
4   celery stalks, coarsely diced
4   fresh bay leaves
6   star anise
2   cinnamon quills
2 tsp   fennel seeds
1.5 litres   (6 cups) pale ale
1.5 litres   (6 cups) chicken stock
3 kg   piece of boneless pork shoulder, rolled and tied with kitchen twine
Potato purée
1.5 kg   Dutch cream potatoes, scrubbed
125 gm   butter, coarsely chopped
300 ml   milk


1 Preheat oven to 150C. Heat oil in a large casserole over high heat. Add vegetables and bay leaves and sauté until golden (8-10 minutes). Add spices and sauté until fragrant (1-2 minutes). Add ale, stock and pork shoulder, bring to the boil. Roast, covered with a lid, until pork is tender (3 hours).
2 Meanwhile, for potato purée, place potatoes in a large saucepan of salted water, bring to the boil over high heat. Cook until tender (15-20 minutes), drain and peel, then mash or pass through a potato ricer. Stir through butter and season to taste. Meanwhile, heat milk in a saucepan until just below boiling point, add to potatoes and stir to combine.
3 Slice pork shoulder and serve with roast vegetables and potato purée.

This recipe is from the July 2009 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller.

RECIPE Rodney Dunn PHOTOGRAPHY William Meppem STYLING Vanessa Austin and Rodney Dunn


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