Crock Pot Recipes Pork Shoulder

SLOW-COOKED PULLED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Place the pork shoulder into the ceramic bowl of a slow cooker. Pour enough water and white vinegar into the slow cooker to assure the pork is completely covered, maintaining a 2-to-1 ratio of vinegar to water. Add the salt. Put the ceramic bowl in the refrigerator and allow the pork to marinate at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Drain enough of the liquid from the ceramic bowl until about 1/2-inch of pork is left exposed. Add the onion to the remaining liquid. Season the exposed surface of the pork with the cumin, mustard, chili powder, and brown sugar. Place the bowl into the base of the slow cooker and cook on High until the pork is tender and falls apart easily, 8 to 10 hours.
• Carefully remove the pork to a cutting board; shred the meat into strands using a pair of forks. Remove and discard any excess fat.

SLOW COOKER PORK ROAST

Steps:

• Coarsely chop together the rosemary, sage and thyme, and transfer them to a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil, and stir to combine.
• Score the fat cap of the pork shoulder in a crosshatch pattern, then rub it all over with 2 1/2 tablespoons salt and 2 teaspoons pepper.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil, and heat until shimmering. Add the pork, fat-side down, and brown it well, 3 to 4 minutes, then brown it all over, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a large plate.
• Add the wine, garlic and allspice to the pan, bring to a simmer and reduce by about half. Set aside.
• Put the carrots, celery, onions and bay leaves in the insert of a 7-quart slow cooker. Rub the herbed oil all over the pork, being sure to push some into all the natural divisions between muscles; place it on top of the vegetables, and pour in any collected juices. Add the reduced wine mixture and the chicken broth, cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
• Transfer the pork to a cutting board, and tent with foil. Transfer the vegetables to a serving platter with a slotted spoon. Discard the bay leaves, and tent the vegetables with foil. Pour the juices into a liquid measuring cup, and let them settle for about 10 minutes. The fat should rise to the surface; spoon off as much as you can, and discard. Pour the juices into a small saucepan, and bring to a boil.
• While the juices boil, make a cornstarch slurry: For every cup of juices, mix 1 teaspoon cornstarch into 1 tablespoon cold water until dissolved. Reduce the heat so the juices are simmering, whisk in the slurry and cook, whisking frequently, until the sauce has slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the parsley. Season with salt if necessary.
• Slice the pork against the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices, and arrange on a large platter with the vegetables. Ladle some of the sauce on top. Season the meat with a pinch of salt, and garnish with the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley. Serve with egg noodles, and pass the remaining sauce.

SLOW-COOKED PORK SHOULDER ROAST

Steps:

• Place the pork roast in a slow cooker. Pour in the vegetable broth and sherry. Mix in the potatoes, onions, mushrooms, rosemary, and pepper.
• Cover, and cook on low at least 8 hours.
• Season with salt to taste.

SLOW COOKER PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Remove the fat from the pork shoulder (you can get your butcher to do this bit for you). Season the pork with salt and pepper then heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium to high heat. Brown the pork shoulder on all sides then transfer to a slow cooker. Add all the other ingredients, then cook on low for 6-8 hours until the meat pulls apart when pressed with two forks.
• Remove the meat, place on a plate and shred it with two forks. Remove the herbs from the sauce and squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins back into the pot. Put the meat back into its sauce for wonderfully tender and moist slow cooker pork. Serve as an alternative to your Sunday roast with roasted new potatoes, or with a big green salad, mustard and warmed baguettes.

CROCK POT PULLED PORK

Steps:

• Combine the rub spices and coat the shoulder.
• Bag the rubbed shoulder overnight in the fridge.
• Put Apple juice and vinegar in crock pot and add the shoulder and the rub that's stuck on it.
• Start the pot on high, turn down to med after an hour and a half.
• Cook for 12 hours total, 10 hours if your pot has no medium setting.
• Remove the shoulder and let rest for at least half an hour.
• Pull shoulder apart with a couple of forks.
• Place the pork on a cheap bun or Wonder bread with your favorite barbecue sauce and some slaw if you want to be traditional.

