Cranberry Sweet-and-Sour Pork

The school year is over and I have a feeling I cannot quite name — part relief, part guilt that I feel relief, part genuine sadness for everything the kids lost this spring. I know I did what I could. I know it was not enough. Those two things are both true and I am learning to hold them simultaneously, which is not a skill they teach you in the ed program but should be.

I made a big pot of pozole this week — hominy and pork shoulder and red chilis and a long slow braise — because I had been thinking about it for weeks and I finally had the time and the fridge space to do it right. Pork shoulder from the Aldi butcher section, which is usually cheaper than anywhere else if you can get there early enough. The hominy was from a can I had been hoarding since March. I put in two dried guajillo peppers and one ancho and toasted them first, which I read in a recipe somewhere and was not sure about but did it anyway. The result was complex and smoky and worth every hour it took. I ate it three times in a row.

Ryan got me a hammock for our tiny balcony, which is too small for a hammock but Ryan made it work by rerouting two hooks through the wall studs in a way that Steve would have done and probably should have done instead. It works. I lay in it Thursday afternoon while the pozole simmered and read a book for the first time in two months and something in me loosened a little. I did not realize how tightly I had been wound.

The end of the school year means the beginning of IEP season and I have been doing paperwork for two weeks, but there is light at the end of it and the light is summer. Last summer I was working on the blog and going to Portillo hot dogs with Ryan and staying out too late with my friends. This summer will be different. It will still be something. I am keeping the hammock.

The pozole taught me something I keep relearning: pork wants time, and time is the one thing I had been hoarding even more carefully than that can of hominy. Now that the school year is behind me and the hammock is installed and the IEP stack is shrinking, I keep coming back to dishes that let the stove do the work while I do nothing — and this Cranberry Sweet-and-Sour Pork is exactly that. It has the same braised low-and-slow energy, the same reward-to-effort ratio, and the cranberry brings just enough brightness to feel like a beginning rather than an ending, which is what I need right now.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 1 hr 30 min | Total Time: 1 hr 45 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 lbs pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce (canned or homemade)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup pineapple chunks (fresh or canned, drained)
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water (slurry)
Cooked white rice, for serving
Sliced green onions, for garnish

Instructions

Season and sear the pork. Pat pork chunks dry and season all over with salt and pepper. Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, sear the pork 2–3 minutes per side until browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Soften the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4–5 minutes until softened and translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Build the sauce. Stir in the cranberry sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, tomato paste, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes if using. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer.
Braise low and slow. Return the seared pork and any accumulated juices to the pot. Stir to coat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and braise for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the pork is fork-tender.
Add the vegetables and pineapple. Uncover the pot and stir in the red bell pepper and pineapple chunks. Cook uncovered over medium heat for 10–12 minutes until the pepper is just tender and the sauce has reduced slightly.
Thicken the sauce. Give the cornstarch slurry a quick stir and pour it into the pot while stirring constantly. Cook 2–3 minutes until the sauce is glossy and coats the pork. Taste and adjust salt, vinegar, or sugar as needed.
Serve. Spoon over steamed white rice and garnish with sliced green onions. Leftovers reheat beautifully and taste even better the next day.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cranberry Sweet-and-Sour Pork — When the Pot Finally Has Time to Simmer