Cinnamon and beer braised pork with caraway porridge

Directions

1. Braised pork and caraway porridge
2. Preheat your oven to 300F. Sprinkle your pork roast generously with salt and pepper.
3. In a large Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium high heat. When the butter is foaming, add the pork. Brown well on all sides, then transfer the pork to a plate. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they are softened and brown, about 7-10 minutes.
4. Stir in the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Then stir in the beer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot as you stir. Add the pork back to the pot along with any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Cover tightly and put the roast in the oven.
5. Bake in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, flipping the meat over halfway through. Then, remove the cover and cook another 30 minutes, until the meat is completely tender and pulls apart easily with a fork and the sauce is somewhat thickened.
6. While the pork is braising, put the milk and the caraway into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and allow to infuse for 30 minutes. Then strain the milk and keep warm.
7. Put the creme fraiche into a heavy bottomed pot, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes.
8. Whisk 1/4 cup of the flour into the creme fraiche, and cook over low heat until the butterfat starts to separate out.
9. Whisk in the remaining flour and the salt and cook for a couple of minutes. Next, stir in the milk bit by bit, whisking the porridge to keep a smooth consistency. Continue cooking until it is thickened. Season with salt to taste.
10. Serve the porridge topped with pieces of braised pork and some of the braising juices. Garnish with pieces of horseradish meringue (see below).

1. Horseradish meringue
2. Preheat your oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and grease the parchment well.
3. Add the egg whites and cream of tartar to the bowl of your stand mixer, with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on medium-high until they hold soft peaks.
4. Whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a small bowl. With the mixer on medium-high speed, drizzle in the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Continue beating until the egg whites are glossy and hold stiff peaks. Finally, mix on high speed for 45 seconds until the egg whites are quite stiff.
5. Carefully fold in the horseradish. Spread the mixture in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet until it is about 1/2” thick (this may not take up the whole baking sheet).
6. Bake on the middle rack of the oven until the top of the meringue is light brown and feels firm to the touch (mine took around 30 minutes). Cool completely.
7. Break into irregular chunks and serve atop the pork and porridge.