Beery Pork Stew

Beery Pork Stew

There was a very good buy on whole boneless pork loins at the grocery store recently. We bought two. If you do this, you’ll want to cut the pork loins into a few more usable cuts and freeze them for future use. If you’ve never carved up a pork loin before, Doctor BBQ has a great video on Youtube that shows you exactly how to do this.  Give it a try. It doesn’t take long. It’s not hard to do. And you’ll save yourself some money.

After playing butcher shop, stocking up the freezer and feeling pretty proud of myself, I looked for something to do with some of the smaller pieces of pork. I came across several stew recipes that called for beer. We always have a beer around, so I combined a few recipes and put together this beery pork stew using what was on hand. The beer was a lager, which explains the mostly beige pallor of the stew. Nevertheless, it tasted great - no beery aftertaste. I highly recommend serving it with some pumpernickel bread and butter (and your favorite beer if you are so inclined). It also reheats well for lunch the next day.

MA’s Beery Pork Stew

Ready to make beery pork stew

2 lbs pork loin, cut into bite-sized pieces

¼ cup flour

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tsp bacon fat or oil

1 to 1 ½ cups onions, chopped

1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced

3 ribs celery, chopped

4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

2 or 3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

½ tsp caraway seeds

1 bay leaf

1 cup chicken or turkey stock

1 10-12 oz bottle beer

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

In a bowl, mix together flour, salt and pepper. Add pork to bowl and coat well with flour mixture.

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat fat or oil over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook until evenly browned.

Add onions and garlic. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients to pan and stir with love.

Bring to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until the pork is tender.

Makes 6 servings.

Printable Recipe for MA's Beery Pork Stew