ROASTED PORK SHOULDER WITH APPLES

I LOVE TO WATCH TOP CHEF, HOWEVER, I AM ALWAYS AFRAID TO TRY ANY OF THE RECIPIES THAT THEY MAKE BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS SEEM SO COMPLEX AND DIFFERENT THAN ANYTHING I WOULD TRADITIONALLY MAKE.  LAST WEEK I WAS WATCHING GOOD MORNING AMERICA AND FABIO WAS ON  AND HE MADE THIS PORK ROAST THAT I DECIDED WAS WITHIN MY COOKING ABILITY AND SO JEFF AND I MADE IT FOR  SUNDAY DINNER AND IT WAS DELICIOUS.  A MUST TRY!

 Ingredients

4 pound pork shoulder

( I used the picnic pork which is always tender and costs less) 

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons ground fennel

½ teaspoons ground cloves

3 tablespoons extra light olive oil

5 granny smith apples –peeled, cored and sliced the juice from ½ lemon

2 whole cloves

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

Cooking Directions

Brush the pork shoulder with some of the olive oil all over, then season it generously with the salt, pepper, ground fennel, ground cloves and garlic powder.
Heat up the rest of the olive oil over medium high heat in a large Dutch oven and sear the pork shoulder on all sides until golden brown. Transfer it to a preheated 325 degrees F oven and cook for about 2 – 21/2 (I cooked it for 3 hours)  hours or until the meat is tender when pierced with a fork. Allow to rest for half an hour before serving.
I FEEL LIKE THE APPLES CAN BE OPTIONAL.  I DIDNT FEEL THAT THEY WERE A MUST HAVE WITH THE ROAST BECAUSE THE ROAST ITS SELF WAS SO GOOD.
Meanwhile melt the butter in a large sauté pan and ad the sliced apples together with the brown sugar and cloves and sear until golden and begin to caramelize. Squeeze the lemon juice over the apples and discard the cloves.
To serve arrange some of the sautéed apples on a plate and top with a couple of slices of the pork shoulder.