Slow Cooker Garlic Rosemary Pork

There was a 2 1/2 lb piece of Boston Butt sitting in my ‘fridge and I had no idea what I wanted to do with it. One thing I did know is that I wanted to avoid both the Italian and Tex-Mex flavor profiles. Now, I have nothing against Italian and Tex-Mex – quite the opposite – I love them. They are the cuisines that I have the highest comfort level in practicing. I have come to understand them to the point where I can “wing it” without a recipe and be reasonably assured of a tasty supper. But this means we eat loads of tomatoes, oregano, beans and pasta.

And I really didn’t want to go that way with this chunk of meat. Which brings us to standing with a piece of pork sitting on the counter at 10:30 pm pondering the possibilities. Springing into action, I seasoned it with a rub and chucked it into the ‘fridge to plot against me overnight. The best decision is the one put off until tomorrow.

Ceci n'est pas une Barbecue

The Hardware:

Slow Cooker, Immersion blender, Large Saucepan

The Software:

2 1/2 lb Boston Butt
3 – 4 T Chopped Garlic (I used the stuff in the jar, if using fresh use your judgment)
2 – 3 T Chopped Fresh Rosemary
1 – 2 T Salt + plenty of pepper
1 t Sage, Powdered
1 Onion, coarsely chopped
2 Carrots, coarsely chopped
2 Stalks Celery, coarsely chopped
200 ml Pomegranate Juice (I know, but it is the size of a juice box and it is what I had)
Granulated Garlic

Set up your work space with some prep bowls. Fill one with a combo of the salt and pepper, put the rosemary in a second and the garlic in a third – we are gonna get porky. Rinse and dry the pork and then liberally season one side with salt & pepper, then rub in about half of the garlic and rosemary and sprinkle with sage. Flip the roast over and do the same for the other side. Make sure to rub the seasoning down on the edges of the roast as well. You are looking for some pretty dense coverage – so be generous and add more as you deem fit. Seal in a container and allow to hang out in the ‘fridge overnight.

You can either chop the veggies the night before and put them in the ‘fridge or do them in the morning. I did them in the morning because when I went to bed I had no freaking clue what I was going to do the next day. What I did do was place the veggies in the crock of a crock pot and place the seasoned roast on top. I then busted into my toddlers juice box stash and poured a box of pomegranate juice over top.

I didn’t get around to doing this until about 10:30 and I wanted to eat at 6:00, so I started out on high for a couple of hours and then turned it to low for the rest of the time. If you are setting this to chug along while you are out of the house then I would think low would be fine for the day. After the first hour I flipped the roast and then after the second I flipped it back. I don’t know why I did this. I read on someones blog that they had read on someones blog that they had read in Cooks Illustrated that this is a good thing to do when slow cooking.

I just like fiddling, so it seemed to be the thing to do.

However you cook it, cook low and slow until it is almost fall apart tender. Remove from juices to a cutting board and cover with foil. Realize that the juices are just too good to lose and also have a fit of frugality that will not allow you to discard the veggies. Transfer cooking juices and chunky bits to a large sauce pan and puree with an immersion blender (or do the blender thing – ‘sall good).

Simmer on low heat and season with salt, pepper and granulated garlic to taste. If your toddler happened to leave a half finished juice box laying around and you just happened to stash it in the ‘fridge when he wasn’t looking – well you could use that to brighten the flavor a bit. While the sauce is simmering, pull pork apart with two forks until nicely shredded and then return to sauce – stirring to mix well.

Now, what shall I do with the leftovers?

What is this? I have no idea. If the flavors are anything they might be kinda French. Which might make this sorta a French barbecue. But that might be sacrilege. Whatever it was, we ate it with roasted potatoes and a chunk of homemade half-wheat bread.

For the Roasted Potatoes sneaking in from the left of the frame check here:

Roasted Potatoes, We Invented GBD

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