Skillet Pork with Oranges and Greek Honey
Here’s a one-pot Greek recipe for pork that is sure to impress, finished with a generous drizzling of Greek honey, which caramelizes and adds a delicious underlying sweetness to the meat. You can also make this Mediterranean recipe as a Greek chicken dish, swapping out the pork, of course, for chicken and cooking it for a bit less time.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (90 ml) extra-virgin Greek olive oil
- 2 leeks trimmed, washed well, and finely chopped
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1½ pounds (680 g) boneless pork shoulder cut into 1½-inch (4 cm) cubes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
- 2 teaspoons dried wild Greek thyme
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange
- 1 star anise pod
- 1 whole dried chile
- 1½ cups (360 ml) dry white wine
- Water or chicken broth as needed
- 3 tablespoons Greek pine honey or thyme honey
Instructions
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In a large wide pot or deep skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the leeks and onion and cook until soft and lightly golden, about 12 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
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Rinse the pork and pat dry. In the same pan, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the pork pieces, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides.
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Reduce the heat to medium-low, return the leek-onion mixture to the pan, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, orange zest, star anise, and chile and stir gently to release the aromas of the herbs and spices.
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Raise the heat and pour in the wine.
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Deglaze the meat; let the alcohol in the wine steam off, then add enough water or broth to barely cover the contents of the pot. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer until the meat is completely cooked and very tender, 2 to 2½ hours, stirring in the honey about an hour before the meat is done. (The honey will slowly caramelize in the pot; by the end of cooking, the contents should be deeply colored and the pan juices should be thick, almost syrupy.)
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Remove the herb sprigs, zest, star anise, and chile before serving. Serve hot or warm.
