Mississippi Roast
Sam Sifton, Robin Chapman
11164 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
11,164
6 1/2 to 8 1/2 hours
Slow-Cooker Braised Pork With Prunes and Orange
- Total Time
- 4¼ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½cup sherry vinegar
- ½cup dry red wine
- 3pounds boneless, skinless pork shoulder, fat trimmed, cut into 2- to 3-inch chunks
- 2large shallots, minced
- 1orange, for 3 (3- to 4-inch) strips orange zest plus peeled, chopped orange segments, for topping, optional
- 2sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
- Black pepper
- 1½tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 5½ounces prunes (about 1 cup)
- ⅓cup chopped fresh parsley
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
553 calories; 35 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 14 grams sugars; 31 grams protein; 634 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Put the butter in a microwave-safe bowl or large liquid measuring cup and melt it in the microwave, about 1 minute. Stir in the flour until the mixture looks like cake batter and microwave 15 to 30 seconds, just to warm the flour. Scrape the mixture out into a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker.
- Step 2
Whisk ¼ cup of the sherry vinegar and the red wine into the roux in the slow cooker. Stir in the pork, shallots, orange zest, thyme, salt and several generous grinds of black pepper. Cover the slow cooker and set to cook on high for 4 hours.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, stir together the remaining ¼ cup sherry vinegar, the brown sugar and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the prunes and set aside.
- Step 4
About an hour before the pork is done, using a slotted spoon, add the soaked prunes to the slow cooker, along with about 1½ tablespoons of the soaking liquid. (Discard the remaining liquid or save it for a salad dressing.) Continue to cook until the pork is tender and the flavors are blended. If you would like to reduce the sauce, you can keep the slow cooker on high, remove the lid, and let it bubble for 10 to 20 minutes. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs. Stir in the parsley and serve with chopped orange segments, if desired.
Tip
- For extra depth and texture, sear the pork first: Working in batches, sear the meat in a large skillet in two tablespoons of vegetable oil, without disturbing, for 5 minutes. (No need to sear more than one side.) Transfer the pork to the slow cooker; after the second batch, deglaze the pan with the ¼ cup sherry vinegar and ½ cup red wine, stirring to scrape up any browned bits, then scrape the mixture into the slow cooker. Proceed from there as the recipe directs.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Stacy
This was just perfect in every day. Bright and deep and rich and tender. Served it over polenta and loved every bite. My husband went back for more 3 times.
jrs24
Delicious! My 10 year old liked it, too. Orange flavor and prunes work well together. I had port on hand, so used it, no regrets as the sauce was amazing. Served with mashed potatoes. A word of advice: Know your slow cooker! Pork was fully cooked after two hours. Next time I will follow the tip to brown the pork and will cook on low.
Stacey
Definitely a keeper for my family - this was a huge hit. I stuck to the recipe with the following exceptions: - used two pork tenderloins because my local grocer never has pork shoulder - soaked the prunes in half tawny port and half vinegar/brown sugar (using up a bottle of port) - used white wine vinegar because my grocery also has no sherry vinegar - ah, rural living
Alison R.
Put this in the pressure cooker, 40 min on high, with the prunes in from the beginning (soaked for about 30 min) with all their liquid. Seared the pork in the same insert first. Used red wine vinegar instead of sherry vinegar because it’s what I had. Turned out wonderfully! Served over polenta with a side of roasted broccoli. Was even better the second and third day.
Marj W
I think this is delicious, except—I’m surprised nobody else has mentioned this yet—the salt is way overboard. It seemed like a lot when I put it in, and indeed, it came too close to ruining an otherwise awesome dish. And I’m speaking as someone who likes salt just fine.
mike
Double the amount of red wine (at least) and cook uncovered the last ten minutes
Virginia
Delicious. Husband really liked it. The full recipe is three meals for 2 people. First night polenta, second night mashed potatoes, third night rice. Used the sherry vinegar but soaked the prunes in port. Will brown first next time. Putting that note as an option in the beginning would help.Used a leaner cut of meat so it cooked in 3 plus a little hours. Pork shoulder not available at market.
Karl
This is an easy to prep recipe that is just delicious. You can replace the sherry vinegar with sake or wine vinegar. For more flavor, add two ounces of port to the prune mixture. Enjoy!
Laura Blutstein
I never knew that the InstantPot has a Slow Cook setting (but no choice as to high/low). I started out with 4 hrs of slow cook, but pork not done and not falling apart as I wanted it to be. I then Pressure Cooked (High) for 16 minutes and it was perfect. Next time I will do as someone suggested, and put everything in including the prunes at the beginning, pressure cook high in InstantPot X 40 minutes. This is yum, and I also agree it's better on the 2nd day. I used Ruby Port, I had it on hand.
Alison R.
Put this in the pressure cooker, 40 min on high, with the prunes in from the beginning (soaked for about 30 min) with all their liquid. Seared the pork in the same insert first. Used red wine vinegar instead of sherry vinegar because it’s what I had. Turned out wonderfully! Served over polenta with a side of roasted broccoli. Was even better the second and third day.
Ana
Fantastic recipe. I followed exactly. Lots of depth to the flavor, good balance of acidity and sweetness and complexity. Served with couscous and it worked well to soak up that sauce.
Stacey
Definitely a keeper for my family - this was a huge hit. I stuck to the recipe with the following exceptions: - used two pork tenderloins because my local grocer never has pork shoulder - soaked the prunes in half tawny port and half vinegar/brown sugar (using up a bottle of port) - used white wine vinegar because my grocery also has no sherry vinegar - ah, rural living
jc
This was great and simple. I did brown the meat and I made the roux in that pan. I would reduce the amount of roux - my final sauce was a little gloopy. I also might experiment with replacing some or all of the roux with gelatin as a thickener to avoid dulling the flavors.
Stacy
This was just perfect in every day. Bright and deep and rich and tender. Served it over polenta and loved every bite. My husband went back for more 3 times.
Genie B
Very good, earthy texture and flavors. We didn’t have prunes, so we just used one orange. It was just the right citrus/sweet touch.
jrs24
Delicious! My 10 year old liked it, too. Orange flavor and prunes work well together. I had port on hand, so used it, no regrets as the sauce was amazing. Served with mashed potatoes. A word of advice: Know your slow cooker! Pork was fully cooked after two hours. Next time I will follow the tip to brown the pork and will cook on low.
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