Pork stew
10 servings
300 minutes
Recipe by Bulat Ibragimov.
1
If the meat doesn't have much fat, you can add a couple of pieces of lard. The lard will help with preservation: the hot fat will spread like a film, and the stew will last longer. First, fry the meat until golden brown to give it more flavor. There's no need to add oil; pork has enough of its own fat.
- Pork knuckle: 1 kg
- Pork knuckle: 1 kg
2
While the meat is frying, prepare the vegetables for the broth. Cut them into random pieces; the main thing is that they are roughly the same size: this way they will evenly release all their juices and essential oils. Chop the onion and add it to the broth with its skin — it will be boiled anyway and then strained. The onion skin will also add extra flavor and color. Cut the garlic heads in half across, also with their skin.
- Onion: 200 g
- Garlic: 2 heads
3
Fill the vegetables with water, add cinnamon, chili flakes, fennel seeds, juniper, black and green peppercorns, nutmeg, cloves, bay leaf and a tablespoon of salt and brown sugar.
- Cinnamon sticks: 2 pieces
- Chili pepper flakes: 1 teaspoon
- Fennel seeds: 2 tablespoons
- Dried juniper berries: 10 g
- Black peppercorns: 1 teaspoon
- Green peppercorns: 1 teaspoon
- Nutmeg: 1 piece
- Carnation: 3 pieces
- Bay leaf: 4 pieces
- Salt: 1 tablespoon
- Brown sugar: 1 tablespoon
4
When the meat is browned, transfer it to the broth. You can also deglaze the remnants in the pan by adding a little water to lift the bits and pour everything into the pot — this way nothing is wasted. The water should not be too much, just enough to barely cover the meat: this will make the broth rich and later turn jelly-like inside the jar.
- Pork knuckle: 1 kg
5
Bring the broth to a boil, reduce the heat, and let the meat cook for 4 hours.
6
After 4 hours, take out the meat and strain the broth; it will also be used.
7
Sterilize the jars. Pour a small amount of water into a pot and place the jars upside down at the bottom. Naturally, if you put cold jars, they may crack, so you should rinse them with hot water first. You can also sterilize the lids in the same pot.
8
Bring the strained broth to a boil again just in case to eliminate harmful bacteria inside the jar. Remove the meat from the hock, break the shoulder into pieces and fill the jars. Pour the stew with boiled broth. After pouring in the broth, gently move the meat and tap the jar on the table to ensure that the liquid fills all empty spaces. Finally, take some fat from the surface of the broth to pour on top of the jar.
- Pork knuckle: 1 kg
9
Seal the stew. Cover the jars with sterilized lids and work with the canning machine.
10
At the end, the prepared jars of stew need to be pasteurized. If placed directly on the bottom of a pot with water, there is a risk they may crack. It's better to place a towel at the bottom. Position the jars in the pot with lids facing up, so that water reaches almost halfway up the jars, cover with a lid, bring the water to a boil, reduce heat and wait for 30 minutes. The water should not boil during this time; a temperature of about 90 degrees is needed. If the outside temperature of the jars reaches 100 degrees, then inside it will also reach 100 degrees, causing the broth to boil and potentially crack the jars. Remove the finished jars. Turn them upside down, place on a hard surface and wrap in a towel to cool slowly. A thick blanket can also be used for even slower cooling. Once completely cooled, inspect the jars carefully; if there are no leaks, then the process was successful, and they are sealed and ready for long-term storage. Since this is homemade stew, it's better to store it in the refrigerator rather than on a warm shelf — but it will last for many months.