Citrus-Braised Pork with Cabbage and Jicama Slaw
Pork shoulder braised slowly in orange and lime with cumin, oregano, and bay, shredded into its own reduced juices, and piled over a crisp cabbage and jicama slaw.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This is the recipe I make when I want lunch solved for the better part of a week, and it asks for very little beyond a Sunday afternoon at home. Pork shoulder browns in a Dutch oven, citrus and broth go in around it, and then it sits in a low oven for three hours while you do something else entirely. What comes out pulls apart under a fork. I grew up eating pork cooked this way with a mountain of shredded cabbage beside it, and the contrast between soft rich meat and something cold and crunchy is the entire point of the plate.
Two things carry the flavor and neither of them is complicated. The first is the browning, which means drying the pork properly and working in two batches so the pot never drops in temperature and starts steaming. Pale pork gives you a pale braise and there is no rescuing it later. The second is the citrus, which goes in at the start rather than at the finish. Orange juice, lime juice, and the zest of one orange spend three hours moving through the meat, and toasted cumin and dried oregano go in just ahead of them so the pot smells like something long before it tastes like anything.
The step I would not skip is the last one. Once the meat is shredded and the braising liquid has been boiled down into a glossy sauce, spread the pork on a sheet pan and put it under the broiler for three or four minutes. The top edges darken and go crisp while everything underneath stays soft, and that contrast is what separates this from a stew. Pile it over the vinegared cabbage and jicama, add a lot of cilantro and a squeeze of lime, and eat it warm. It reheats all week, and the broiler brings it back every time.
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 2 oranges, zest of 1 and juice of both (about 2/3 cup)
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes), plus wedges to serve
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 small green cabbage (about 14 oz), cored and shredded thin
- 1 small jicama (about 9 oz), peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp fine sea salt, divided
Instructions
- Season and brown the pork: Pat the pork chunks very dry and season them with 1 teaspoon of the salt and the black pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high and brown the pork in two batches, about 4 minutes a side, until each piece carries a dark crust. Crowding the pot steams the meat and costs you that crust.
- Toast the spices: Lower the heat to medium, add the remaining tablespoon of oil, and stir in the cumin and oregano. Cook for about 30 seconds, until they smell toasted, then pour in the orange juice, lime juice, and broth and scrape the bottom of the pot clean with a wooden spoon.
- Braise low and slow: Return the pork and any collected juices, add the bay leaves and the orange zest, and bring it to a bare simmer, since a hard boil tightens shoulder meat instead of relaxing it. Cover and cook in a 325°F (163°C) oven, or on the lowest stovetop flame, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until a fork twists a piece apart with no resistance at all.
- Make the slaw: About twenty minutes before the pork is done, toss the shredded cabbage and the jicama matchsticks with the cider vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and half the cilantro. Leave it at room temperature so the cabbage softens slightly and takes on the vinegar while keeping its snap.
- Shred and reduce: Lift the pork onto a board and pull it apart with two forks. Fish out the bay leaves, then boil the braising liquid hard for 6 to 8 minutes, until it thickens enough to coat a spoon. Return the meat to the pot and turn it through the reduced juices with the last 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
- Crisp under the broiler and serve: Spread the shredded pork on a sheet pan and broil 3 to 4 minutes, until the top edges darken and crisp. Watch it the whole time, because the sugar in the citrus takes it from crisp to burnt in under a minute. Pile it over the slaw, scatter the remaining cilantro on top, and serve with lime wedges.
Variations
- Sharper citrus: Trade half the orange juice for extra lime when you want the braise more sour and less sweet.
- Warm spice: Add a pinch of cinnamon and a quarter teaspoon of ground cloves to the pot for something closer to a holiday roast.
- Chili heat: Stir a teaspoon of chipotle powder in with the cumin for smoke and a slow heat behind the citrus.
- Tacos: Spoon the crisped pork and the slaw into warm corn tortillas with extra lime and cilantro.
- Over squash: Serve it over roasted delicata squash rings rather than the slaw when you want the whole plate warm.
Storage & Leftovers
The shredded pork keeps in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and improves for the first two, as the citrus and cumin keep moving through the meat. Store it submerged in its reduced juices in a sealed container, because pork shoulder dries out quickly once the liquid is gone.
Make the slaw fresh, or a few hours ahead at most. Cabbage stands up to vinegar for a day, but jicama loses its snap by the second morning and cilantro goes dark and slippery once it has been sitting in a dressed bowl.
The pork freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Portion it with its juices into flat bags, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and crisp it under the broiler to bring it back. That broiler step is what makes reheated pork taste freshly cooked.
Notes & Tips
- Dry the pork properly: Wet meat will not brown, it steams. Paper towels and a few minutes on the counter are the difference between gray pork and a dark crust.
- Brown in two batches: A crowded pot drops in temperature and everything goes pale. Two batches cost you eight minutes and change the whole braise.
- Acid goes in early: Citrus added at the end is a garnish. Added at the start it has three hours to work into the meat, which is why this tastes bright rather than merely rich.
- Reduce the liquid: The braising liquid after three hours is thin and tastes of everything. Boiling it down by half turns it into a sauce that clings to the shreds.
- Broil before serving: Three minutes under the broiler gives you crisp edges against soft meat, and that contrast is what separates this from a stew.
- Time the slaw: Fifteen minutes in vinegar and salt softens the cabbage just enough. Leave it an hour and it weeps, so dress it while the pork finishes.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Pork, citrus, and raw cabbage make this work as one plate. The meat is rich and soft after three hours, the slaw is cold and crunchy, and the orange and lime run through both so nothing on the fork tastes heavy on its own.
- Pork shoulder is threaded with connective tissue that melts into gelatin over a long braise, which is where the silky texture comes from. It carries zinc, B12, and thiamin, and protein this dense is why a modest pile of it eats like a full meal.
- Cabbage shredded thin and left in vinegar for a quarter of an hour softens without going limp, and it holds on to the vitamin C and fiber that a long spell in a hot pot would have drawn out of it.
- Jicama is a root you eat raw, crisp and faintly sweet in the way a water chestnut is, and it brings water and fiber to a plate where everything else is rich and soft.
- Toasted cumin, dried oregano, bay, and the zest of an orange are the whole seasoning, and putting the citrus in at the beginning rather than at the end is why the meat tastes of it all the way through.
- As you eat, notice how completely the pork has given way against the snap of the raw jicama, and let the lime at the end be a reason to slow down and finish the plate sitting rather than standing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a slow cooker?
Yes. Brown the pork on the stove first, since a slow cooker will not do that for you, then cook everything on low for 7 to 8 hours. Reduce the liquid in a saucepan afterward, because a slow cooker traps the steam that would otherwise cook off.
Can I use a different cut?
Shoulder is the right one, though boneless country-style ribs work at the same weight and timing. Loin and tenderloin do not, since they carry no connective tissue to melt and will turn stringy and dry over a braise this long.
What if I cannot find jicama?
Use kohlrabi or radishes cut into matchsticks, or peeled cucumber if you want it milder. You are after something crisp and wet against rich meat, and all three do that job at the same weight.
Does this fit a low-FODMAP lunch plan?
It does. The flavor is built on the seared crust, toasted cumin, dried oregano, bay, and a lot of citrus, so nothing here leans on onion or garlic. Keep the jicama to about half a cup a serving, and brown the pork in garlic-infused olive oil if you want that note back.