Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Soooo I got myself a slow cooker for Christmas. Yes, it is enormous and takes up almost as much room as the microwave. Yes, there is the danger of it being a one-hit-wonder and then languishing on top of the kitchen cabinets forever more. Yes, I do feel a bit like a Stepford Wife just owning something like this. But I am stupidly excited at the prospect of throwing raw stuff at it at breakfast time and then finding a wholesome, delicious meal emerging from it at dinner time. I do realise it’s not *quite* that simple, but almost.

My first attempt was a mild coconut-y chicken curry, simply because it was just after Christmas and we had no decent food in the house to make anything more adventurous with. (Chocolate, chutney and cheese do not count.) It turned out well – tender meat, a creamy sauce (if a bit watery) and gentle melding of spices. Husby approved even though he apparently “doesn’t like coconut-y things” which is kind of bullshit seeing as I’ve been making this same coconut milk-based curry for years now and he always asks for more… <sigh> Anywho…

So. Today I went shopping. I bought a load of cheap stewing meat and root veg and am planning a day of chopping and mixing so that I can freeze a load of bags of prepared slow cooker ingredients that I can whip out on a whim in the morning and be a domestic goddess in the evening.

Tonight it’s pulled pork. I blame Man Vs Food for this one, with all that meaty food porn. Actually, I blame hog roasts all over the world for this one. I rarely buy large cuts of meat, because, well, I am a tightarse and spending £5+ on a single piece of meat just makes me twitch. *I KNOW* that one joint will feed us for several meals, but then I start thinking about scrubbing out roasting trays and basting and timing roast veg and I find myself walking right by the meat aisle with nothing.

Not today. Today I bought a shoulder of pork as big as my head for a fiver. I took the skin off, because a quick browsing of slow cooker recipes tells me that too much fat in a slow cooker makes for grossness and a stinky, coagulated mess. Then I laid it on a bed of veg, mixed up a bunch of spices and sauces, poured on some cider and whacked it on low for about 6 hours. (Full recipe below…)

(excuse the crappy photos – taken in a dark kitchen in a great rush while a small baby screamed for milk! Oh, and it tasted much better than it looked!)

Oh. Mama.

I mean… Oh my.

Seriously.

No word of a lie.

I say in all honesty (and no modesty), it was the best meal I have had in a long time. Husby agreed. Moomin stuffed handfuls of pork into his face.

Here’s whatcha do:

Ingredients

For the pork:

1 pork shoulder joint, approx 1kg (mine was boneless and I took the skin off, as I said above)

1 onion, sliced into half-rings

2 celery sticks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 apple, cored, peeled and sliced into wedges

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp apple chutney (optional – I made a batch for Christmas so it seemed the right thing to do to add it to this. I reckon any sort of chutney would be good though.)

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

500ml dry cider (could be substituted for chicken stock if you want)

Herbs of some sort (I used rosemary from the garden, but anything like thyme, sage or oregano etc will do)

For the gravy:

2 tbsp butter/marg

2 tbsp plain flour

Method:

Put all your vegetables and the apple into the bottom of the slow cooker.

In a small bowl, mix mustard, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic and chutney, and rub all over the top of the meat.

Place pork joint on top of the veg and pour the cider (or stock) around it.

Cook on low for 6 hours (or until the meat falls apart when you stick a fork in it).

[After about 6 hours I checked it and it was looking mighty fine. I put on some broccoli to steam and made some mashed potato. Then I took the juices/sauce from the slow cooker and put them aside in a jug (leaving the meat to cook on its own for a little while).]

In a pan on the hob, melt the 2 tbsp of butter and then mix in the flour to make a paste. Cook for 1 minute before gradually adding in the liquid from the slow cooker and mixing well to ensure there are no lumps. When you’ve added all the liquid, bring to the boil (stirring occasionally) and let simmer for about 5 minutes until it thickens slightly. (You can add a bit of cornflour if you want it even thicker.)

The meat is melt in your mouth and somehow you can taste all the different ingredients individually. The veg is super soft and has absorbed all the flavours and juices. The apple gives it a really sweet edge, and the gravy itself is soooooo beautifully rich. In a word: nom.

Serve with whatever you like – we had mash and broccoli, but you could do new potatoes, rice, or just stick it in a bun. This made enough for dinner for 3, an extra portion to go in the fridge for the next day, and about 6 more portions to put in the freezer. Would be great if you have people over for dinner, so much easier than a roast (and I think, tastier).

So there you have it. I am an utter slow cooker convert.

I might not be getting much sewing/knitting/writing/sleeping done with the new baby around, but at least I’m able to cook!

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