Pig

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup ketchup
¹⁄₃ cup Worcestershire
¹⁄₃ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon garlic powder
¹⁄₂ teaspoon paprika
¹⁄₄ cup brown sugar
¹⁄₂ teaspoon liquid smoke
Dash red chili pepper flakes
Pinch salt and pepper
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of fat

Instructions
1. Combine all ingredients except for onion and pork into crock pot. Stir until well blended.

2. Place pork and onions into mixture, coating both sides of meat.

3. Cook for 8 to 10 hours on LOW.

4. After meat is cooked break apart with fork and stir well to coat with sauce.  

5. Serve on hamburger buns or Kaiser Rolls.

Comments
I’m still looking for the perfect pulled pork recipe in the slow cooker.  This could have been the one, although it was a bit too vinegary for my tastes.  Most slow cooker pulled pork recipes call for jarred bbq sauce which, in a pinch, is great, but I’m still hoping for a better from scratch option.  I found this recipe at squidoo.com.

Internet - Squidoo

Ingredients
²⁄₃ cup chile garlic paste
6 large cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons ginger, peeled and minced
2 pounds pork chops (I used boneless loin chops that were about ¹⁄₂-inch thick)
8-10 cups baby bok choy, tough parts of stems removed

Instructions
1.  Whisk together chile garlic paste, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, and ginger in shallow dish. Set 4 tablespoons marinade aside. Add pork to remaining marinade; let stand 30 minutes.

2. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Place pork chops in skillet, working in batches if necessary, and cook for 3-5 minutes per side or until cooked through.  Remove chops from skillet.  

3. Add boy choy to skillet and remaining 4 tablespoons of marinade.  Sauté, stirring, until just leaves are wilted but stalks are still crisp.  

4. Serve pork and boy choy with rice.  

Comments
This is based on a recipe from epicurious.com.  I didn’t have access to one of the key ingredients, so I tweaked the recipe based on what I did have access to.  The pork turned out very well, if a little on the spicy side.  The bok choy was a bit vinegary from the chile garlic paste, but I think that could be rectified by reducing the paste to ¹⁄₃ cup from the ²⁄₃ cup that I used.  I’ll try that next time and update this recipe with the results.

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground pork
2 pounds eggplant (I didn’t have enough eggplant, so I added in zucchini as well)
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 dried red chile, thinly sliced
1 cup chicken broth
6 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Cilantro, for garnish, optional

Instructions
1. Cut the eggplants in ¹⁄₂ lengthwise and then slice crosswise into wedges, no more than 1-inch wide.  (If you have particularly large eggplants, cut into quarters lengthwise.)   

2. Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high flame and add the pork.  Break pieces up with a wooden spoon and sauté until cooked through.  Remove from skillet, drain, and set aside.  

3.  Add the oils to the wok or skillet and heat over medium-high flame; tilt the pan to coat all sides. When oil is hot, add a layer of eggplant, stir-fry until seared and sticky, about 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the eggplant to a side platter and cook the remaining eggplant in same manner, adding more oil, if needed.  (I recommend using a large skillet so that you can fit all of the eggplant in one batch, otherwise you risk it becoming too oily.)  

4. After all the eggplant is out of the pan, add the green onions, ginger, garlic, and chile; stir-fry for a minute until fragrant. Add the broth. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and cornstarch until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved. Pour the soy sauce mixture into the wok and cook another minute, until the sauce has thickened. Put the pork and eggplant back in the pan, tossing quickly, until the sauce is absorbed. Garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro, if desired.  Serve over rice.  

Comments
This recipe is from Tyler Florence of Food Network fame.  Art always says that Tyler reminds him of Elvis.  I have no idea why, but there you have it.  I added the pork to the recipe to make it a complete dinner for us and used some zucchini along with the eggplant.  Art and I both enjoyed this dish quite a bit.  It was very rich and flavorful, perfect for a cold night before choir practice.

Internet - Food TV

Ingredients
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced (or 2 teaspoons dried rosemary)
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons salt
1 (3 pound) boneless center-cut pork loin

Instructions
1. Combine sugar, pepper, rosemary, and salt and rub all over pork. Let roast stand at room temperature for 1 hour or refrigerate for up to 24 hours. (I made this rub in a mini processor and used whole peppercorns.)  

2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450*F. Arrange pork on V-rack set in roasting pan. Roast for 15 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 375*F and cook until meat registers 140*F, about 50 minutes. Transfer pork to cutting board and tent with foil. Let rest 20 minutes. Slice pork and serve.  

Comments
This recipe caught my eye in the Cook’s Country 2007 Annual.  The rub was super simple to bring together and the finished product had fantastic flavor.  I could really taste both the pepper and the sweetness from the brown sugar.  

