Homestyle Pork with Barley
Description
The recipe won't take much time. This is, so to speak, our family recipe. My great-grandmother used to cook it in a Russian stove. She would sear pork—pieces of pig's head or hocks—place them into a large clay pot, add soaked barley and onion, pour boiling water over it, and put it into the heated stove overnight. The result was delicious—absolutely irresistible! Unfortunately, Russian stoves are hardly found these days, but it also turns out delicious in a multicooker. Serve hot.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Use meat with fat and skin, making sure to thoroughly scrape the skin. Cut the meat into large pieces, especially if it has bones. This time I'm using a boneless hind leg. Sear the meat on all sides, starting with the meat side, until a nice golden-brown crust forms. Towards the end of searing, add one chopped onion and sauté it together with the meat. Then pour in boiling water until it reaches the same level as the meat, season with salt and pepper to taste, and switch the multicooker to the "Stewing" mode for 4 hours. If you have a "Multicook" mode, set the temperature to 90°C and the time to 2 hours.
- 2
Step 2
Rinse the barley and cover with cold water. Boil for about 20 minutes until half-cooked. Drain through a sieve and rinse off the slime. I usually cook a large amount of barley at once and freeze it. Then it's convenient to add to various dishes later.
- 3
Step 3
Remove the meat from the multicooker. Add finely chopped onion and partially cooked barley to the remaining broth. Set to simmer in "Stewing" mode.
- 4
Step 4
After half an hour, return the meat to the multicooker and simmer together for another 5 minutes. Then switch to the "Keep Warm" mode for about 40 minutes, allowing the remaining broth to be fully absorbed by the grain.
- 5
Step 5
Serve the dish hot. It can be confidently paired with pickled vegetables.