Slow Cooker Pork Roast

[Fay Jai]

Alright ----

I FINALLY have a couple of days off and will have time to cook my wife dinner....(read: she and I will actually be home at the same time in the evening.) I gonna make my chicken chili tonight, and, since I've never done it before, a Pork Roast in our Slow Cooker...My wife is doing the Weight Watchers things, so I thought I would blast it for a few in the oven at about 450 F. to get some brown on it, then slow cook it with some salt and pepper, onion, carrot, and chicken stock.

Am I going in the right direction here? Anyone have any suggestions on improvements? Thinking about serving it w/ some rice and maybe some of that roasted cauliflour that everyone is getting so excited about....

Thanks!

[Dave the Cook]

Welcome Fay Jai!

What cut of pork is it -- loin, shoulder, or something else?

[Fay Jai]

Yeah, that would help, huh?

Loin

Thanks Dave!

[tommy]

i'd probably just sear it on the stove and put it in an oven. it won't take long to cook, and since there's not much fat, you'll not get much benefit from long-time cooking. dave, is this accurate?

Edited February 2, 2004 by tommy (log)

[Dave the Cook]

Not much fat, and not much soluble connective tissue, so it's not really a good candidate for braising. Definitely brine it if you've got the time, then as tommy suggests (don't let him fool you, he knows what he's talking about).

Don't overcook it.

[Fay Jai]

Gotcha ---

Brining...I hear so much...is there a thread or a site that has the suggested salt to sugar to water to time ratios for Beef, Chicken and Pork? I'm planning to cook this 2morrow, so I have the time...

Thanks again, you guys rock

[Chad]

Yes indeedy, Dave the Cook did a class on Brining for the eGullet Culinary Institute. Definitely required reading.

For a pork tenderloin, I don't even sear it off before tossing it in the oven. Just goes in a baking dish or casserole for 35-40 minutes at 350. For a larger loin roast, Tommy's right, sear in a big-ass pan and toss it in the oven.

Chad

[Chad]

Hmm, just opened the latest Cook's Illustrated to discover a nifty pork map showing all the cuts, their primals and where on the pig they come from. Sure enough, the center loin roast is ideal for roasting (wherever do they come up with those inventive names?). However, there is a sirloin roast that shows a good bit of connective tissue and looks like it would be a good candidate for braising, though CI doesn't recommend the cut.

Chad

[fifi]

Here is what I do for boneless pork loin...

Brine for about 12 hours in a solution of 1 cup of KOSHER salt per gallon of water. I put it in a ziplock in the fridge and don't usually have to mix up a whole gallon. I also put it in a big bowl in case the bag springs a leak.

Take it out of the brine and give it a good rinse. Season it with a rub, garlic or whatever you like. Place on a rack in a pan in a 325 - 350 oven. Cook to an internal temperature of 140-160F (I don't remember. I always have to look it up, so I guess you will too. Oops, I just looked up my favorite recipe and it says 150F.) Anyway, it should be pink on the inside. Today's pork is perfectly safe. You don't have to cook it to death. Let it stand for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Here is my favorite recipe in the whole world.

[Dave the Cook]

Looks great, fifi. So: brine first, then the spice rub/mojo thing?

BTW, 137 F is the magic number for pork -- not for doneness, but for killing trichinae (if you're worried about it).

[fifi]

Yep. I don't think the recipe calls for it but I found that brining really helps those boneless pork loins. We get them here for $1.99 as a loss leader and it is awfully hard to pass that up.

I also quit messing around with the temperature and just set it to 325F anymore. The drippings are better.

I keep that spice rub on hand for all sorts of things. It is great in a vineagrette with a jicama/red onion/red bell pepper slaw type salad. Add some Mexican oregano.

That article was one of the only times I actually cooked the whole menu. It was a knock out and I repeat the recipes often. I just wish I could find my copy of the magazine it came out of but that has been lost.

