Instant Pot Pork Stew With Red Wine and Olives

Instant Pot Pork Stew With Red Wine and Olives
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Roscoe Betsill.
Total Time
1½ hours
Rating
4(1,089)
Notes
Read community notes

Pork shoulder is one of the most glorious things to cook in an electric pressure cooker. The meat becomes velvety and suffused with rich, brawny juices. Here, red wine, tomatoes, rosemary and sage perfume the pork, while olives, stirred in at the end, give it brightness. This stew is even better cooked a day or two ahead, giving the flavors time to meld. Making it in advance also gives the fat a chance to solidify, so it’s easy to remove before reheating. Then, if you like, you can reheat the stew in the electric pressure cooker using the sauté setting. Serve this over polenta or rice, or with good bread, to soak up the meaty sauce.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 2pounds pork shoulder or pork stew meat, cut into 2-inch chunks
  • teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal), plus more as needed
  • ¾teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
  • 6garlic cloves, grated, passed through a press or crushed into a paste
  • 1tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1tablespoon chopped fresh sage
  • Large pinch of red-pepper flakes
  • 1teaspoon coriander seeds
  • Olive oil
  • ½cup dry red wine
  • 1(15-ounce) can whole peeled plum tomatoes
  • 2medium carrots, sliced ½-inch thick (about 1 cup)
  • ½cup pitted and torn green olives, such as Castelvetrano
  • Chopped parsley or basil, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

292 calories; 13 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 34 grams protein; 655 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Season the pork all over with the salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine the pork, garlic, rosemary, sage and red-pepper flakes.

  2. Step 2

    In a small dry skillet, toast the coriander seeds until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and coarsely crush (or do this on a cutting board with the side of a heavy knife). Add crushed seeds to the pork and toss well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

  3. Step 3

    Set the pressure cooker to the sauté function on medium. Add 1 tablespoon oil and let it get hot for a few seconds, then add enough pork chunks to fit comfortably in one layer with a little space around each piece. Let brown for 2 to 3 minutes per side, then transfer the cubes to a plate. Add a little more oil if the pot looks dry and continue browning the rest of the pork.

  4. Step 4

    Add the wine to the pot and let simmer, scraping the browned bits from the bottom, until it reduces by half, about 2 minutes. Using kitchen shears or your hands, break the tomatoes into pieces and add them, along with their liquid, to the pot. Return pork to the pot, stir in carrots and ½ cup water.

  5. Step 5

    Seal the pot and cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.

  6. Step 6

    Using a slotted spoon, transfer pork to a serving platter. Use a fat separator to separate the fat from the juices, or just spoon the fat off the top. (There may be a lot of fat.) If the sauce seems thin, use the sauté function to simmer it until it thickens. Stir in olives, then taste the sauce and add more salt, if you like.

  7. Step 7

    Spoon the sauce over the pork, then top with chopped parsley or basil and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,089 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

I don’t have an instant pot but love the look of this recipe. Can it be modified for a slow cooker?

I know this is all about the Instapot, but I intend to do it in a Dutch Oven, then braise it in the oven for about 1-1/2 hours. I have O space for all the new gadgets and besides that, I LOVE braises.

I always do browning, sautéing, etc., in a large skillet, then add it to the instapot. I find the instapot doesn’t do these things very well, and the small surface area at the bottom means you can only brown small batches, which takes a lot of extra time.

Can this recipe be modified for a slow cooker?

Yep. The IP used this way is simply speeding up an ordinary braise, so just reverse-engineer this to make it an ordinary braise. Do everything up to step 5 in your dutch oven, then make sure you've got enough stock/liquid - half-way or so up the meat, or more to make a stew - and simmer in the oven for 1.5-2 hours at around 325, or on the stovetop at a bare simmer (both covered). You could try adding the vegetables in partway through the simmer so they don't dissolve.

The secret to even better meat and veggie dishes cooked in the IP? 1. Follow recipe up to and including cooking meat (and tomatoes, if any) for the requisite time. Do a natural release for the time required. 2. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon. Add hard veggies like patotoes and carrots. Cook on high 5 minutes. Instant release. 3. Thicken sauce if desired on saute setting. Taste for seasoning. 4. Add back meat to warm. Perfectly done meat - and perfectly done veggies not overcooked.

In response to Claire, maybe add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, or a splash of vinegar - maybe apple or another “bright” vinegar, like champagne vinegar or a lighter type white wine vinegar. Something acidic, which is a large part of what olives or capers bring to the dish (plus salt, so check the saltiness if you use one of these ideas).

Fantastic! I used lamb instead of pork. I also used fresh tomatoes and tomato paste. I pressure cooked it for 60 minutes because the lamb shoulder was not cut so I figured it needed a bit more time. Instead of water I used chicken broth. Turned out delicious!

