Slow Cooker Pork Loin Roast
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Slow Cooker Pork Loin Roast
THIS CROCK POT PORK LOIN WILL ROCK YOUR WORLD!!!
OK, I confess. I just like that it (kind of) rhymes and wanted to say it. Again. 😂
I’m done with the fun – now down to business!
This is a recipe I created especially for pork loin, but I’ve found that it works just as well with pork shoulder so you’ll see photos of both throughout this post.
The beauty of this recipe is that it looks and tastes like a traditional oven roasted pork – but it’s made in the slow cooker. Entirely hands off cooking time, slow cooked to tender perfection and when you pull it out at the end, the sauce just needs a quick simmer to thicken while the pork rests.
ABOUT THIS SLOW COOKER PORK LOIN ROAST
I know there are quite a few types of slow cooker pork loins “out there” so let me tell you what you’re getting with this one.It’s a spice rubbed pork loin that’s cooked until it’s tender but still sliceable like classic roasts.
It’s cooked partially submerged in a miracle 4 ingredient Honey Butter Garlic Sauce which infuses the pork with flavour, adds juiciness and transforms into an amazing syrupy sauce to serve the pork with. Pork loin is a lean cut of meat so it’s ideal to have a buttery strong flavoured sauce to serve it with!
You get bonus points for basting while it cooks, but even if you don’t, this is how the pork looks straight out of the slow cooker: golden and bronzed, glistening with that honey butter sauce!
TIPS FOR MAKING SLOW COOKER PORK ROAST
Slow cooker pork roast is actually very simple to make as long as you use the right cut of pork and follow a few key steps:Best pork for pork roast in a slow cooker – Though I originally created this recipe for pork loin, this recipe works brilliantly with pork loin, pork shoulder and scotch fillet roast (pork neck, a roasting cut of pork that’s popular in Australia and some parts of Europe, brilliant for fast and slow cooking). The first photo at the top is pork loin, the 2nd photo is shoulder;
Slow cooking pork loin – Being a lean cut of pork, there’s only two ways to cook it: Hard and fast until the inside is at an exact temperature, like with traditional pork roasts, OR slowly at a lower temperature. Slow cooking is more forgiving because it’s done at a lower temperature so an hour or so too long isn’t going to ruin your pork;
Pork Shoulder and Scotch Fillet – These cuts have more fat marbled through them so they are natural choices to use for slow cooker pork roasts. As they cook, the fat melts, making the meat beautifully juicy;
Tenderloin – Not a natural choice for this recipe because it’s much thinner than the other cuts listed above so it cooks much faster than the cuts listed above. However, I have included directions in the recipe notes for how to make this with tenderloin;
Season the pork for extra flavour with at least salt and pepper. I use a simple spice mix for this crock pot pork recipe;
SEAR! Browning = flavour. Whether you brown the pork before or after slow cooking, don’t skip this step, it’s imperative for great flavour!
How long to cook a pork roast in the slow cooker – for pork loin, 4 to 5 hours on low for tender, juicy perfection. Pork shoulder needs to be cooked for 10 hours on low for a 1.5 – 2.5kg / 3 – 5 lb pork roast. Shoulder is a tougher cut of pork so it requires a longer cook time to break down the fibres and fat.
THE SAUCE!
The Honey Butter Sauce for this Slow Cooker Pork Loin is made using the juices remaining in the slow cooker when the pork is cooked.Straight out of the slow cooker, the flavour of the sauce is a bit thin so it needs to be reduced and I also like to thicken it a touch using cornflour to make it a syrupy thickness.
The Honey Butter Sauce truly is a miracle – it’s made with just cider vinegar, garlic and (hold onto your seats here…) BUTTER and HONEY!!
It’s ideal for serving with a Slow Cooker Pork Loin because it adds richness to an otherwise lean meat. Bonus: this recipe makes tons of sauce to smother your veggies and potatoes with it too!
HOW I PREPARE AHEAD
This is one of those recipes that’s terrific for a midweek meal yet impressive enough for company. What I’ve been doing is preparing it the night before (searing the pork, making the sauce) then pouring it over the pork and leaving it in the removable insert of my slow cooker until the next morning.Then I pop the insert into my slow cooker in the morning, leave the house for the day and come back to THIS ↓↓↓ Happy days!