Shown here with Pasta with Butternut Squash and Lima Beans.

Cook’s Country 2007

Ingredients
Table salt
4 boneless center-cut pork chops 6-8 ounces each, ³⁄₄ to 1 inch thick, trimmed of excess fat
4 slices hearty white sandwich bread torn into 1-inch pieces
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoon olive oil
Ground black pepper
2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated
¹⁄₂ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
2 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
¹⁄₄ cup plus 6 tablespoons flour
3 large egg whites
3 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350*F. Dissolve ¹⁄₄ cup salt in 1 quart water in medium container or gallon-sized zip-top bag. Submerge chops, cover, and refrigerate 30 minutes. Rinse chops under cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towels.

2. Meanwhile, pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground, about eight 1-second pulses (you should have about 3 ¹⁄₂ cups crumbs). Transfer crumbs to a rimmed baking sheet and add shallot, garlic, oil, ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper. Toss until crumbs are evenly coated with oil. Bake until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. Increase oven temperature to 425*F.   Cool crumbs to room temperature. Toss crumbs with parmesan, thyme, and parsley.

3. Place ¹⁄₄ cup flour in shallow dish. In second shallow dish, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined; add remaining 6 tablespoons flour and whisk until almost smooth, with pea-sized lumps remaining.

4. Spray wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place in rimmed baking sheet. Season chops with pepper. Dredge 1 pork chop in flour; shake off excess. Using tongs (or your hands), coat with egg mixture; let excess drip off. Coat all sides of chop with bread crumb mixture, pressing gently so that a thick layer of crumbs adheres to chop. Transfer breaded chop to wire rack. Repeat with remaining 3 chops.

5. Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chops registers 150*F, 17 to 25 minutes. Let rest on rack 5 minutes before serving.

Comments
This recipe is from the 2008 Annual of Cook’s Illustrated.  I recently caught the episode of America’s Test Kitchen where they made these chops and decided that they’d be worth a try.  They came together without too much trouble and took maybe an hour start to finish.  You can assemble the bread crumbs and dredging stations while the pork brines, so there isn’t a lot of idle time.  

These were fantastic.  The breading is super flavorful and the chops came out flavorful and moist.  Even Art, who has never been a fan of pork chops, had a hard time resisting his urge to eat the one we had leftover.  I will definitely be making these again in the future.  

Shown here with Funeral Potatoes.

Cook’s Illustrated 2008

Ingredients
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground white pepper
¹⁄₂ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¹⁄₂ teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound green beans, stem ends snapped off and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 pound ground pork
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
3 green onions, sliced thin
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions
1. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, water, sherry, sugar, cornstarch, white pepper, pepper flakes, and mustard until sugar dissolves; set aside. (You can use an immersion blender for this step.)  

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add the beans and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender and the skins are shriveled and blackened in spots, 5 to 8 minutes (reduce heat to medium-high if beans darken too quickly). Transfer the beans to a large plate or serving bowl.  

3. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the pork to the now empty skillet. Cook, breaking the pork into small pieces, until no pink remains, about 2 minutes. Drain the pork and return to hot skillet.  

4. Still over medium-high heat, add the garlic and ginger; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir the sauce to recombine and return the beans to the pan with the sauce. Toss and cook until the sauce is thickened, 5 to 10 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the green onions and sesame oil. Serve over rice, if desired.  

Comments
This is adapted from a recipe found in The Best of America’s Test Kitchen 2008.  I’m sort of on an American’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Illustrated kick at the moment.  I increased the sauce ingredients and the pork from what the original recipe called for.  I actually made what you see here with a mixture of wax and green beans, since I happened to get a bunch of wax beans in my CSA box this week.  In the future, I’d probably up the amount of green beans to 1 ¹⁄₂ pounds to get a higher veggie to pork ratio.  I believe that this sauce and basic method would work quite well with broccoli and other vegetables as well.  It did have a kick to it thanks to the red pepper flakes, so if you’re not a fan of spicy food you might want to reduce the amount of red pepper or even omit it all together.

America’s Test Kitchen 2008

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ pork loin roast, trimmed
2-3 cups Salsa Verde, freshly made or store bought

Instructions
1.  Cut pork into 4 large chunks.  Place pork and half salsa into the slow cooker.  Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.  

2. Place a sieve in a large bowl and pour the contents of the slow cooker into the sieve.  Remove sieve from the bowl and put the contents of the sieve back into the slow cooker.  

3. With two forks, shred the pork in the slow cooker.  Add 1-2 cups of the cooking liquid from the bowl until pork has reached desired wetness.  

4. Serve with remaining salsa, sour cream, cheese, and warmed tortillas.  

Note: This recipe can easily be doubled.

