Welcome to another installment of “Wow, I love my crock pot.” Rather than making a whole meal in the crock pot, this time I just made the meat. Having tried to slow roast things in the oven before with slightly underwhelming results, I was so excited when this turned out as pull-apart tender as I was hoping for. The best part is it was insanely easy.
Ingredients:
- 2.5 lb. pork loin roast, thawed
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 6 cloves crushed garlic
- 2 tbsp. minced ginger
- salt & pepper
- Goya adobo seasoning (or any other you like)
- about 1 cup grapefruit juice (any citrus will work, use at least 1/2 cup)
- 1 can root beer
Instructions:
- Put the roast in the center of the crock pot, fatty side up.
- Puncture the roast with holes a few inches deep and 1-2 inches apart.
- Cut onion into large chunks (I cut it into eighths), then peel layers apart and place around roast in crock pot.
- Season with garlic, ginger, salt and pepper, and Goya adobo. NOTE: I seasoned with the intention of using the meat mostly for Caribbean food, hence the brighter flavors and adobo seasoning. If you’re using it for a different cultural food, feel free to adjust the seasonings accordingly.
- Pour citrus juice and root beer over roast. These are super important because the acidity breaks down the toughness in the meat and brings in extra flavor.
- Cook on high for 4-4.5 hours, or on low for 8 hours.
- Use two forks to remove roast from crock pot, and then to shred the meat. (Pro tip: Pour some of the juices in the crock pot back over the meat to keep it moist.)
- Serve however you’d like! I fried mine with lime juice and more seasoning for tacos, but later this week I’ll be using leftovers for pulled pork sandwiches, and to eat over rice. As one of the most versatile meats, the possibilities are endless. Enjoy!
Cost about $16, makes about 6 servings
When making this recipe again, I might like to marinate the meat head of time for the flavor to seep in better (which I really should have remembered from my last crock pot recipe). Reminder to be safe about handling raw meat, and if you aren’t sure that it’s cooked through you can check it with a meat thermometer — any temp above 160ºF you’re good to go.
What’s your favorite way to cook pork? Let me know in a comment below, on Twitter @ohgrowup, or Instagram @oh.grow.up! Thanks for reading, and good luck adulting!
oh grow up 