Pork in Mushroom and Pickle Sauce
Fold the origin right into the first bite: this is braised pork in the style of Central European pörkölt stews — meat seared hard for color, then coaxed to tenderness under a lid with onion, paprika, and salted (dill) pickles. The pickle brine and paprika are what give the sauce its tangy, peppery backbone.
The mushrooms go in already seared separately so they don’t weep liquid into the braise, and a handful of olives echoes the briny note of the pickles.
- Cut: use pork shoulder or neck. Lean loin dries out over a long braise.
- Paprika: add it to warm, not screaming-hot, fat — over high heat it scorches and turns bitter in seconds.
- If you swap the salted pickles for vinegary marinated ones, rinse them first to tame the acidity.
Serve with boiled potatoes or dumplings to catch the sauce. Like most braises, it’s even better the next day. Note the recipe calls for cooking fat: lard is traditional, but a neutral oil works fine.
Part of European cuisine — 100 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Cut the meat into serving-size pieces across the grain.
Sear it in hot fat or oil, season with salt, transfer to an ovenproof glass dish, add the onion fried in fat and the sliced pickle rounds, season with pepper, and braise.
Add the fried mushrooms and braise until tender, adding liquid as needed.
Serve in the dish the meat was braised in. Offer potatoes and salad on the side.
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