Hi Devlin!
1. Starting the day before, I rubbed the pork with a mixture of garlic, red pepper, freshly ground coriander and fenugreek, and salt -- also made some little slits in the meat and pushed some of the mixture in. Let it sit for a while (several hours is good). Then I browned it on all sides, cooked some chopped onions in the same pan, put them in a crock pot and added 2-3 cups of water. Cooked for about 6 hours, let it cool, and refrigerated it in the liquid. The next day I removed the fat from the surface and slowly reheated it. Strained the juices, reduced them by about half, and added some balsamic vinegar; then turned the juices into a thicker sauce. (I added cornstarch/cold water -- next time I'll do it properly and make a roux.) Combined sauce and meat, heated through, added about half a cup of chopped cilantro, served.
You can do this with all sorts of spice combinations: I'm also fond of using one with allspice, juniper berries, and hot pepper -- and of course you can use any combination of water, stock, wine, cider, or even beer.
2. Yes -- they're easy and delicious. Next time I'm going to make 4 times the quantity and keep the extra in the fridge.
2 red apples (nice crunchy ones)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 T peeled, sliced ginger
1/2 tsp allspice berries
1/4 tsp whole peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
Quarter, core, and slice apples lengthwise. Boil vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pickling spice in a saucepan, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Add apples and return to a boil. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cool. Chill, uncovered, until cold, overnight or longer -- they keep. Drain and remove spices before serving.
