Pork Braised with Celery Avgolemono
Submitted by hmathes
Greek pork braised with celery in a silky avgolemono sauce of egg yolks, lemon, and butter-flour roux. A tangy, comforting classic from the Aegean home kitchen.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
1 hrsHirino me selino is a humble braise with aristocratic bones: pork shoulder and celery simmer together until both are fall-apart tender, then the cooking liquid transforms into avgolemono, the tangy Greek sauce built from egg yolks and lemon.
The genius here is frugality. The same pot gives you both the meat course and the base for its sauce. A simple butter-flour roux thickens the cooking liquid into a velvety base, then beaten egg yolks whisked with lemon juice enrich it into something luscious. The key is tempering: drip lemon juice into yolks very slowly, then beat in a ladle of hot broth before the yolks meet the pan, or you’ll have scrambled eggs in your sauce.
Celery isn’t a side thought here. It’s the co-star. Choose stalks with their leaves intact for deeper flavor, and scrape heavy outer stringy stalks slightly to prevent fiber tangling in the final sauce.
Chef Tips
- Leave the fat and skin on pork shoulder during the braise as the recipe instructs. It keeps the meat juicy, and you remove it cleanly at the end.
- Avgolemono never boils again once the yolks go in. A bare simmer over low heat is the safe threshold. Boil and the yolks curdle into dots.
- Use a fresh lemon, not bottled juice. Avgolemono is all about that bright, green lemon character, and bottled juice tastes flat in comparison.
- Serve immediately once the sauce is finished. Avgolemono holds for only 15 to 20 minutes before the texture starts to break.
Variations
- Swap pork shoulder for bone-in lamb or goat shoulder for a richer, more Easter-holiday feel.
- Add a handful of fresh dill or chopped parsley at the end for a greener, herbier profile.
- Use fennel bulbs in place of celery for a sweeter, more anise-scented braise.
Ingredients
Directions
Wipe the pork with damp paper towels, then cut into 1½ inch cubes (the fat and skin may be left on during the cooking and removed later).
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy pan or Dutch oven.
Add the onion and cook until soft and transparent, then add the pork and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the raw meat color disappears.
Season with salt and pepper, add hot water to cover, then cover and simmer gently for 30 to 35 minutes, or until almost tender.
Meanwhile, prepare the celery.
Wash the stalks and scrape the heavy ones slightly.
Cut each stalk once lengthwise (if large) and then across into 1½ inch slices.
Add the celery to pork and continue simmering 25 minutes until both are tender.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the pork and celery and place in a serving dish, first removing and discarding the fat from the meat.
Keep warm.
Skim the fat from the cooking liquid, then add water or boil down rapidly to make to make 1½ cups.
Keep hot while you prepare the avgolemono.
To prepare the avgolemono, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a pan.
Stir in the flour, and after cooking over low heat for 1 minute, gradually add 2 cups of the hot cooking liquid from the meat.
Stir until the sauce comes to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, beat the two remaining egg yolks and add the lemon juice, droplet by droplet, beating all the while.
Beat a little of the thickened cooking liquid into the yolk mixture, then add the yolks to the pan of hot liquid.
Mix well and cook over low heat until thickened.
Pour the hot sauce over the pork and celery, garnish with parsley or celery leaves and serve warm.
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