Ontario grows more apples than any other province, and its cider presses have been turning that harvest into sweet, tangy cider for generations. Pairing that cider with pork is a match as old as Ontario farming itself — the apple orchards and pig farms of the province grew up side by side, and farmhouse cooks knew that a long, slow braise in cider turns a tough shoulder of pork into something magnificent. It’s the Sunday supper that makes the whole house smell like fall.
What makes it great is the alchemy of the braise: the pork cooks for hours in cider until the meat falls apart, while the cider reduces into a glossy, lightly sweet sauce with just a hint of tang. Add a few Ontario apples near the end and they soften into jammy pockets of flavour that belong right on the plate. Serve it over mashed potatoes and you have a dinner that tastes like a Thanksgiving that never ended.