[Fay Jai]

Time to put the brakes on! (Sorry)

JUST got back from the store, and they were prqactically giving the Pork Shoulder away as compared to the boneless pork loin, SO, I got a 3 lb pork shoulder roast...

(Sorry! ) (5.89 a pound for the loin compared to 1.99 for the shoulder)

Sorry for the curve! (I'm going to use the stuff for the loin next week, don't worry!)

Thanks!

[Dave the Cook]

In that case, go back to your original post. This is a good cut for slow cooking. I would only make two suggestions: add some spice and herbage, and maybe some garlic to the braising liquid; brown it on the stovetop rather than in the oven.

Alternatively, you could do Nigella's Shoulder.

[tommy]

fay jai, you've made the right choice.

brine it overnight.

butterfly the roast, fill with caramelized onions, some whole garlic cloves, and about 12 sage leaves.

tie it up.

set on a rack of onions, celery and carrot.

de-fat the juices when done for jus.

Edited February 2, 2004 by tommy (log)

[Dave the Cook]

See? I told you he knew what he was talking about.

[Fay Jai]

Wow...Just re-read my original post, I have to remember to slow down and re read things so I don't sound like (such) an idiot.

The shoulder is brining as we...uh..speak?

I'll let you know how it turns out!

[Fay Jai]

Dave and Tommy (and anyone else...)

THANKS again. Got up this morning, cut the vegies, picked some sage out of our spice garden, (I washed the leaves, was that bad?)

THEN...the fun started. I took off the twine that the roast had been tied in at the store to rinse it. It immediately flopped open and turned into about a 2 foot long strip of meat. I (kind of panicked, and rolled it up and put it into the pan that I had been carmelizing the onions in. (I remebered that I saw in a back issue of Cook's Illustrated that you were supposed to sear it first to kill any surface bacteria) THEN one of my employees called with a work question. While on the phone with him, our super sensitive smoke alarm went off. Got off of the phone, then... How was I supposed to butterfly this meat roll? I just kind of rolled it up, put it into the stock pot, (didn't have any twine, sorry guys) and put in a can of lo sodium chicken broth. (It didn't SEEM like a lot...) Turned it on and ran errands all day. Got back home. Checked the roast...that now resembled a pot of soup....Gee, that didn't look right...BUT...took it out, and it was absolutely delicious. I didn't know pork could be that tender. It practically melted on the fork. Thanks so much for the advice, guys. I will definetly add pork shoulder to my list of good things to make!

[Dave the Cook]

Congratulations, Fay Jai. Despite our efforts to confuse you thoroughly, you managed to make something delicious.

A couple of clarifications:

- I think that Tommy meant for you to roast the shoulder after stuffing. Doesn't really matter, since you were happy with the results. We missed the "rolled" part of your description. If you've got a rolled roast, you can just unroll it (like you did), spread the stuffing on the inside, then roll back up and re-tie. (By all means, get some kitchen twine, or even plain old cotton string.)

- There's no need to brine if you're using moist heat; in fact, the brine is one of the reasons you ended up with so much liquid.

- Brown the meat for flavor, not for hygiene (I don't know what CI was talking about). Any nasties that might be present will die after a few minutes at 160 F. Whether you use dry or moist heat, the surface of the meat (and that's the part you're worried about, since the interior of muscle meat is virtually sterile) will reach that within a few minutes of cooking. But browning invokes Maillard reactions -- the source of lots of yummy things.

- I always wash veggies, and that includes fresh herbs. You might not use pesticides on your plants, but they still pick up dust and even little tiny bugs. Sage, with its fuzzy leaves, must be particularly susceptible, IMO. If you dry them thoroughly, they won't stick to your knife when you chop them.

Again, congratulations -- and I hope you don't find all this condescending. Maybe you know most of it already, and if you do, my apologies. If you don't, you'll find no shortage of folks around here willing to offer advice, whether you ask for it or not!

[tommy]

congrats.

sounds like this experiment almost turned out as a braise! it's all good.