Now, promise you guys won't laugh at me but I've actually never used a slow cooker until last year. My friend asked me to cater for a film set in Marfa where I was given the task to feed 30-40 people, 3 meals a day for about a week. I was working with minimal cookware but had to find a way to make large batches of food as efficiently as possible: In came the mighty slow cooker.
It saved my life and everyone thought I was some cooking bad ass but in actuality, the slow cookers saved my butt that week. It was such a crazy concept to me to throw a slab of meat in, with some seasonings and like an onion or something and slow cook it for 8 hours. It came out flavorful and tender and ever since that week, I've been using my slow cooker almost weekly.
A lot of people will ask me "How do you always have time to cook at home?" Truth of the matter is you have to have a plan. Like most things in life, the more organized you are about it, the easier it becomes. I always recommend people making a big batch of something at the beginning of the week. Whether that means baking some chicken, making some vegetable patties, or cooking up a pork shoulder, by doing this you can build your meals that week from the leftovers.
I love this recipe because the leftovers carries so many possibilities. I simply cook it in the slow cooker, shred it and store half of it in a big container in the fridge and the other half in single servings in the freezer. This way, once you finish using the fridge leftovers you can move onto your freezer leftovers without worrying about food spoil.
Stay tuned for some awesome recipes that will teach you how to use your slow cooker pork leftovers!
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SAVORY SLOW COOKER PORK
(makes 8-10 servings)
- 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 (4-1/2- to 5-pound) boneless or bone-in pork shoulder (also known as pork butt), twine or netting removed
Place the onions and garlic in an even layer in the slow cooker and pour in the stock or broth. Combine the sugar, chili powder, measured salt, cumin, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pat the pork dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork and place the meat on top of the onions and garlic. Cover and cook until the pork is fork tender, about 6 to 8 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low.
Turn off the slow cooker and remove the pork to a cutting board. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the onion mixture from the slow cooker through the strainer and return the solids to the slow cooker. Set the strained liquid aside.
If the pork has a bone, remove and discard it. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Portion out 6-8 servings and store in glass containers or ziplock bags. This pork can be kept in the fridge for a week and it also freezes well for up to 7 months.
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