Pork paprika
Pork Paprika recipe
serves 6
Ingredients:
3 lbs. pork shoulder, cut into 1-2 inch cubes and trimmed of excess fat
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2-3 TBS sweet (not smoked) paprika
1 TBS hot paprika or to taste (you can replace this with sweet paprika)
Salt, pepper
Vegetable oil, such as canola
1 TBS butter
2 medium yellow onions, diced into smallish pieces
1 lb. white or cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced thin (about 1/8”)
½ cup dry white wine
1 pint chicken stock
1/2 cup tomato sauce (or a combination of diced tomatoes and tomato paste)
2 TBS sour cream, more to taste
To serve: Broad, flat egg noodles, such as pappardelle
Instructions:
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, some salt and pepper, some of the sweet paprika, and some of the hot paprika. Toss pork into flour mixture to coat each piece. Heat a dutch oven (such as le Creuset) or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high flame, add oil, and patiently brown the meat in batches on all sides, taking care not to crowd pieces in pan or burn the outside of the meat. Transfer to a clean plate. When all meat has been browned, splash wine into the pot to deglaze. Add stock and simmer for a couple of minutes.
Meanwhile, in another skillet, heat butter and sweat the onions until translucent. Add mushrooms and shake in some more paprika (this will depend on your taste and the strength of the paprika, but unless you like it super spicy, count on about a quarter as much hot as sweet, and taste as you cook! You can always add more as you go) and a little salt, and sauté for a few minutes. The vegetables will, at some point, release their liquid. At this point, turn the heat up a notch until the liquid has mostly evaporated and mushrooms have begun to brown a touch. At this point, remove pan from the heat. Add the meat back to the pot with the liquid, add tomato sauce, and turn the heat up until it boils. Add a bit of water if needed to cover meat in liquid. Turn down heat and allow to simmer for about 45 minutes, then add the vegetables. You can splash a bit of water in the pan and scrape all that sautéed goodness into the pot with the meat.
Cook on a low simmer, stirring occasionally, for another hour or so. Taste and add more paprika if needed; mixture should be a lovely russet at this point. If liquid seems to be getting too low, splash in a bit more water. It’s done when meat is tender and yielding. Ideally, you will make this the night before and re-heat the next day. The flavors really come together this way. But, even if you can let it rest an hour or two and re-heat before serving, you'll see the difference. Taste for seasoning at the end, add more salt, pepper, and paprika if you need to, and finally stir in a generous dollop of crème fraîche before serving – this will round out any sharp edges and take the deliciousness to a whole new level. Serve over egg noodles.