Slow Cooker Pork 3 Ways
One of
our favorite ways to cook pork is in the slow cooker – you just set it and
forget it! Fast forward a few hours, and you’ve got a delicious dinner waiting
for you when you walk in the door.
Get
inspired with three of our go-to slow cooker pork recipes: Pulled
Pork Sandwiches, Slow
Cooker Pork Carnitas (great for a crowd!) and Red Wine Braised Pork.
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
8 servings
Preparation time: 7 hours, 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 (2-5 pound) pork shoulder roast
1 ½ cups (12 ounces) bottled or canned root beer
2 ¼ cups (18 ounces) any Lunds & Byerlys Bar-B-Q Sauce
8 Lunds & Byerlys Bakery Buns
Directions
- Place pork in a slow cooker. Pour root beer over the meat.
- Cover and cook 6 to 7 hours on low until the pork shreds easily. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce.
- Serve on buns. Top with Our Deli Coleslaw if desired.
Pork Carnitas
18-24 servings
Preparation time: 8 hours
Ingredients
1 (6- to 8-pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
8 whole cloves garlic, smashed
4 chipotle peppers (canned or dried)
1 (14- or 15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 to 3 cups liquid (orange juice, beer, stock or a combination)
Directions
- Trim any excess fat from the pork.
- Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the meat is so tender it’s falling apart.
- Let the pork cool enough to handle, then remove from slow cooker and place in a large bowl. Shred the meat with two forks (or by hand). You will end up with about 10 cups of meat.
- Skim the fat from the leftover juices in the slow cooker and save the liquid for reheating your meat later, if desired, to help keep it moist.
- To make carnitas tacos, serve the meat in tortillas with your favorite taco toppings, such as sour cream, cilantro, radishes, pineapple, chopped red onion and lime wedges.
Red Wine Braised Pork
6-8 servings
Preparation time: 6-7 hours on high setting,
9-10 hours on low setting
Ingredients
1 (4-7
pound) pork shoulder roast
2 medium
onions, thinly sliced
1
tablespoon dried basil
1
tablespoon dried marjoram
1
tablespoon dried thyme
1
tablespoon kosher salt
1
teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
¾ cup
water
1 cup red
wine (like Cabernet)
1 pound red potatoes
Directions
- Rinse the
roast and pat dry with paper towels. - Layer
onions in the bottom of a large slow cooker. - Place the
roast in slow cooker; sprinkle half the spices over the roast and lightly rub
them into the meat. - Turn the
roast over and season with the remaining spices. - Pour the
water and wine into the slow cooker. - Add potatoes around the roast.
- Cover and
cook on low for 9-10 hours or on high for 6-7 hours, until the meat is falling
apart. - When the
meat is done cooking, shred gently with two forks and then toss in the juices
to keep it moist until ready to serve.