Irish pork stew

1. Season pork cubes with salt and black pepper.

2. Heat vegetable oil in a pot over high heat. Working in batches, cook and stir pork in hot oil until browned on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes.***** (SEE NEXT NOTE)

3. ****I've found browning the meat properly super useful for all stews. That means using either a ceramic, cast-iron, or aluminum pot -- no Teflon -- because it needs to be hot and you're going to be messing with the bottom of the pot a lot.
Put in just a few cubes at a time so that there are a couple centimeters between each and they're not touching. Don't move them from the side they fall/are placed in on and let them sizzle. Wait for an excruciating long time, nudging them gently with tongs, until you find that one can be turned over easily easily -- if there's resistance and if it's sticking to the bottom, DON'T yank it off, just wait a little longer until it's no longer sticking at all. Turn cube over and proceed until at least two sides are browned. You get a lovely seared crust on the meat and some nice crusty stuff in the bottom of the pan that will make the stew richer.

4. Transfer pork to a bowl and reduce heat to medium.

5. Melt butter in the pot. Cook and stir onion with a pinch of salt in hot butter until onion is softened and translucent, 7 to 10 minutes. Add garlic; saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

6. Stir flour into onion mixture; cook and stir until flour is completely incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add bay leaf and caraway seed; cook for 2 minutes more. Pour beer into onion mixture. Cook and stir until thickened, 1 to 3 minutes.

7. Stir pork, chicken broth, carrots, and celery into beer mixture; bring to simmer. Stir 1/4 cup parsley and balsamic vinegar into stew, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until pork is fork-tender, about 2 hours.

8. In a separate pan, heat some oil and wait until very hot. Sear the Brussels sprouts until brown on bottom and bright green on top. Put aside. (The original recipe says boil them, but brussels sprouts are ALWAYS better browned.)

9. Stir Brussels sprouts into stew and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide mashed potatoes between 6 bowls. Ladle stew over potatoes and top each with a pinch of parsley.