Just Add Beer: Charlie’s Pork & Beers Stew

The cooler weather affects many things in our lives. We dress differently, we start warming up our cars in the morning, some start hanging Christmas decorations WAY TOO EARLY, and I personally change the way I cook. Spring and summer I make things like slow smoked brisket and homemade BBQ sauce, watermelon/tomato/feta salad, ceviche, seafood boils, etc. Winter and fall change those dishes to chili, starchy soups, chili/cilantro mashed potatoes, and spicy stews. I still manage to work a few spring-summer dishes into the fall and winter months, and vice versa, but hearty comfort foods just fit with cold weather.

The same argument can be made for beer. IPA, Berliner Weisse, and other lighter bodied beers are often considered best in the summer whereas stouts, porters, scotch ales, and other heavier beers are thought to be best when the weather cools. Personally I like big bad ass beer all year around, and will drink a 10% stout in the middle of a 90 degree August day while playing softball.  

One of my favorite dishes to make in winter is a spicy pork stew. During the winter thick chunks of veggies and pork in a hearty broth with a side of buttered crusty bread makes my days so much better. If eating stick-to-your-ribs food with big bold flavors while watching people slip and slide around on ice is not your idea of a good time, but counting calories and eating a salad is, go ahead and find a different recipe because this one is not for you.

Ingredients:

• 4-8 ounces of Jowl Bacon, diced
• 5 lb Boneless Pork Shoulder
• 4 onions quartered and sliced thickly
• 4 bell peppers coarsely chopped
• 6 carrots cut into roughly 1” pieces (carrot size is determined by you)
• 3 potatoes cut into roughly 1” pieces with the skin on (potato size is determined by you)
• 2 large Jalapenos diced
• 1 Habanero deseeded and finely diced
• 7 cloves of garlic minced
• 34-36 ounces of stout beer (I prefer to use something local)
• Chicken Stock
• ½ cup of tomato paste
• 1 Bunch of cilantro chopped
• 1/2 bunch of basil chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoons of dried ground thyme
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the pork shoulder in a roasting pan and hand rub your pork with the salt, pepper, thyme, and brown sugar. Put the pan in the preheated oven uncovered until the internal temperature reaches 120 degrees F. Leaving the pork uncovered allows the exterior to form a delicious crust that will add texture to the stew. Once the internal temperature reaches 120 degrees F remove it from the oven and set aside until it is cool enough to handle.  

While the pork is cooling place a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot add the diced jowl bacon and stir until the bacon is crisp. Move the bacon into a large pot leaving the bacon fat in the skillet. Add onions, garlic, bell peppers, and jalapenos to the bacon fat until soft. Add 1 pint (16 ounces) of stout to the skillet and stir with a wooden spoon scraping the bottom of the skillet to deglaze the pan.  

Once deglazed, pour the contents of the skillet into the large pot along with the bacon. Add the remainder of the ingredients, except the chicken stock, to the pot. Once at handling temperature, cut the pork shoulder into medium sized pieces and place them into the simmering pot. Top off the pot with chicken stock. Allow stew to cook at a simmer for at least one hour making sure the pork is cooked throughout, tasting often and seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.