Sweet and Sour Key Lime Pork

Revised manuscript returned to Sarah on Thursday — twenty-nine of her thirty-two comments addressed in full, three negotiated in conversation where I disagreed and explained why and she either agreed with my reasoning or we found a third way. That process — two people trying to make something as good as it can be — is one of the better things I've experienced in this work. You think you're doing it alone and then you discover you were always part of a conversation; the editor was waiting at the other end of it.

December is deep in itself now. The days are short enough that I'm doing evening chores in the dark, which I've done every winter of my adult life but which still takes a moment of adjustment. The horses are on full winter hay, the water heaters are in the troughs, the ATV has the plow blade attached for whenever the driveway requires it. The ranch in winter runs on preparation made in other seasons. That's a theme I keep finding everywhere.

Patrick had a minor fall in the kitchen on Wednesday evening — not serious, didn't hit anything hard, was up immediately — but I was in the room and we both knew what it meant. We've been having a slow conversation for about a year about modifications to the house: grab bars, better lighting, a shower bench. Patrick has been resistant in the way of someone who knows what the conversation is actually about. On Thursday he said, without preamble: "Call the contractor." I did. They're coming in January.

That night I made a beef stew — the long kind, with short ribs braised for three hours in red wine and stock, vegetables added in the last hour, a gremolata on top to cut the richness. Patrick ate it at the table and didn't say anything about the fall and didn't say anything about the contractor and talked instead about a horse he'd bought in 1989, a grullo mare named Dolores who could open any gate in the county. I let him tell the whole story. Some evenings the right thing to do is listen.

That evening with Patrick, the stew did its job — it gave us somewhere to put the hour. But there’s another dish I come back to when I need something that still carries weight but cuts through it a little, something that doesn’t let the room get too quiet or too heavy. This sweet and sour key lime pork does that. The lime works the way a good question does: it opens things up. It’s what I made the following night, when we were both still finding our footing, and it helped.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 lbs pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1/3 cup fresh key lime juice (about 12–14 key limes)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
Salt and black pepper to taste
Cooked white or brown rice, for serving
Sliced green onions and key lime zest, for garnish

Instructions

Make the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the key lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, rice vinegar, and cornstarch until the sugar dissolves and no lumps remain. Set aside.
Sear the pork. Pat the pork chunks dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding, sear the pork on all sides until deep golden brown, about 3–4 minutes per batch. Transfer seared pork to a plate.
Build the base. Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the onion wedges and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly caramelized at the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more until fragrant.
Braise. Return the pork to the pan and pour in the chicken stock. Stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 45 minutes, until the pork is nearly tender.
Add the peppers and sauce. Uncover the pan and add the red and green bell peppers. Pour the key lime sauce over everything and stir gently to coat. Increase heat to medium and cook uncovered for another 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, the peppers are tender-crisp, and the pork is fully cooked through and glossy.
Taste and adjust. Taste the sauce and adjust balance as needed — a touch more lime for brightness, a pinch more sugar if the citrus is very sharp. The sauce should be tangy, lightly sweet, and savory all at once.
Serve. Spoon over steamed rice and finish with sliced green onions and a little fresh key lime zest. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sweet and Sour Key Lime Pork — When the Right Thing to Do Is Feed Someone Well