Pork and Mushroom Casserole

These cold wintery days call for rustic and hearty casseroles. Meaty dishes that stick the ribs and make you feel all comfy and warm inside. This is one of our favourites.

The original recipe for this came from an old meat cookery book that my mother was given at a wedding shower back in the early 1950's. I think it was called Martha Logan's Meat Cookbook. I have always loved that book.



I have copied a whole lot of the recipes into my notebook through the years and in all honesty there is not a dud in the bunch. Many became my tried and trues.



Of course I have updated and adapted most of them to modern tastes and ingredients. The original recipe for this delicious casserole called for tinned mushrooms, along with their liquid.




I switched it to fresh mushrooms, which I saute along with the bacon and onions, and I added some apple juice instead of the mushroom liquid. All in all, quite, quite delicious. Tasty meaty and tender pieces of pork in a rich gravy filled with lovely bits of bacon, onions and mushrooms. Fabulous!



*Pork and Mushroom Casserole*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

An old family recipe that's delicious!

1 pound of pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 slices of streaky bacon diced
cooking oil as needed
1 medium onion chopped
1 small punnet of mushrooms, sliced (about 2 cups)
1 tsp salt
freshy ground black pepper to taste
1 large free range egg, beaten
250ml of apple juice ( 1 cup)
4 ounces fine dry cracker crumbs ( I like to use the Italian crackers, which are like
Saltines) (1 cup)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Place the bacon into a large skillet. Panfry until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Saute the onion and mushrooms in the bacon fat until tender, adding a bit of oil as needed. Remove with a slotted spoon and combine with the bacon. Set aside.

Season the pieces of tenderloin with some salt and pepper. Place the egg in a shallow bowl. Place the cracker crumbs in another shallow bowl. Dip the pieces of meat into the egg and then roll in the cracker crumbs. Brown the cubes of meat on all sides in the pan drippings, adding oil as needed. Layer the browned pork cubes and the onion/bacon/mushroom mixture in a 1 litre casserole. Pour the apple juice over all. Cover tightly and then bake in the heated oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

Delicious served with mashed potatoes or rice.