Don't miss the "Basic Slow Cooker Anything Pork" recipe on the Heritage Pork Recipes page.
Old Fashioned Pork Roast
This recipe is old fashioned primarily in that there's no exact measuring - I just toss ingredients in until the mix feels right and let her go. The beauty is that you may feel free to adapt and experiment to your heart's content and I won't take it at all personally. (By the way, this is exactly the same recipe I use for beef roast and where it originated.)
Prepare your cooker, cut any extra fat off the outside of the roast, sear your roast if you prefer (I usually don't take the time but there is certainly something said for it), and put the following into your cooker:
1-2 pork roasts depending on how hungry you are and the size of the roasts and your cooker
2 or 3 onions, quartered or cubed (personally, I like the veggies in my roasts to be pretty large, but you can cut them as small as bite sized if you prefer. I wouldn't recommend going any smaller than that or you'll have mush.)
3 or 4 potatoes, see above
a few carrots (we like LOTS of carrots)
other root veggies as you like: turnip, parsnip, rutabaga, kohlrabi, whatever. Use your imagination.
Pour over the top 1-2 quarts vegetable juice cocktail, amount determined by how much other stuff you have and the size of your cooker; preferably that you canned from last summer's harvest. If you didn't get around to that or it's all gone, go ahead and use the store kind, just be sure to read the ingredients to be sure you're buying vegetable juice not corn syrup. And get the low sodium variety. Add your own salt.
Add Seasonings - I toss in the following, being sure to spread it out.
a bay leaf or two
5 or 6 peppercorns
a few allspice berries
and whatever herbs strike the mood: parsley (always), chives or leeks (usually), rosemary (I put rosemary in everything), and possibly one or more of the following: thyme, marjoram, basil, cilantro, etc. What I choose often has as much to do with what green we'll have as the roast.
If you are more on the ball than me, start it first thing in the morning on low. If you're like me and don't even remember to get the roast out of the freezer until lunchtime then have to thaw it in the microwave, set the slow cooker on high and hope it's done in time for supper. You can always stick it in the oven for a bit at the end. Just remember to swap out the slow cooker lid with the plastic handle for something that won't melt.
This is a dish that is a meal all by itself, but we like to add some fresh baked bread (I do so love my bread machine) and a salad of dark leafy greens and some other steamed green on the side. Applesauce or a cranberry sauce, relish, or conserve is a wonderful accompaniment, too. Especially if you made it yourself.
Parmesan Pork Roast
This recipe came out of a "Taste of Home" checkout aisle collection of slow-cooker recipes and we love it.
Prepare your cooker, cut any extra fat off the outside of the roast, sear your roast if you prefer (I usually don't take the time but there is certainly something said for it), and continue as follows:
1 4 lb pork roast (the recipe says it should be boneless whole pork loin but I can say from experience that having a roast that does not meet that description will not ruin the dish. And you can adapt the recipe per the amount of meat you have. Or not. I usually don't because we like the leftover drippings as they are and Maggie doesn't like gravy.)
2/3 C grated Parmesan cheese (please use real cheese and not that fake stuff)
1/2 C honey (that you bought from someone locally, I hope)
3 T soy sauce (can't help you here except to recommend that you read the ingredients label and choose a low sodium variety. Add your own salt if you must.)
2 T dried basil
2 T minced garlic
2 T olive oil
1/2 t. salt (see?)
The recipe says cut the roast in half, I'd agree if it's a large cut. Put it in your cooker.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix them up. Pour over pork.
Cover; cook on low 5 1/2 - 6 hours "or until a meat thermometer reads 160 and meat is tender".
When it's done, to make gravy (we generally just use the drippings as is), remove the meat to a serving dish and keep it warm. Skim the fat from the cooking juices; transfer to a small saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil. Meanwhile, combine 2 T cornstarch and 1/4C cold water until smooth. Gradually stir mixture into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 min or until thickened. Serve with roast.
With this roast, we like a nice salad (dark and leafy, please), some kind of green vegetables, and whatever kind of carbohydrate we're feeling in the mood for: potatoes, noodles, a grain of some kind, whatever. As with all pork, we think applesauce or a cranberry sauce, relish, or conserve is a wonderful accompaniment, too. Especially if you made it yourself.
