For a no-fuss dinner, try slow cooking your roast pork (plus, you can still have crackling!). Cooked long and slow, your pork will be tender and delicious.
Cooking a roast dinner can take a lot of time.
When you're rushed in the week, the last thing you think about doing is a pork roast dinner.
However, bring out your slow cooker, and you could have a roast every night of the week.
It's totally no fuss.
What I love about cooking a whole joint are all the leftovers.
Yes, it costs a little more money upfront, but you'll feed your family for more than one meal.
The leftovers can do sandwiches or rolls for lunch the next day, get added to a pizza, or why not stretch it and make a pork risotto or pasta bake.
Just remember that this roast pork tastes best with fresh meat – make sure to use a pork joint that has only been bought a couple of days earlier.
How do I slow cook roast pork in the slow cooker?
Cooking roast pork in the slow cooker is one of the easiest ways to make dinner.
It uses one of my very favourite methods of cooking ... dump it all in, turn it on and come back hours later.
The pork is deliciously tender, but still firm enough to cut through - perfect!
Hands-off cooking is why my slow cooker is so well used and an essential kitchen gadget.
I even remember the first time we got a slow cooker. I had never used one before then. It's totally changed how we cook pretty much everything.
A family member got us this one about seven years ago and, other than a few dents on the outside; it's still going strong.
Do you remove the skin from pork before slow cooking?
Keep that skin on the pork. Yes, it's not going to look nice, and you'll certainly not want to eat it...yet.
You can cut it all off first, but it's such a faff!
It'll be difficult to do a good job of it unless you spend a bit of time (and who has the spare time?!)
Instead, cook it in the slow cooker with the skin on, and the fat will help enhance the flavours and keep the pork tender and juicy.
You can then cook the whole joint in the oven to make it crispy and make crackling.
Alternatively, you could slide the skin off when it's finished in the slow cooker, and bake it to make cracking on its own.
How long does pork take in a slow cooker?
The best thing about the slow cooker is that you cook it slowly.
As you're cooking a large joint, it does benefit if you can leave it as long as possible.
If you cook it on hot for the whole time, you're going to overcook the joint, and you won't enjoy it (and will need double-extra gravy!)
What's best is to start it off on hot for 20 minutes, then turn it to low for the rest of the cooking time.
The time to cook your pork will all depend on the size, so be sure to make your own calculation.
Remember, no matter how tempting it is, keep the lid on. This will keep the temperature and humidity consistent.
If you need to cook it quicker, cut your pork in half as they cook faster.
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Ingredients
- 1.5 – 2 kgs pork joint
- 4 large cooking apples. cored and chopped
- 2 medium onions. peeled and roughly chopped
- chicken stock, enough to cover the pork meat below the skin
- bay leaves
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Cut the onions and apples into large chunks and place in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Place the pork on top of the apples and onions and pour in the stock to cover the joint.
- Season with salt, pepper and bay leaves and cook on a low setting for approximately 8 hours.
- Once done take out and place on a roasting tin. Rub salt over the skin and place in the oven at 190C/gas mark 5 for about 30 – 40 minutes until the skin has nicely crackled!
Ruby
Really easy to do. Loads of leftovers.
Jenny
Had this a few times. Great recipe - thanks for sharing
Craig
Making this now - been slow cooking for 6hrs smells amazing!!
Melissa
I am going to try this recipe tomorrow. I've always slow cooked my pork shoulders in the over and finished the last 40 mins uncovered to make the crackling. I've perfected it but never done it in the slow cooker before. Does the crackling taste as good if you finish it off in the oven? And can you use the juices to make a gravy or are they to sweet or fatty?
Melissa
I made this on Easter Sunday and it was delicious and moister than I expected. .i ccoked in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours however, I finished it off in the oven to make crackling.. I covered the fleshy meat in foil so that it stayed moist. I will definitely use this method from now on.
Yvonne
Done this recipe many times, absolutely gorgeous
Stuart
Dead good. I found that 5-6 hours was enough time in the slow cooker for perfectly soft meat, then 45 mins in oven for crackling.
Paige
Even though it took 5-6 hours was enough was that still on low and was it cooked all the way through no pink bits. Sorry I’m really fussy when it comes to meat.
Duane
Easy recipe, cooked the meat beautifully.
The recipe doesn't mention anything about a sauce. I took a gamble and this worked brilliantly: Once the meat is out of the slow cooker and in the oven use a stick blender on the onions, stock and apples. Strain it into a saucepan, add corn flour and salt to season, then you have a wonderful apple gravy.
I used the grill to harden the crackle and kept a close eye on it - much quicker.
Ricky Willis
The recipe works every time.
Love your idea to not waste the sauce and make a gravy. I bet that tasted brilliant.
Yolanda Samuels
Thanks for the suggestion on how to make the gravy - it tastes wonderful.
MR PAUL DEVEREUX
thank you ----- you saved my xmas !!!!!!!1
my oven packed in december 22 !!!!
i had bought a leg of pork ...
got my slow cooker out ----- perfect !!!
and my other slow cooker did the roated veggies !
sliced off the crackling -- and crisped it up on my george foreman grill !!!
ABSOLUTLEY LOVELY -----
Not got a new oven yet -- jan / 9 /22 ---- but my slow cooker got a beef stew and dumpling on LOL !!!
LAURA
Really fabulous! was easy to cook and delicious. Lots of empty plates 🙂 we also followed the gravy tip from one of the comments below. Superb!
Barbara
Delicious and so easy. Crackling really crackles. Did a gravy with some of the broth as advised by some. Yum!
Julie Brundrett
thankyou for recipe
David
Can you use eating apples instead of cooking apples.
Jim
Can I just confirm. It says cover the joint? With stock? Am I reading correctly does that mean submerged completely in stock?
Steve
Tasted really nice. I too used the blend everything together after removing the meat idea from a commenter above to make the gravy.
I did the recipe slightly differently as I didn't have any chicken stock but I did have a litre of apple juice (cheapo from the coop) so with a bit of water added that was used as the liquid. It also meant that the whole meal was appley enough so didn't need a separate sauce.
I also didn't do the crackling part, as no one in my family likes it.
one point five Kg shoulder joint for 8 hours.
Rick Thompson
You can also take the akin off at the end and put into an air fryer which puffs the crackling up as well as crimping.