Trader Joe’s has come up with some pretty solid heat and eat holiday-ish entrees over the last few years. This year’s entree (or one of, we’ll see) is Braised Pork Shoulder with Fig and Apricot Sauce. The box shows nice uniform slices (which seems more like loin than shoulder to me), but ok. At $7.99 per lb., my 1.73 lb. shoulder came in at $13.82. At my store they were all roughly this size.
It’s already fully cooked so you’re just trying to warm it. I opted for the oven (the box also has microwave and simmer in the bag directions). You just cut open the bag, put it in an oven safe dish, and heat it for 30 minutes uncovered. Once done, I poured the sauce into a dish on the side and got to slicing. As you can see, this looks like shoulder to me. It slices ok, though not perfectly. I don’t know how consistent the chunks are going to be, so hopefully you don’t end up having to shred it. I think it’ll feed 2-3 people.
The pork wasn’t totally dry (though it may look like it’s on it way). I mean, it’s fully cooked and you’re reheating, so it’s to be expected. I drizzled on some sauce (the longer I look at it…I know), which is definitely fruity, though I couldn’t have told you fig and apricot for sure. Sweet is the main note. For me, it could use more pepper and it definitely needs something acidic to cut it. Like a little whole grain or dijon mustard to dip it in.
The thing is, overall, it didn’t really impress me. It’s…fine. It’s better warm/hot than it is cold. For $13, I wanted to go, hey this is pretty good. But If you asked me what entree to get, I’d say look for the Balsamic Short Ribs or the TJ’s Porchetta before this one. Would I buy Trader Joe’s Braised Pork Shoulder again? Nope, I would not.
If you do use this for a small holiday entree, air fried Brussels sprouts are delish on the side. I grabbed one the stalks at TJ’s and used this NYT recipe with Balsamic, Soy Sauce and Lime glaze. Definitely tasty. But for sure read the notes section to adjust the temp and cooking time for your air fryer. They’re even good cold, if you can believe it.
Other We Tried’s from Trader Joe’s:
Mini Chocolate Mousse Desserts