Schwein-a-braten

by Barbi
(Folsom, California)

My mother worked as a nanny in Germany when she was a young woman. The lady of the house that she worked for taught her how to cook this Schwein-a-braten for the family. When I was growing up my mother always served this at our house on Sunday's for dinner and was my sister an my favorite meal that my mother cooked for us. My mother would cook this on the stove, but since I am a busy working mom I have adapted the recipe for the slow cooker.

3-4 lb. bone-in, Pork shoulder roast
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 yellow onions, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 cups water
4 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup water
8 oz. sour cream

Rinse pork roast with cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper on all sides.

Heat oil in a large pan. Brown roast on all sides, until golden brown. Transfer browned roast into slow cooker.

Cook onions in the pan until translucent, scraping up all the browned bits in the pan. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add onion/garlic mixture to the slow cooker. Add water so that the water comes about 3/4 of the way up the sides of the pork roast. Add whole cloves and bay leaves.

Cover with lid and cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 3-4 hours until the meat is almost falling off the bone.

Remove roast and slice. Remove the bay leaves and cloves from the juices in the slow cooker.

In a small bowl mix the flour and water until all the lumps are gone. Add the sour cream and mix well. Add the sour cream/flour mixture to the juices in the slow cooker and stir to combine and thicken gravy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This is how my mother served the gravy, but my family prefers a smoother gravy so I added the following step:

Using an emersion blender, blend gravy until smooth and creamy.

Gravy can be blended in a blender or food processor. Use caution when blending hot liquids in a blender or food processor.

Serve the roast with either dumplings, mashed potatoes or noodles and cover with lots and lots of gravy.