Comments
I’ve been making this for a while but this is the first time I’ve tried using freshly made Salsa Verde.  It turned out very well with the homemade stuff!  This recipe is ridiculously easy, one of the strong points of slow cooker cooking.  I serve it with yellow rice from a box (I prefer Zataran brand) that I doctor up with quartered cherry tomatoes and sometimes green onions.

Unknown

Ingredients
Brine
6 cups water
¹⁄₄ cup kosher salt
¹⁄₄ cup brown sugar, packed
8 whole allspice
2 bay leaves
4 1- to 1 ¹⁄₄-inch-thick pork chops

Red cabbage
3 tablespoons olive oil
³⁄₄ cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 large fresh sage sprig
¹⁄₄ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
6 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced (about ¹⁄₂ of large head or all of a small head)

Pork
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup beef broth
1 large fresh thyme sprig
2 fresh sage leaves plus 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
1 large fresh rosemary sprig
1 fresh parsley sprig
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Instructions
1. For brine: Bring 6 cups water, ¹⁄₄ cup kosher salt, ¹⁄₄ cup brown sugar, whole allspice, and bay leaves to boil in large saucepan, stirring to dissolve salt and brown sugar. Cool brine completely in refrigerator; add pork chops and refrigerate overnight.

2. For red cabbage: Heat olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sliced red onion and sauté 2 minutes. Stir in bay leaf, sage sprig, and dried crushed red pepper. Add sliced red cabbage and cook until wilted and crisptender, stirring often, about 10 minutes. The cabbage can be made up to 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

3. For pork: Preheat oven to 300°F. Remove pork chops from brine; pat dry. Season lightly with salt and generously with ground black pepper. Heat olive oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Cook pork chops in skillet until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer skillet to oven and cook until thermometer inserted horizontally into pork chops registers 145°F, about 7 minutes. Transfer pork to plate (do not clean skillet).

4. Add chicken broth, beef broth, thyme sprig, sage leaves, rosemary sprig, and parsley sprig to skillet and boil until liquid is reduced to ¹⁄₂ cup, about 9 minutes. Discard herbs. Whisk in 1 teaspoon chopped sage and 1 tablespoon butter. Keep warm.

5. Rewarm cabbage. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Divide cabbage among plates. Place 1 pork chop on each plate. Drizzle pork with sauce and serve.

Comments
This recipe is from Epicurious.com.  It’s important to note that you need to start it the day before in order to brine the pork chops overnight.  I always forget things like that and then need to totally rearrange my meal plans.  

This was fantastic.  The pork was flavorful, the cabbage was perfect, the pan sauce was rich and delicious.

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
1-2 pounds pork tenderloin
1 small head of cabbage, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 envelope stroganoff seasoning
1 envelope mushroom gravy
1 can (10 ¹⁄₂ ounces) cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1-2 cups frozen green beans
1 cup half and half

Instructions
1, Cut pork into 1-inch cubes; place in 5-6 quart slow cooker. Add onion and cabbage. Combine stroganoff mix, gravy mix, soup, water, caraway seeds and pepper together; pour over pork mixture and stir to coat.

2. Cover and cook on LOW 7 to 9 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, turn to HIGH and add frozen green beans. Add half and half just before serving.

3. Serve with rice, egg noodles, or biscuits.  

Comments
I found this recipe while looking for something to do with a head of cabbage.  Using the slow cooker was a bonus since I was out of the house all day due to a quick trip to see my parents.  I chopped everything up the night before and put it in a container in the fridge.  Then I just dumped it all in the slow cooker before hitting the road.  By the time I got home the house smelled like cabbage and all I had to do was add the green beans and make rice.  

Lance and I both found this very tasty, Art wasn’t a fan although he at least found it edible.  Art isn’t a fan of pot roast-type meat in general, so it’s not a surprise that he didn’t love this.  It was tasty, tender, and full of flavor.

Unknown

Ingredients
1 ¹⁄₂ to 2-pound pork tenderloin
Olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 or 2 sprigs fresh herbs (I’ve used rosemary and thyme, both with great success)

Instructions
1. Rub tenderloin with oil, salt, pepper, and herbs. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for an hour or two in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat oven to 375*F.

3. Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in an over-safe sauté pan over high heat. Sear tenderloin on all sides until nicely colored all over. Transfer pan to oven and roast for 10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145*F. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before thinly slicing on the bias.

Comments
This is a tried and true recipe in my home.   I think it originally came from a Food TV chef, but I can’t remember which one.  The result of this recipe is tender, moist, and flavorful.  It’s also super easy to throw together which is a huge plus.

Shown here with Risotto with Currants, Pine Nuts, and Feta Cheese.

Internet - Food TV