Recipe: Braised Pork Shoulder with Endives

The day before:

1 Take a nice piece of pork shoulder or ham hock. In a bowl prepare the mixture: 20g (0.7 oz) fine salt, 1 teaspoon brown muscovado sugar, 1 teaspoon mixed spice, 5g (0.2 oz) lemon thyme flowers and 5g (0.2 oz) ground white pepper, mix well and rub the meat all over, place in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
The next day:

2 Rinse the meat under cold running water and dry it.

3 Preheat your oven to 90°C (195°F) (gas mark 3) so we will cook at low temperature.

4 In a round casserole melt the 40g (1.4 oz) lard then brown the meat on each side, add the 2 sliced onions, a little thyme and one bay leaf.
Moisten with the liter of blonde beer and arrange around the meat the 12 small endives just wiped, trimmed and slightly hollowed out, salt and pepper with freshly ground pepper.

5 Put the covered casserole in the oven for 5 hours at mid-oven temperature.
When you open this casserole, selfishly enjoy the first aroma. The mingled scents of the braised pork shoulder and the endives, sweet like candy, will open a door to happiness for your guests. Enjoy for example with a good Gueuze.
You can also prepare this recipe by replacing the endives with finely sliced red cabbage that has been blanched