Try this Traditional Pork Stew with root vegetables for a hearty and comforting meal that the whole family will love.
This comforting stew combines sweet and savory root vegetables with fork-tender pork shoulder for a fabulous and filling meal.
This stew begins on the stove to build in lots of flavor and then braises in the oven for a couple of hours until the pork and vegetables become tender, making a silky, creamy gravy in the process.
Ingredients
For the pork for this hearty stew, look for a boneless pork shoulder (or pork butt) and cut it into 1-inch cubes. It’s a cut with plenty of fat for flavor and holds up well to a longer cook time. After finishing in the oven, you’re left with tender, delicious pork.
For the vegetables in this stew, I use a variety of root vegetables – sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, and parsnips – along with onion and celery. I also like plenty of fresh thyme to complement the flavor of the pork and veggies.
For the broth, either chicken or vegetable stock works well here. I do prefer to get a low- or no-sodium stock so that I can control the salt levels and adjust to taste.
Can You Use Pork Loin or Pork Tenderloin
I have to advise you to not use pork loin or pork tenderloin in this stew. Those cuts are very lean and they don’t benefit from the long, slow cooking the way that pork shoulder does. I guess you could say that they’re just not stewing cuts.
If you really want to use those leaner cuts of pork, cut them into smaller pieces at the beginning, 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch. Then bake the stew only until the root vegetables are fully fork-tender. By then the pork will be cooked through. It will probably be about 40 minutes in the oven.
How To Make Pork Stew
To make the Traditional Pork Stew, preheat the oven to 275°F, then make the seasoned flour. This will help the pork to brown and will also help thicken the stew broth, all while adding flavor to the stew. Mix the flour, salt, and granulated garlic in a large bowl. Add the cubes of pork and toss to coat. Set this aside for a minute.
In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottom pot heat the olive oil over medium heat until the oil begins to shimmer in the pan, which indicates it’s hot enough for pan frying.
Add the seasoned pork to the oil, shaking off any excess flour into the bowl before placing into the oil. Don’t discard the extra flour mixture though. We’ll be using that. Add all of the thyme sprigs to the pot at this time as well, and stir the pork and thyme occasionally until all sides of pork are browned. There is a lot of moisture in the fresh thyme leaves, so you may hear or see some of the oil popping, but this will stop within a few seconds.
Add the celery and onions to the pot and stir to distribute with the pork. Cook, occasionally stirring, for about 5 minutes.
Add any remaining flour mixture, and stir to coat the celery, onions, and pork. Then, add the sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, parsnips, and chicken stock. Stir everything together until well incorporated.
Cover the pot and bring everything to a boil. Stir to make sure nothing is stuck on the bottom, but the lid back on, and transfer the pot to the oven. Let this braise for about 2 hours.
Remove the pot from the oven and serve immediately. I like to serve this with Bacon, Cheese & Chive Biscuits.
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Traditional Pork Stew Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Try this Traditional Pork Stew with root vegetables for a hearty and comforting meal that the whole family will love.
Listen to learn how to make this recipe, along with some great tips from Christine:
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. granulated garlic
- 1 (2.5 lb.) boneless pork shoulder (pork butt), cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 8 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 celery stalks, finely diced
- 1 large onion, peeled, diced
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, diced
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled, diced
- 3 large parsnips, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275°F.
- To a large bowl (or use a gallon-sized ziptop bag) add flour, salt, and garlic. Mix. Add pork cubes and toss to coat. Set aside.
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- Add pork, shaking off excess flour into bowl before adding to pot (do not discard flour). Add thyme sprigs. Stir occasionally until all sides of pork are browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add celery and onions, stir to distribute. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
- Add remaining flour, stir to distribute it evenly.
- Add sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, parsnips, and chicken stock. Stir to incorporate.
- Cover pot and bring to a boil. Stir to make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pot. Transfer covered pot to oven. Let bake 2 hours.
- Remove pot from oven. Serve immediately.
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