The Great American Slow Cooker Book (43 page)

1
Spread the onion in an even layer in the bottom of the slow cooker.

2
Whisk the peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, chile paste, garlic, and ginger in a small bowl. Slather the mixture over the pork loin; set the loin on top of the onion.

3
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours in a small slow cooker, 6 hours in a medium cooker, or 8 hours in a large cooker, or until the pork is cooked through and the onion has softened.

4
Transfer the pork loin to a cutting board; leave it alone for 10 minutes. Slice it into ½-inch-thick rounds. Ladle the sauce over the slices on serving plates and offer the lime quarters on the side for squeezing fresh juice over the pork

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Because there’s already brown sugar in the rub, use a natural peanut butter to cut down on the overall sweetness of the dish.

•
You can use a bottled hot sauce like
sambal oelek
in the rub, although there’s an astounding array of Asian red chile sauces available in most supermarkets, not to mention even more at Asian grocery stores or from online suppliers.

Serve It Up!
How about stir-frying broccoli florets in a very hot wok with a little toasted sesame oil, a splash of soy sauce, and some red pepper flakes?

1
Tie the pork loin with butchers’ twine about every 2 inches along its length to hold its shape as it braises. Set it in the slow cooker; add cool tap water until it is submerged by 1 inch. Sprinkle the scallions, ginger, and salt around the meat.

2
Cover and cook on low for 5 hours in a small slow cooker, 6 hours in a medium cooker, or 8 hours in a large one, or until the pork is cooked through but still firm, not yet shreddable.

3
Transfer the pork loin to a large high-sided baking dish; ladle the poaching liquid and all the aromatics around the pork loin. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or up to 48 hours.

4
Whisk the soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, and chile oil in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves.

5
Transfer the pork loin to a cutting board; discard the poaching liquid and the aromatics. Slice the loin into ¼-inch-thick rounds. Arrange the cucumber slices on a serving platter; set the pork loin slices on top. Ladle a little of the soy sauce mixture over the rounds and pass the extra on the side.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Here’s a pork loin dish you can make ahead and then serve at a cocktail party. Your slow cooker can even replace your oven this summer! The chilled pork continues to absorb the flavorful sauce as it chills, resulting in a firmer, denser texture.

•
If your slow cooker has a removable insert, lift it right out of the cooker, keep the lid in place, and set the whole thing with the pork and poaching liquid in the fridge. Set a towel underneath the insert if it’s at all hot.

•
For a heartier meal, or if you’re feeding a crowd, add chilled cooked soba noodles on the platter.

INGREDIENTS EXPLAINED
Chile oil is an Asian condiment, made by soaking chiles in a neutral vegetable oil. Other spices like Sichuan peppercorns and garlic may also be in the mix. Some oils are strained; others retain a dusky, red sediment of ground chiles. In the case of these recipes, we call for the strained oil.

1
Toss the pork cubes with the brown sugar and salt in the slow cooker until well coated.

2
Dump the tomatoes, onion, red pepper, chili powder, cumin, garlic, minced chipotle, and adobo sauce into the slow cooker; stir gently until the meat is good and slathered.

3
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the pork is meltingly, irresistibly tender.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Texans are pretty insistent that chili doesn’t have beans, so here’s a legume-free recipe, an all-pork take on the classic Lone Star rib-sticker—even if pork loin makes it a tad healthier than the more standard pork shoulder.

•
Don’t confuse one canned chipotle in adobo sauce with a whole can of chiles; otherwise, the chili will be too hot to eat.

ALL-AMERICAN KNOW-HOW
The easiest way to chunk up a pork loin is to halve it lengthwise, then set the halves cut side down on your cutting board. Slice them into long spears about the width you need, then slice these spears crosswise into chunks.

1
Mix the chili sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, molasses, chile powder, cumin, and cloves in the slow cooker until the brown sugar and molasses dissolve. Set the pork shoulder in the cooker, turning it once to coat it with the sauce.

2
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours in a slow small cooker, 8 hours in a medium cooker, or 10 hours in a large cooker, or until the meat is quite literally falling off the bone.

3
Use a spoon to skim the fat from the surface of the cooking liquid, then shred the meat by pulling it apart with two forks. Discard the bones and stir well before serving.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Skip manning the grill all day. With a slow cooker, you can make a terrific pulled pork without much fuss.

•
Treat the timing as a suggestion: the pork has to be meltingly tender, no longer able to adhere to the bone. All that collagen melt will make the meat moist and irresistible, so cook as long as you need to until you find the meat perfectly tender.

•
There’s no smoke flavor in this pulled pork. We wanted the sweeter, more elemental taste of pork to be at the front of the dish. However, if you want a smokier taste, use a smoked bone-in pork shoulder.

INGREDIENTS EXPLAINED
A pork shoulder is a highly marbled hunk of meat from just over the pig’s front legs. It’s the standard choice for pulled pork, although you can substitute another cut from the front shoulder, the so-called
picnic ham
(which is not a ham at all, since it doesn’t come from the back leg). Some pork shoulders are sold with the rind (that is, the skin) and a thick layer of fat attached. Have the butcher at your market slice off both for the recipes in this book. You may also need to ask him or her to cut the pork shoulder into smaller chunks to fit a smaller slow cooker.

Serve It Up!
Have toasted Kaiser or onion rolls on hand, as well as a platter of thinly sliced vegetables for sandwich toppers: tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, and red onion. Pickled jalapeño rings or hot chow-chow would also be a welcome addition.

1
Mix the paprika, brown sugar, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper in a small bowl. Massage the pork with the liquid smoke,
then coat it with the spice mixture. Set the meat in the slow cooker.

2
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours in a small slow cooker, 8 hours in a medium cooker, or 10 hours in a large one, or until the meat is so tender it will fall off the bone into bits with almost no prodding.