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1
Two days before serving the pork, prepare the brine: In a large skillet over low heat, toast the caraway seeds.
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2
Cool and grind in a spice grinder.
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3
In a large plastic container, combine the caraway, fennel, peppercorns, coriander, salt, brown sugar, garlic, cider vinegar and 4 cups water.
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4
Add the pork, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
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5
The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
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6
Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry.
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7
Season with salt and pepper.
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8
In a braising pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil.
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9
Add the pork and brown on all sides.
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10
Transfer to a plate.
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11
Add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, thyme and 2 tablespoons toasted caraway seeds to the pan.
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12
Brown the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
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13
Return the pork to the pan, skin side up.
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14
Pour in the apple cider and enough broth to cover the meat by three-fourths.
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15
Bring to a boil, then cover and braise in the oven until the pork is very tender, about 2 hours.
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16
Cool the pork in its cooking liquid and refrigerate overnight.
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17
The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
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18
Scrape off and discard excess fat from the braising liquid.
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19
Remove the pork and discard loose gelatin.
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20
Cut the pork into serving pieces and place in a wide saute pan with a heatproof handle.
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21
Bring the braising liquid to a boil and reduce by about two-thirds, or until it lightly coats the back of a spoon; strain.
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22
Pour just enough liquid over the pork to submerge halfway.
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23
Sprinkle with the remaining caraway seeds, then place the pan in the oven and heat through, basting occasionally.
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24
Top pork with sauce and serve with braised cabbage, a recipe for which can be found at nytimes.com/magazine.
