Recipe help needed for a pork loin and a crock pot, both of which I bought today...

[Hekate]

What was I thinking? It was a fit of Costco madness. :blush: There's only Mr. H and myself at home and the vacuum packed pork loin is going to have to be cut apart for sure because it's 7 pounds. I can freeze whatever I don't use now -- I do anticipate trying out different recipes. The crock pot is a 6 quart model.

Any advice is welcome. I haven't used a crock pot in years, and I like this one in part because you can remove the crock to wash it.

Hekate

[Mind_your_head]

1. I've not mastered the crockpot by any means.....

BUT, one of the BEST things that I think a crockpot is EXCELLENT for is making pulled pork.

My suggestion is to put 2 - 2.5 lbs. of the pork in the crockpot with a generous amount (16-24 oz.) or so of prepared bbq sauce (or make your own) with a cup or so of water. Let the crockpot cook/"do its thing" for 6-12 hours. Remove the pork from the pot. Working on a plate or cutting board, use two forks to shred the pork. After the pork is all shredded, return to the degreased sauce in the pot. Serve the shredded bbq pork on hamburger buns and/or nice rolls. Freeze the meat that you don't need/use right away and enjoy at some other later meal.

I don't have any ideas what you should do with the other 4.5 - 5 lbs. or pork. But I trust that others in the C&B Group will have some great ideas!

[Hekate]

2. Oooh, that sounds easy and good. Tomorrow I think I'll try that.

Someone here had something with vinegar and pork--maybe if I search the C&B posts I'll find it.

Thanks!

Hekate

[Richard Steele]

7. It really is easy and good. I do that all the time. Here's what I've learned:

Start the pork in the crock with just water and spices:
salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, a lot of garlic, some cayenne if you like it hot....
and a dash or two of cumin.

(Use LESS cayenne than you think you need: the slow-cooking process
really maximizes its impact. You can always add more at the table
if you want more heat.)

Add your tomatos or tomato paste after 2 or 3 hours, along with
about 1/8 cup of vinegar, and add some more water if necessary
to make it all a "thick soup" consistency.

When you pull the pork out and start shredding it, add another
2 tablespoons of vinegar to the sauce in the pot so as to make it
extra tangy when you drizzle it over the pulled pork.

I like to use whole tomato pieces in it, and use my StickBlender
to puree it all into sauce at the last minute, but using tomato sauce
from the start really works just as well.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I haven't made this in years, but I used to fix a pork roast in the crockpot

similar to this recipe:

Ingredients:
pork loin roast, boneless, about 3 to 4 pounds
salt and pepper
garlic powder
1 large onion, sliced
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup hot water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sherry
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon ketchup or tomato paste
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 can <8 ounces> pineapple chunks, drained
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cold water
Preparation:
Season pork roast with salt, pepper & garlic. Brown roast on all sides or place under broiler for 15 to 20 minutes to remove some fat. Place onion in bottom of slow cooker insert; top with the pork roast. Combine sugar, hot water, soy sauce, sherry, ground ginger, wine vinegar, and ketchup. Cover and cook on LOW for 9 to 11 hours. About 1 hour before done, add sliced bell peppers and pineapple chunks.
To thicken gravy, blend 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water. Set the slow cooker on HIGH; add cornstarch mixture. Continue to cook until thickened. (I would do this step on stovetop).
Serves 6 to 8.

Instead of using garlic powder, I cut slits in the roast and inserted slivered fresh garlic. I used brown sugar, but I don't recall ever using pineapple, but I'll bet it would be delicious. I always served this with rice.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. I like a simple rub and roast the thing...

just a little water or stock in the bottom of the pot and support the roast with a basket of some sort or insert skewers into the roast to make "legs." Cook on high for as long as it takes-- figure it's an all-day project. Cut that big 'un down to 1 1/2 or 2 pound chunks and freeze them.

Simplest prep is just a little salt and some peppercorns and crushed garlic sprinkled over the top after it's in the pot. You might want to put a few slits in it, but that's not always necessary. I once tried a few strips of bacon on a pork something-or-other, but that's overkill with all the fat the roast already has.

All crockpots aren't equal in their temperatures, and I've got one that is consistantly too hot, so some monitoring until you've figured out how yours cooks is advised. But, slow cooking, whether in an oven, dutch oven, or crockpot, is my favorite way to do any roast-- the meat is butter tender and the flavors have all that time to infuse and work together.

(Next day sandwiches from any leftovers are a bonus treat.)

[kestrel91316]

5. I would just throw some garlic cloves and a little of whatever other

seasonings you want, and a little bit of chicken broth for the bottom, and just cook it to death. Pulled pork, with or without barbecue sauce, is one of my favorite things in the world. You can mail it to me if you don't like it.

[Hekate]

6. Thanks you guys, I knew you could get my brain working. I've gotten very lazy indeed...

... using Costco's rotisserie chickens for darn near everything. They're usually less than fully cooked, so I toss on onions and whatever herbs or seasonings I feel like and stick them in the oven in my cast iron Dutch oven until I'm ready to serve. Since Mr H teaches at night, that's likely to be several hours at leisure for that bird.

I wanted a changed but just don't buy raw meat in those quantities, and I kind of went yikes.

:hi:

Hekate