Pork & Apple Hot Pot

This Pork & Apple Hot Pot is slow cooked for ultimate tenderness. With apple, onion, bacon, and fall spices, it's perfect for an autumnal Sunday dinner.

I'm a practical witch. I like things to be quick and convenient whenever possible. My time is valuable, and I don't have a lot of it to spare, so whether I'm at my altar or in my kitchen, I often want things to move quickly. Birthday candles in my candle spells? I'm all for it. Quick knots for binding? Let's do it. Lighting up a store bought incense stick. Yes please. If things are too complicated, they're often not accessible.

But every now and then, it feels good to slow things down a little bit. It's such a treat to make time for a 30 minute meditation or to craft a spell with multiple steps or meditative repetition of movement. Some things are worth dwelling over or waiting for. And as much as I love quick and convenient recipes, every once in a while, something slow cooked while you sit at home sipping hot chocolate and reading a book while watching the rain from your window is just the kind of magic you need.

What makes this Pork & Apple Hot Pot so awesome?

This Pork & Apple Hot Pot is the exact opposite of quick and convenient. It's whole foods, cooked slowly over hours rather than minutes. There's chopping and sauteeing and searing and peeling to be done. There's marrying of flavors and melting of fats and alchemical magic that leaves you with a dish that's totally worth the wait. If you love cooking, you'll revel in the project that this dish is because the resulting flavor is like a pot of Autumn energy distilled.

With granny smith apples, sweet onions, and spices like cinnamon, clove, and cardmom, your pork loin chops will take on a whole new character. Oh, and did I mention there's smoky bacon going on here as well? Serve this with creamy mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, and crusty bread to sop up all those flavorful juices. It's gonna be awesome.

Magical Properties of Cardamom

Cardamom makes an appearance in this recipe, and while it isn't a spice I work with regularly, it definitely brings a unique energy wherever it's used. This spice, whether you're working with the powder or the pods, can give you courage and luck. It's especially good for road opening spells and can bring good fortune to new opportunities. It also has strong grounding energy. (Source: Everyday Magic by Semra Haksever)

For more on the magical properties of the ingedients in this recipe, check the Kitchen Magick page.

Ingredients

Here's everything you'll need to make this recipe. The full details are in the recipe card below.

• Olive oil
• Onions - sweeter is better
• Bacon - of the smoked, streaky variety
• Flour
• Cinnamon
• Clove
• Cardamom pods
• Salt and pepper
• Pork - boneless pork loin chops
• Apples - Granny Smith apples are ideal
• Apple juice - or non-alcoholic cider if you can get it

Tips for making Pork & Apple Hot Pot

There are several steps in this recipe. None of them are complicated, but it will take a while before this even goes into the oven. Just be prepared to commit to a cooking project.

Pre-cook your onions and bacon

You'll start by sauteeing your onions in a big pot until soft. I like to use a cast iron casserole for this. It just needs to be something that can go in the oven later. Remove your onions from the pot, then cook your chopped bacon until crisp in the same pot. Set that aside in the same container as the bacon. We'll add them both back to the pot later.

Sear your pork

Then you're gonna make a seasoned flour with your spices. Mix that all up in a shallow dish or a big zip top bag. Then you'll lightly coat your pork in the spiced flour before searing it on both sides in your big pot. You'll have to work in batches so you can get full contact to brown the outside. You don't want the pork to be cooked through yet. As each one is seared, just pull it out and set it aside while you cook the rest.

Make your sauce

Then you can tip the rest of your seasoned flour into the pot to soak up any juices. We'll make a loose sauce by whisking our apple juice into the flour and fat, working out any lumps as you add the juice about a half cup at a time.

Bring it all together

Once everything is cooked up, we're going to layer it all back in the pot. Start with a bed of onions and bacon, then your pork, then some peeled, sliced apples. Keep laying until you've got it all in. Then put the lid on the pot, put it in the oven, and leave it to all melt together for about 3 hours. It will be unbelievably tender.

Make yourself comfortable and settle in for an afternoon of cooking magic. This Pork & Apple Hot Pot is going to be a huge Sunday dinner hit.

Looking for more awesome pork recipe ideas? Try these Mini Pork Pies or some BBQ Pulled Pork Stovetop Mac & Cheese.

Print

Follow me on Pinterest for more awesome autumn recipes.