Pork Agrodolce

4.80 (78)
⏱ 165 mins 🍽 Serves 12 🌶 italian 🏷 Main course

This dish brings together the classic Italian sweet and sour flavours of agrodolce with tender braised pork shoulder. The sauce is a robust blend of tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, honey, rosemary and anchovy, which coats the meat before a long, slow cook in the oven. The result is incredibly tender pork with a deeply savoury, tangy and slightly sweet glaze. It's a substantial and flavourful centrepiece ideal for a gathering.

Pork Agrodolce

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 0.33333334326744 cup aged balsamic vinegar
  • 0.25 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 anchovy fillet, or more to taste, mashed
  • 0.25 cup finely chopped green onions
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt, or more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3.5 pounds boneless pork shoulder

Method

  1. Set your oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Use olive oil to grease a baking dish.
  2. Combine the tomato paste, both vinegars, honey, mashed anchovy, green onions, garlic, rosemary, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper in a large bowl, whisking to form the agrodolce sauce.
  3. Slice the pork shoulder into pieces approximately 3 inches in size. Place them into the bowl with the sauce and use your hands to mix until the meat is fully covered. Move the pork and all the sauce into the oiled baking dish.
  4. Place in the oven and bake, turning the pork pieces over once halfway through the cooking time, until the meat is very tender, which will take 2 1/2 to 3 hours. If the dish looks too dry during cooking, add a little water. You can remove any excess fat from the surface if you wish.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories199 kcal
Fat13 g
Sugars6 g
Protein14 g
Sodium556 mg

Recipe details

CategoryMain course
Cuisineitalian
AuthorJohn Mitzewich