Method

•  Place the pork shoulder on the chopping board, first remove the skin and fat in larger pieces, then with the sharp knife shave the fat away from the skin
• Cut the pork fat into small pieces and place in to a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, or casserole dish, over a low heat
• The fat will gently begin to render and after 10-15 minutes you will have nice little cracklings swimming in the pool of fresh lard
• When the cracklings are nicely shrunken and start turning a light golden colour they are done
• Scoop the cracklings out, leave enough lard to sweat the onion in the pan/casserole dish (for this you will need less than you think
• ) Cook onions gently until soft with the caraway seeds
• Meanwhile, you should have begun cutting your pork into small pieces
• The little bits of sinewy fat connecting the shoulder muscles are fine to be left on, they will dissolve anyway
• Add the meat to the softened onions, sprinkle with paprika, season with black pepper and salt, stir together and add the fresh diced tomatoes, or the can of tomatoes, and cover with a lid
• Gently simmer over a low heat for 1
• 5 to 2 hours
• Do not stir too much towards the end of cooking to keep the pieces of meat from breaking apart
• Just poke your wooden spoon to the bottom of the pot to see if anything is catching there or burning, if it does add a little bit of water, shake the pot lightly and reduce the heat
• You will notice when the Porkolt is ready, the meat will become paler in colour and the juices will start splitting from the fat
• Taste to see if the meat is tender, they should just break aided by the wooden spoon
• Remove the lid, and allow the moisture to evaporate until it all sizzles
• This step will help to break down the onion and tomato
• It also adds a bit of the colour, and a caramelisation to the sauce
• Take care not to burn it, 30-60 seconds of the sizzle should be enough
• Then, strangely, add some water, bring it to the boil and it is done
• The final density and consistency is your choice and can be adjusted to the way you are going to serve the Porkolt
• A richer sauce for pasta, thinner if it is going to be eaten with bread… If you add sour cream you will get a creamy Paprikas, add some sauerkraut you will get Szekely Guylas…