Thursday, May 26, 2016

Slow cooker pork

I can't find what I did with this cheap cut of pork from Miller's, but I found it again at 99 cents a pound and bought enough for four meals.

5/26/16

Browned the pork in a pan.  Put it in the bottom of the slow cooker on top of some olive oil.
Added bits of potato, mushroom, red pepper, garlic and vadalia onion all cut up.  Also a couple handfuls of organic power mix greens.

Spiced with Herbs de Provence
Black Pepper
turmeric

Poured over it all a jar full of homemade veggie juice and two boxes of organic mushroom gravy.

Slow cooked in slow cooker on high.  The vegetables were done before the meat started to fall apart so maybe I should just cook the pork for a couple hours and then add in the vegetables. 

3 hours and I opened and stirred it.  I took out the meat and it cut easily into pieces.  Popped it back in the stew and everything was ready and tasty.  E liked it as well.
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April 2017

Had a fairly large chuck of pork with some bone.  I browned it in a cast iron pan, turning it, and then put it solo in the slow cooker with this Greek seasoning mix, garlic, pepper, one box of mushroom gravy, a small jar of veggie juice and half an onion. 
I cooked it high for 30 minutes and then on low while I went into Albany, about four hours. 
I took it out, discarded a couple slices of fat, sliced off the pork, and put it back in the slow cooker with small red potato, more white onion and mushrooms.  I did not have carrots except for a few left from out trip.  I missed them.
I probably had not needed much veggie juice,  The pan was pretty full of tasty liquid. 
I cooked it on high for about two to three hours and we had a fine meal. 
I missed not putting it on some good crusty bread or eating more than one, small potato. 

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July 2017
This time I had a huge and thick piece of pork, perhaps 4 inches thick.  I thawed it for the most part in the microwave.  Then I browned it in a fry pan with olive oil. I turned it and poked in with the paring knife some wedges of fresh garlic.  Turned it again and repeated.
Then I put just the meat in the slow cooker
in at 11 AM

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June 2020
This time the shoulder was too large for the slow cooker, so I browned it and put it in the oven.  I started it at 350,  then went down to 200   in the large granite covered pan.  I had to take an oven rack out for it to fit.

Very frustrating!

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August 28, 2020

The piece of pork shoulder was small compared to other times.  99 cents a pound.  
I browned it in oil with some lamb fat left from cooking breakfast ground lamb.
I put veggie juice in the slow cooker and added the browned pork.  I spiced it with
Trader's Joe's Salute
Black Pepper
Turmeric
California garlic

About midway through I turned it over.
Cooked on high for about 10 hours.  It fell apart and was very tasty, the best I remember.  The juice made a find au jus.
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September 20 2020

Browned the piece on both sides and put it in the slow cooker with veggie juice.  Covered it with olive oil and added california garlic, saltute 21 and black pepper.

The cover did not fit on perfectly.  The piece was too thick.  However, it cooked up well.
It made a fine gravy.

The chunk of meat was itself more fatty than what I had in the past.  Still, it was tasty.

January 4 2020
Another large piece, but positioned with fat up.
browned the piece in the large cast iron kettle.  
Put it in the cooker and added onion flakes, garlic, pepper, and some trader joe's.
Also put in some oil and some veggie juice.
I sliced the pork so I could rub the dry spices into crevices and then lightly basted with the liquid.  Covered, and cooked.

The liquid took over.  I had to use a turkey baster to pull off some of it as it was threatening to overflow the crock.  Probably this was in large part due to the large cut of meat that did not leave much space.
I cooked it longer than others and it did assume the texture of pulled pork.  There is very little bone on this piece, but I'll use the juices tomorrow to make black eyed peas.