Recipe video above. Pork loin OR shoulder slow cooked in an incredible Honey Butter sauce! I love the way the pork soaks up the flavour of the sauce - and how it only requires 5 ingredients!
Ingredients
1.75 - 2.5 kg / 3.5 - 5lb pork loin OR shoulder/boston butt ,or scotch fillet, skinless (Note 1)1.5 tbsp olive oil , separated
SPICE RUB:
2 tsp EACH paprika, thyme1 tsp EACH garlic powder, onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper , optional
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
HONEY BUTTER SAUCE:
3/4 cup / 225 g honey125 g / 1/2 cup butter , unsalted
5 cloves garlic , minced
1/4 cup / 65 ml cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt and pepper , each
THICKENER:
3 tsp cornflour/cornstarch mixed with splash of waterInstructions
Spice Rub: Rub pork with about 1 tsp oil. Mix Rub together then sprinkle over pork. Pat to adhere all over.
Brown: Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pork and sear all around until deep golden brown (don't let spices burn). Place pork in slow cooker.
Honey Butter Sauce: Wipe pan. Add butter and melt. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute until golden. Add remaining Sauce ingredients, mix, simmer rapidly for 30 seconds.
SLOW COOK:
Pour Sauce over pork. Cover slow cooker.Pork loin - Cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours,
Pork Shoulder - Cook on LOW for 10 hours (Note 6 for oven, IP and pressure cooker).
Remove pork onto serving platter, cover loosely with foil (10 - 20 minutes rest).
Pour all juices in slow cooker into large saucepan. Add cornflour water mixture, mix.
Thicken Sauce: Simmer on medium high for 5 minutes or until it reduces down to a syrupy consistency (Note 2).
Slice pork into thick slices (1.5 - 2 cm / 3/5 - 4/5" thick). Serve with PLENTY of Honey Butter Sauce!
Recipe Notes:
1. Pork cuts: recipe is ideal made with pork loin, shoulder / Boston butt (boneless) or scotch fillet/neck, these are the 3 cuts I've make this recipe with. This is a highly flexible recipe that is ideal for any roast-size cut of pork, lean or well marbled.Needs to be made with skinless pork, trimmed of excess fat (don't want loads of surface fat melting into braising liquid which becomes the sauce).
Pork Tenderloin - see directions here.
4. Different pork sizes:
1 kg / 2lb - Pork Loin 3.5 hours on low, Shoulder 8 hours on low
1.5 - 2.5kg / 3 - 5lb: Per recipe
3kg / 6lb: Pork Loin 6 hours on low, Shoulder 11 - 12 hours on low
Use times closest to your pork size.
5. Sauce reduction: Reduction time to thicken dependent on how much juice comes out of the pork. Go by eye - when sauce is thin maple syrup consistency, it's ready (will thicken bit more when it cools a bit)
6. Other cook methods:
* Pressure Cooker - Pork shoulder 1 hour 20 minutes on HIGH. To save time, this is how I did the pork in the 2nd photo in post. Have not tried pork loin so am unsure of required time.
* Instant Pot - Brown pork in IP, remove, melt butter and make Sauce in IP, then add pork back in, spoon over sauce. Then either cook using Pressure Cooker time for shoulder, or Slow Cooker time for pork loin or shoulder . Remove pork and make Sauce using sauté function.
* OVEN - See here for directions
7. MAKE AHEAD - Brown pork and make sauce up to 1 day ahead, pour into slow cooker then remove insert and refrigerate until ready to cook. If preparing ahead more than 12 hours or so, keep the sauce separate (because it will make the pork sweat).
Leftovers - Keep in the fridge for 3 days, or freezer for 3 months. I pour the sauce over it, it soaks through the pork and I love it.
8. Pork Doneness - Loin is a lean cut of pork so it's cooked for a short period of time than shoulder. Pork shoulder needs to be cooked for longer to let the tough fibres break down. Shoulder is more prone to falling apart (ie semi shredding) when slicing so be sure to rest it per recipe directions to minimise this.
9. Nutrition - per serving, assuming a 2 kg/4lb pork loin and 8 servings with all sauce consumed (which is unlikely).