Can this be made in a crock pot?

What a keeper. I doubled everything - except held back on the water, keeping it at about half a cup. It took almost an hour for the instant pot to natural release because of how much was in there. My only note was that next time I might add a bit more wine. But the sauce is so flavorful as written- and for so few ingredients!!I served over sticky white rice and with a Japanese sweet potato and salad on the side. Rave reviews from all.

I have a family member who will not eat olives or capers (weirdo!). Anyone tried this without either of those?

Delicious! We have a 3Q mini instant pot, and this recipe actually fits in it, going on the small side on the meat, everything else as written. Next time, I might not use the 1/2c water - there was more liquid than needed. The seasoning is memorable!

Yes, this can be done in a slow cooker. After seasoning the pork I browned it in a hot skillet with oil. I had 3 pounds of pork so did one layer at a time as suggested in the recipe. I then continued with step 3 and deglazed the pan with the wine. I placed the pork in the slow cooker (already warming up) then poured the reduced wine over along with the tomatoes and the carrots. The stew cooked in the slow cooker on low for about 4 hours. The pork came out tender and moist.

In response to Elizabeth and Amy. I do not have an instant pot but was intrigued by the recipe combination of flavors so I used my slow cooker instead. Apply your experience with your slow cooker, the results are fantastic. I used ground inner cardamon seeds as I had not time to go shopping. It's a keeper, great flavor!

John, mushy veggies are common in the IP - but only when cooked with the meat. The 2-stage process below will prevent this. 1. Follow recipe up to and including cooking meat (and tomatoes, if any) for the requisite time. Do a natural release for the time required. 2. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon. Add hard veggies like patotoes and carrots. Cook on high 5 minutes. Instant release. 3. Thicken sauce if desired on saute setting. Taste for seasoning. 4. Add back meat to warm

Made as directed; didn't care for it -- simply not a pleasing combination of flavors. I think it was the olives that wrecked it.

How can I adapt this to use a 4# bone-in pork roast in the IP.

I made this today in the crockpot. I left out the carrots. My house has smelled amazing all afternoon. This is so flavorful. Will definitely make it again!

This is another recipe where the original is unnecessarily complicated. Instead of whole tomatoes, I’ve substituted diced tomatoes. Simmering the sauce on its own may take a week or two to thicken it; I’ve added an optional tablespoon of corn starch. Olives are a matter of taste. We keep big jars of pitted Kalamata olives, so in they go instead of green.

Look for a “half” or “mini” shoulder, which at our market is vacuum packed and sold in ~4 pound packs. Cubing the meat will yield just over 2 pounds, and leave behind most of the fat and bone, alone with strips of meat. Those remains would start a good base for a soup.

Made exactly per the recipe. Delicious! In the future few will allow more time for prep to completion. Company worthy.

Could someone out there answer the question numerous others and I have regarding cooking this without the IP or slow cooker? I don't have access t either so would like to hear if someone has cooked this on top of the stove.

@Ellen there are several responses to your question, including right below. Short answer: more time, and adapt to the method.

It's delicious. I would add more olives to the finished dish.

Delicious! I used a traditional stove top preparation and it works great. Just watch the liquid during the simmering process, it will need more liquid as you go along. It's probably better to add liquid as you go rather than at the beginning so you can control the consistency. Couldn't find a shoulder, used a bone-in thick cut pork chop; simmer the bone with the wine for flavor; has less fat than a shoulder.

Very tasty. Add a squirt of ketchup to the stew a half hour before the end of cooking to bring out the flavors.

Followed recipe exactly as written and it was delicious

I love this recipe, but I prefer to prevent the coriander, pepper flakes, herbs, and garlic from burning I prefer to add them along with the tomatoes in step 4 rather than putting them on the pork before browning it. I also do the browning and the final reduction on the stovetop rather than in the Instant Pot, and I add the carrots only when reducing the sauce so they keep some shape and texture.

This was very good with modifications: 1. Stew without onions? No way! Chopped a large onion, sautéed in Dutch Oven it until started to brown, added pork mixture and sautéed until lightly browned. 2. Added 1 cup red wine (Syrah) to deglaze, then 1 cup of chicken broth, tomatoes and other ingredients (plus 2 bay leaves); simmered 20 minutes, covered, stirring now and then. 3. Transferred to 325 degree oven for 90 minutes; stirred every 30 minutes; removed lid last 30 to thicken sauce.

Good. Probably would have been even better if I had put the spices on the pork sooner. (I let it sit in the spices only for half an hour.) I did it on the stove top since I don’t have an instant pot; I let it cook for a couple of hours, and it worked fine.

This was good, but not good enough to make again. I made it exactly as written except I had no coriander seeds, so I used powdered.

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