Hearty pork neck casserole: Your cozy dinner essential
Casseroles are one of the best answers to the question of what to have for dinner. They are simple to prepare and perfectly warm you up after coming home. My tried-and-true recipe is a delicious casserole with potatoes and ground pork neck. It's simply finger-licking good.
After this casserole, even the loudest stomach growls will quickly be silenced. Under the cheesy layer, there's a lot happening—ground pork neck, hearty potatoes, tender mushrooms, and creamy béchamel sauce. It's the perfect solution for a dinner on a day when the temperature outside is dropping. A serving of homemade casserole will quickly warm you up and restore energy lost to the cold.
Pork neck casserole
Potato Casserole with Ground Pork Neck and Mushrooms is a dish that works every time. Just toss the prepared ingredients into a heat-resistant dish and have a little patience while baking. Freshly out of the oven, the hot and steaming casserole will make your mouth water right away.
In this recipe, I use ground pork neck. It's quite fatty and wonderfully adds juiciness to the casserole. You can grind the pork neck yourself, ask for it at the butcher shop, or replace it with another ground meat, such as shoulder.
Ingredients:
- 2.2 lbs of potatoes
- 27 oz of mushrooms
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt for mushrooms
- 27 oz of ground pork neck
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt for pork neck
- 2 tablespoons of oil
- 1 heaping teaspoon of sweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon of hot paprika
- 1 flat teaspoon of oregano
- 1 flat teaspoon of dried rosemary
- 2 cloves of garlic
Béchamel sauce:
- 3 cups of milk
- 2 oz of butter
- 1 oz of all-purpose flour
- 5 oz of grated Parmesan
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- a pinch of nutmeg
Instructions:
- Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the ground pork neck.
- Season with salt, hot and sweet paprika, oregano, and rosemary, and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked meat to a heat-resistant dish.
- Peel the potatoes, cut them into medium-sized cubes, and boil in salted water until they start to soften but are not overcooked.
- Slice the mushrooms, toss them into the skillet, and season with salt. Sauté until all the water evaporates.
- Transfer the mushrooms to the meat.
- In the heat-resistant dish, combine the mushrooms, add potatoes, 2/3 of the grated Parmesan, and pressed garlic, and mix everything.
- Heat the milk until it's slightly warm.
- Melt butter in a skillet. Add flour and salt, and sauté until the mixture starts to bubble.
- Pour in the warm milk, stirring the sauce. Season with nutmeg and cook until the sauce starts to thicken. Remember to stir to prevent burning.
- Pour the hot sauce over the casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and let it sit for a few minutes to allow the sauce to seep in.
- Place in an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, using the top-bottom setting.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Serve the casserole warm. Enjoy your meal!
