Tangy Slow Cooker Pork Roast

Courtesy of www.allrecipes.com

I made pork loin last week and it really made me want to try other recipes involving pork. I found a pretty pork rib loin at Teeter over the weekend, so I thought I'd give this recipe a shot. The other great thing is that you can cook it in the slow cooker, which makes life much easier. It also makes your place smell delightful :) My only alteration of this recipe was the cooking time. The original recipe said to cook on high for 3-4 hours, but I checked the pork loin about 2.5 hours in, and it was already well done. I would suggest checking the temperature about 2 hours in, just to see where you are. As usual, this is great for leftovers!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin roast
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce, or to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Arrange onion slices evenly over the bottom of the slow cooker, and then place the roast on top of the onion. In a bowl, mix together water, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, and hot sauce; pour over roast.
2. Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours, or on High for 3 to 4 hours.

Herb Roasted Pork Loin with Parsley Sauce

Adapted from Ellie Krieger

Words cannot describe how delicious this turned out. I took one bite and was in heaven...and that was before I topped it with the sauce! After I plated it together, I was just speechless. It was so tender, moist, tangy, and just full of flavor. You need to try this ASAP! Feel free to serve with any vegetable. I opted to serve the pork loin with another new recipe, garlic green bean salad. I had a lot of the sauce left over, which I think will go really well with white fish or chicken. OK, stop reading, go buy a pork loin, and MAKE THIS NOW! NOTE: For the pork loin, I left the minimal fat on and my pork loin was only 1.78 pounds - I still used all of the marinade/rub. I also flipped the pork loin halfway through, for about 10 minutes, and then flipped again.

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (2 1/2-pound) center cut boneless pork loin, trimmed of all visible fat 
• 1/2 cup Parsley Shallot Sauce, recipe follows

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Mash the garlic and salt together with a fork until it forms a coarse paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the oil, fresh herbs and freshly ground pepper. Rub the garlic-herb paste all over the pork. Transfer the pork to a roasting pan and roast for 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.NOTE: Since my pork loin was smaller, it was cooked perfectly after one hour. Transfer the roast to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes. Carve the pork into slices and serve with the sauce.

Parsley Shallot Sauce:
1 1/2 cups lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped shallot
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree.

What? A Pork Butt?

Courtesy of a Family Recipe
I am aware that there are many kinds of BBQ, but my all time favorite for as long as I can remember is North Carolina style. This probably has something to do with the fact that my family, and my friends, would travel to the Outer Banks at least once a summer. This was our tradition! Even though I now live in DC, I still try to get back when I can :) Nothing beats it...in my opinion anyway :) One of my favorite things to do is pick up authentic BBQ on the way home so that I can bring some OBX with me. However, my Mom made these a while back and it tastes delicious, and the sauce reminds me of good ole' North Carolina. The perk -- this way, I can save myself about a 7 hour drive.
This does involve using a crock pot, so have one of those on hand.

Ingredients
2 onions, quartered
2 tb brown sugar
1 tb paprika
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 (4-6 lb) pork butt/shoulder roast (Nick located a 5 pounder)
3/4 cup cider vinegar
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
hamburger buns

Place onions in crock pot. Combine brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper. Rub over roast.

Combine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, sugar, dry mustard, garlic salt, and cayenne pepper. Mix well.

Drizzle 1/3 of the vinegar mixture over the roast. Cover and refrigerate remaining vinegar sauce.

Cover crock pot and cook on low for 10-12 hours on LOW or 4-6 hours on HIGH. In my case, this took about 6 hours. Drizzle 1/3 of reserved vinegar over roast during last half hour of cooking. Remove meat and onions and drain. Chop or shred meat  and chop onions. Serve meat and onion mixture on a toasted bun. Feel free to add more sauce if desired, it does have a little bit of a kick! Top with cole slaw, if desired :)