This recipe is my adjustments to Sybil's modifications of a recipe by Molly Stevens in her book All About Braising. I am deeply, gravely saddened that I didn't learn this recipe forty years ago because everybody loves it.

One 4 1/2 to 5-pound (2 kilos or so) boneless pork shoulder roast, preferably Boston Butt. For a special occasion, use a fresh ham roast (by which I mean a big chunk of muscle from the hind leg of a pig).

Salt and freshly ground pepper or hua jiao, "flower pepper," the Sichuan peppercorns.

2 tablespoons olive oil...or rendered pork fat if you can get away with this.

1 medium leek, or an onion, or maybe a stalk of fresh green garlic, about 1 cup, coarsely chopped

2 carrots, coarsely chopped

6 cardamom pods, husks split and discarded, seeds lightly crushed

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon cayenne or better yet, a couple of seeded and chopped jalapeños, more if you like them

1 tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and bruised

3 strips orange zest removed with a vegetable peeler (each about 3 inches by 3/4 inch)

1 bay leaf or a California bay leaf

2 tablespoons apricot brandy or Cognac

½ cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth

2 cups chicken or duck stock

1 cup dried apricots or prunes, about 6 1/2 ounces. In the best version of this recipe I ever made, I used a dozen fresh apricots plus a large handful of those French plums called prunes that had been dried, in other words, prune prunes.

1. Heat the oven to 250º (110º Celsius)

2. Trim away any especially thick fat, but leaving some will improve the flavor. Roll and tie the pork.

3. Pat the pork dry with paper towels. Season all over with salt and plenty of black pepper or hua jiao. Pour the oil into a Dutch oven or other deep lidded pot that will hold the pork snugly (4 or 5 quart size works well), and heat over medium-low heat. Lower the pork into the pot and sear it to well browned on all sides, but not burned. This will take something like half an hour. Transfer the pork to a plate.

4. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat, and return the pot to medium heat. Add the leek or onion and carrots, stir in the crushed cardamom, turmeric, and cayenne or jalapeños, and cook, stirring once or twice, until the vegetables begin to soften but not take on much color, about 5 minutes.

5. Add the ginger, garlic, orange zest, and bay leaf and cook until the spices are quite fragrant, another 2 minutes.

6. Pour the brandy into the pot. Bring to a boil and boil, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to release any caramelized bits, until reduced by half, about 1 minute.

7. Add the wine and let it boil for 4 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the pot with the spoon.

8. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Add the apricots or prunes and boil for another 2 minutes.

9. Lift the pork with the tongs and set it on top of the vegetables and fruit. Pour in any accumulated juices from the plate. Bring the liquid to an easy simmer and spoon some over the pork. Cover the meat with a sheet of parchment paper, pressing down so it almost touches the meat and the edges extend over the sides of the pot by about an inch. (If you have a pot with a lid that fits tightly, the parchment is not necessary.) Cover the pot and slide it onto a shelf in the lower third of the oven to braise. Periodically check to see that the liquid is just barely at the most minimal simmer, and give the pork a turn. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a minimal simmer. Continue to braise gently until the pork is fork-tender to falling apart, which should take 5-6 hours.

10. Remove the pork from the pot with a large meat fork or tongs and set it on a platter to catch the juices. Cover loosely with foil and let it rest.

11. Return the pot to the top of the stove and skim off the excess fat. Remove the zests and bay leaf if you like, but I don't. If the sauce is too thin, reduce it by boiling it over high to medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. It should be the consistency of a thick vinaigrette. Pour any juices which have accumulated under the pork into the sauce, and stir. Adjust to taste for salt and pepper.

12. Remove the strings from the pork and carve into 1/2 inch (1 cm.) thick slices. It will tend to fall apart even if your knife is sharp. No problem. Serve with the sauce.