Braised Pork Shoulder with Quince

Ingredients

• 2 small bay leaves 
• 1 teaspoon pepper black freshly ground
• 5.5 pound boston butt pork shoulder boneless trimmed (Boston butt)
• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 0.5 cup carrots finely chopped
• 0.5 cup celery chopped
• 1.5 teaspoons coarse kosher salt 
• 10 servings mint leaves fresh chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme leaves fresh chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves chopped
• 0.1 teaspoon ground allspice 
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander 
• 0.5 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 10 servings juice of lemon 
• 10 servings lemon wedges 
• 0.5 cup low-salt chicken broth 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 2 cups onions chopped
• 2 teaspoons paprika 
• 1 cup pomegranate juice 
• 3 large quinces cored peeled cut into 8 wedges ()
• 2 tablespoons currant jelly red

Equipment

• bowl
• oven
• knife
• pot
• baking pan
• aluminum foil
• slotted spoon
• peeler
• chefs knife

Directions

1. Stir paprika, 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse koshersalt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, coriander,ginger, allspice, and cinnamon in smallbowl to blend.
2. Spread spice mixture allover pork shoulder. Wrap in plastic andrefrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 325°F. Melt butterwith oil in heavy large oven-proof pot overmedium-high heat.
4. Add pork shoulderand brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.
5. Transfer pork to plate.
6. Pour off all but 2tablespoons drippings from pot and reduceheat to medium.
7. Add quince to pot. Sautéuntil cut sides are lightly browned, 5 to7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transferquince to bowl.
8. Add onions, celery, andcarrot to pot. Sauté until vegetables beginto soften, about 10 minutes.
9. Add garlic;auté1 minute.
10. Add pomegranate juiceand chicken broth. Bring to boil, scrapingup browned bits.
11. Add red currant jelly, bayleaves, and thyme, then quince. Returnpork to pot, fat side up. Cover pot with foil,then lid; place in oven.
12. Braise pork until very tender andthermometer inserted into center registers165°F, basting occasionally, about 2 hours15 minutes. Cool pork uncovered at roomtemperature 1 hour. Chill uncovered untilcold, then cover and chill at least 1 day andup to 3 days.
13. Preheat oven to 350°F.
14. Transfer porkto work surface.
15. Cut off string.
16. Cut porkcrosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Overlapslices in 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Usingslotted spoon, arrange vegetables andquince around pork. Boil juices in pot untilthickened enough to coat spoon, about 15minutes. Season with coarse kosher salt,pepper, and lemon juice to taste.
17. Pour overpork. Cover and bake until heated through,about 30 minutes.
18. Sprinkle pork with chopped mint;surround with lemon wedges and serve.
19. Quinces are ripewhen their peel changes from green toyellow. They should still be quite firm—soft quinces are rotten. Because they'reso hard, they can be difficult to prepare.First, use a vegetable peeler to remove theskin. Next, use a chef's knife to cut the fruitlengthwise (through the core) into wedges.With a small paring knife, carefully removethe core. To prevent the cut pieces frombrowning, soak them in lemon water.