Prepare your cooker, cut any extra fat off the outside of the roast, sear your roast if you prefer (I usually don't take the time but there is certainly something said for it), and continue as follows:
1 4 lb pork roast (the recipe says it should be boneless whole pork loin but I can say from experience that having a roast that does not meet that description will not ruin the dish. And you can adapt the recipe per the amount of meat you have. Or not. I usually don't because we like the leftover drippings as they are and Maggie doesn't like gravy.)
2/3 C grated Parmesan cheese (please use real cheese and not that fake stuff)
1/2 C honey (that you bought from someone locally, I hope)
3 T soy sauce (can't help you here except to recommend that you read the ingredients label and choose a low sodium variety. Add your own salt if you must.)
2 T dried basil
2 T minced garlic
2 T olive oil
1/2 t. salt (see?)
The recipe says cut the roast in half, I'd agree if it's a large cut. Put it in your cooker.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix them up. Pour over pork.
Cover; cook on low 5 1/2 - 6 hours "or until a meat thermometer reads 160 and meat is tender".
When it's done, to make gravy (we generally just use the drippings as is), remove the meat to a serving dish and keep it warm. Skim the fat from the cooking juices; transfer to a small saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil. Meanwhile, combine 2 T cornstarch and 1/4C cold water until smooth. Gradually stir mixture into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 min or until thickened. Serve with roast.
With this roast, we like a nice salad (dark and leafy, please), some kind of green vegetables, and whatever kind of carbohydrate we're feeling in the mood for: potatoes, noodles, a grain of some kind, whatever. As with all pork, we think applesauce or a cranberry sauce, relish, or conserve is a wonderful accompaniment, too. Especially if you made it yourself.
Teriyaki Pork Roast
This recipe also came out of a "Taste of Home" checkout aisle collection of slow-cooker recipes. It's pretty good.
Prepare your cooker, cut any extra fat off the outside of the roast, sear your roast if you prefer (I usually don't take the time but there is certainly something said for it), and continue as follows:
1 3-4 lb pork roast (the recipe says it should be boneless pork shoulder. See my comments on this in the Parmesan Pork Roast recipe above.)
1 C packed brown sugar
1/3 C unsweetened apple juice
1/3 C soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Cut roast in half (if large); rub with brown sugar.Place in slow-cooker. Pour apople juice and soy sauce over roast. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 6 1/2 hrs or until meat is tender.
When it's done, to make gravy (we generally just use the drippings as is), remove the meat, cover and let stand for 15 mins. Meanwhile, strain cooking juices and return to cooker. (This is a little ambiguous but it's exactly what the recipe says. Having never actually made this gravy, I haven't tested it out. You're on your own.) Mix 2 T cornstarch and 3 T water until smooth. Stir into juices. Cover and cook on high for 15 minutes or until thickened. Serve pork with gravy.
I'd serve this one with some kind of salad -probably leafy green, maybe apple; leafy green veggies like kale or chard; some other kind of veggie, maybe carrots; a carb of some kind - with a name like Teriyaki, we'd make rice; and, unless the salad was a fruit salad, some kind of fruit. Probably some kind of apple.
Prepare your cooker, cut any extra fat off the outside of the roast, sear your roast if you prefer (I usually don't take the time but there is certainly something said for it), and continue as follows:
1 3-4 lb pork roast (the recipe says it should be boneless pork shoulder. See my comments on this in the Parmesan Pork Roast recipe above.)
1 C packed brown sugar
1/3 C unsweetened apple juice
1/3 C soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Cut roast in half (if large); rub with brown sugar.Place in slow-cooker. Pour apople juice and soy sauce over roast. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 6 1/2 hrs or until meat is tender.
When it's done, to make gravy (we generally just use the drippings as is), remove the meat, cover and let stand for 15 mins. Meanwhile, strain cooking juices and return to cooker. (This is a little ambiguous but it's exactly what the recipe says. Having never actually made this gravy, I haven't tested it out. You're on your own.) Mix 2 T cornstarch and 3 T water until smooth. Stir into juices. Cover and cook on high for 15 minutes or until thickened. Serve pork with gravy.
I'd serve this one with some kind of salad -probably leafy green, maybe apple; leafy green veggies like kale or chard; some other kind of veggie, maybe carrots; a carb of some kind - with a name like Teriyaki, we'd make rice; and, unless the salad was a fruit salad, some kind of fruit. Probably some kind of apple.