Slow-Cooked Pork Roast

I got myself into a tight situation recently. I decided to host dinner with some friends without looking at my schedule. Just the night before I luckily realized that I would have maybe 30 minutes from the time I got home to the time my guests were scheduled to arrive. This left me with little time to throw some elegant feast together. Sounds familiar? So, I pulled out something that I don’t use often enough, my slow-cooker! I had a great piece of pork fresh from the butcher and all kinds of ingredients in the pantry and fridge that I knew would blend together to make something great. The next morning it was perfect, I just threw it all in, left it for the day and came home to a house smelling wonderful from floor to ceiling. You must try it for yourself!

Of course, pork roasts are usually roasted in the oven without the use of a cooking liquid and they are delicious that way, but slow-cooking them is also a great option and the end result is a piece of meat that’s so tender that it almost melts in your mouth.

Here the use of apple cider vinegar and tomatoes brings a great acidity that adds an amazing taste to the whole dish.

The kind of roast I used for this recipe is a boneless pork loin roast, but feel free to use another kind of pork roast or a bone-in roast. Don’t worry if at the end of the cooking process your roast is still a little pink in the center. Pork can be enjoyed this way and good chefs often prepare it this way as well. You’ll see in the recipe that the roast is seared on all sides in a pan before placing with the cooking liquid in the slow-cooker. This is a technique often used when slow-cooking pieces of meat to help seal the juices inside the meat.

Slow-cooked pork roast recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3lbs boneless pork loin roast;
• 2 tbsp paleo cooking fat;
• 5 cloves garlic, minced;
• 1 onion, thinly sliced;
• 1 tbsp chili powder;
• 2 tsp ground coriander;
• 2 tsp ground cumin;
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar;
• 1 ½ cups water or homemade stock;
• 1 14oz can whole tomatoes, with juices;
• 2 bay leaves
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

Preparation

1. Sprinkle all sides of the pork roast with a generous amount of salt and pepper.
2. In a large skillet over a medium-high heat, add the cooking fat and then sear the meat on all sides until it begins to turn slightly golden brown. Once finished, place in the slow-cooker.
3. In the same skillet used above, combine the garlic, onion, chili powder coriander, and cumin. Mix well, while scraping up the left over meat bits in the pan (adds great flavor!).
4. Add the vinegar to the skillet and allow it to come to a boil. Continue cook until the liquid is nearly all evaporated.
5. Finally add the water or stock to the skillet, using it to whisk up all the drippings and spices in the pan. Pour the whole thing into the slow-cooker with the pork roast.
6. Crush the tomatoes over the roast, followed by the tomato juices. Add the bay leaves, give it a good stir and adjust the seasoning by adding more salt and pepper, if needed.
7. Set your slow-cooker to low and cook for about 8 hours. Once the meat pulls apart easily and it is not too pink in the center it is ready to serve.
8. Discard the bay leaves, carve the roast in thick slices and serve with the cooking liquid as a sauce.