This is the perfect weather for crock pot cooking! And whilst I am not a mad “pork” lover, I do love a good “pulled pork” dish.
I have made this recipe in both a large crock pot (5.5 litre) and small crock pot (3.5 litre) and found it worked better in the smaller crock pot … in the large crockpot the meat is spread out more which dried the top of it out a touch which did not happen in the smaller crockpot … the other option is to use the larger crock pot but turn the meat over two-thirds of the way through cooking.
The original recipe called for pork shoulder (see here) but that is not always easily available, but pork scotch fillet is so I have used that too.
Once the meat is cooked I let it sit in the crock pot for another hour (it will stay hot), and that gives me time to finish off the other components of the meal.
The pork is delicious served with any sort of mash (potato / potato and sweet potato / cauliflower) and some greens. It is also great served with wraps (instead of mince) for a Mexican style meal which is how I like to serve it.
If there are leftovers, store the meat separately to the sauce. This will allow the fat in the sauce to set overnight in the fridge making it easy to remove the next day. Use that sauce as an ingredient to make another dish like a cottage pie or bolognaise for the next night’s dinner, and the leftover pork will keep in the fridge for a couple of days and is great cold in sandwiches for lunch, or put into toasted sandwiches with lots of mustard and mayo for a light dinner.
If I am home I like to turn the meat over an hour or so before the end of the cooking time to allow the sauce to fully blend with the meat – this is optional but in my mind it helps to keep the meat moist.
I have made this recipe in both a large crock pot (5.5 litre) and small crock pot (3.5 litre) and found it worked better in the smaller crock pot … in the large crockpot the meat is spread out more which dried the top of it out a touch which did not happen in the smaller crockpot ... the other option is to use the larger crock pot but turn the meat over two-thirds of the way through cooking.
The original recipe called for pork shoulder but that is not always easily available, but pork scotch fillet is so I have used that too.
Once the meat is cooked I let it sit in the crock pot for another hour (it will stay hot), and that gives me time to finish off the other components of the meal.
The pork is delicious served with any sort of mash (potato / potato and sweet potato / cauliflower) and some greens. It is also great served with wraps (instead of mince) for a Mexican style meal which is how I like to serve it.
If there are leftovers, store the meat separately to the sauce. This will allow the fat in the sauce to set overnight in the fridge making it easy to remove the next day. Use that sauce as an ingredient to make another dish like a cottage pie or bolognaise for the next night’s dinner, and the leftover pork will keep in the fridge for a couple of days and is great cold in sandwiches for lunch, or put into toasted sandwiches with lots of mustard and mayo for a light dinner.
If I am home I like to turn the meat over an hour or so before the end of the cooking time to allow the sauce to fully blend with the meat – this is optional but in my mind it helps to keep the meat moist.
- 2 tbls ground paprika
- 1 tbls sea salt flakes
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper or Cajun spice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 180g honey (½ cup)
- 80g red wine vinegar (4 tbls)
- 50g olive oil (2 ½ tbls)
- 1 brown onion, peeled, cut into 4 slices (for base of crock pot)
- 1.6 to 1.8kg boneless piece of pork shoulder or pork scotch fillet (weight is without skin) cut in half
- Remove pork from fridge an hour before cooking
- Mix the first six ingredients together in a jug
- Add in honey, vinegar and olive oil and stir until it is a thick paste
- Place onion in the base of the Crock Pot
- Top with the two pieces of pork
- Pour the paste over the pork, spreading it over so that it covers all sides of the pork
- Turn on Crock Pot to low setting and cook for 8 to 9 hours or until meat is tender enough to easily shred with a fork (it takes 9 hours in my Crock Pot)
- Turn off Crock Pot and allow pork to sit in it for an hour whilst your prepare the other components of your meal
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