SLOW COOKER PORK SHOULDER STEAKS WITH MUSHROOMS, POTATOES AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Trim your pork steaks of excess fat. Generously salt and pepper your pork steaks. Heat a large pan over medium heat on your stove top. Add in the oil and let it heat for a minute. Arrange each of the pork steaks on the bottom of the pan so they are all in contact with the bottom of the pan (you may need to work in batches). Let the steaks brown for 5 minutes. Do not move the steaks or turn them over for the full 5 minutes. You'll be tempted to move them or mess around with them, but don't.
• While the meat is browning prepare your vegetables. Dice the onion, mince the garlic and peel the potatoes. Slice the potatoes into quarter inch rounds. Slice the mushrooms.
• When the 5 minutes is up remove the pork steaks and place them into the slow cooker. I only browned one side of the steaks for sake of time but if you want you can brown both sides. Add the onion into the hot pan and saute for 3 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for 1 more minute. Pour the chicken broth in and deglaze the pan. Add the mixture into the slow cooker.
• Stir the mushrooms, mustard, lemon juice and tarragon into the slow cooker.
• Place the potatoes in a oven safe dish that will fit inside your slow cooker. You can use a pyrex,* corningware* or cake pan*. Salt and pepper the potatoes and toss. Cover the dish with foil. Lower the dish into the slow cooker on top of the pork.
• Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
• Carefully remove the dish of potatoes and set aside. Pour the half and half into the sauce. Turn the slow cooker to the high setting. Stir 3 Tbsp of cornstarch and 3 Tbsp of cold water together in a small bowl until smooth. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the pot and let the sauce thicken without the lid for about 30 minutes.
• Once sauce is thickened salt and pepper to taste. Serve sauce, mushrooms and pork over the top of the potatoes.

CROCK POT PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Right when you wake up in the morning, remove the shoulder from the fridge and allow to come up to temp on the counter.
• Blend together your spices-- always include salt, and about 1-1.5 tsps of whatever else you're using. Rinse the shoulder and dry well with paper towels, and then rub in the rub. Allow to rest for 15-30 mins while you get lunches packed and your hair dried.
• You can also now chop up your aromatics (smashed garlic cloves, quartered or smaller onions, carrots in 2" chunks) and put in the bottom of your crock pot. Select your braising liquid/s.
• Get a braising pan or a skillet (cast iron is great for this) hot with some oil (olive has too low of a smoke point; use coconut or sunflower instead.) Sear the outside of the pork shoulder until it is just browned, about 2 minutes per side.
• Transfer the shoulder to the crockpot nestled on top and among the veggies, and then cover only about half way up with a braising liquid. You do not want the pork shoulder to be submerged or even mostly covered, otherwise it'll get tough-- the steam from the liquid will slowly cook the shoulder but not boil it.
• Set your crock pot to low for 6-8 hours, but if you can, check on it occasionally if your crock cooks fast. When it's done, the meat will fall apart and shred easily with a fork and knife. Remove the roast from the juices and shred it with fork and knife, removing any gristle and discarding as you work.
• Strain the juices and try to remove much of the fat that collects on top-- quick popping it into the freezer or pouring it through a fat separator will do it instantly. Pour some of the juices back onto the meat and serve warm, with or without a few tbsp of BBQ sauce. Also freezes really well in zip lock bags for an quick weeknight dinner.
• We served this with a quick homemade Mac n' Cheese: cook 1.5-2 cups of pasta according to directions, reserve a 1/4 cup of the water when draining. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a pan, and when it foams add in 2 tbsp of flour. Whisk constantly, cooking off bitter taste, for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in 1 cup of milk until thickened. Whisk in 1-1.5 cups of grated cheese (cheddar, smoked cheddar, gouda, asiago or a mix.) Put pasta back into cooking pot and add in most of the cheese mixture and the reserved cooking liquid, stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve alongside pulled pork for a true Southern feast.