by Jackie Lee
For a long time people stayed away from pork thinking it was not a healthy meat to eat. These days we know that couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, pork is frequently a less fatty option to beef or chicken. There are more and more pork recipes surfacing and many of them are for the crock pot, which is great because pork is a perfect meat for crock pot cooking.
Pork, like beef, provides many options when it comes to cut. You can choose from bacon, sausage, ground pork, steaks, ribs, and even roasts. They all have their own flavor and have many options for cooking. You can use just about all of the cuts in the crock pot.
Boneless pork chops and pork tenderloin will not take as long to cook. Your slow cooker should be set on four hours instead of eight. Pork can be bought seasoned from the store. If yours is not, try a trick I like to use for pork and poultry. Add a packet of onion soup mix to the meat. It can be regular onion or golden onion, whichever you prefer.
If you are following a recipe you won't want to add the onion soup mix, just use the spices called for in the recipe. Your recipe should also tell you to add some liquid. If you aren't following a recipe you will need to add about a cup of liquid, whether it's water or stock. You also want to add any vegetables you will be using in this dish. Whether you use fresh or frozen doesn't matter. They will both work just fine.
Pork sausage balls can make a great appetizer or even a refreshing topping for spaghetti. You can make these from scratch using fresh ground pork sausage, or you can do it the easy way and just use frozen. Add your sausage balls to the crock pot and add some liquid and sauce. If you are making BBQ balls, use BBQ sauce, if you are using them for spaghetti you can throw in spaghetti sauce. See what I mean about options? Set them to cook on low for at least 2 hours. Depending on how many balls you are cooking, and your cookers cooking temperature it can take up to 4 hours for them to completely cook.
Another favorite cut of pork for the slow cooker is pork ribs. They can be country style (little to no bone and more meat) or spareribs. You may choose to season and marinate the ribs with your favorite store bought or homemade marinade. For best results, marinade overnight before cooking them in the slow cooker. They will be in there for six to eight hours so there is no need to parboil on the stove for tenderness.
You have to make sure you add some liquid to the ribs in the crock pot. The crock pot uses moist heat, and you have to provide the moisture. About an hour or two before the cooking time is up go ahead and add your favorite BBQ suace. The sauce will permeate the meat creating delicious ribs. When your cooking time is up you will find the most tender, fall off the bone ribs you've ever eaten. Delicious.
You can even slow cook a ham for a special Sunday dinner. Glaze it with honey or brown sugar and pineapples an hour or so before it is cooked. The meat will be juicy, flavorful, and tender when sliced.
There are so many options now when it comes to cooking pork. The crock pot makes it just about fool proof to cook a delicious pork dinner. Make sure you check cooking times and if it's the first time you've cooked a recipe or you have a new crock pot it's best to stay fairly close by so you can check in as the cooking time continues. Even though the crock pot uses moist heat to cook you can dry out the food. Dry pork never tastes very good.
No comments:
Post a Comment