You guys. I'm apologizing.
I've been distant. To be exact, I haven't posted in 4 weeks. I swear I've been cooking. Let me tell you a little about my life this past month and maybe you'll forgive me? I hope you'll forgive me. I've been busy working. Working on research and working at my seasonal job. For those of you who don't know I work seasonally at Nordstrom in the active department. It's a wonderful way to make some extra money on the side plus, who doesn't like getting a discount on nice things? It's pretty much a win win. The research is for my grad program. You know, because that's what you do as a graduate student. And if we are being honest, I wasn't that productive on it. I got distracted by my family...and my dogs. I know...excuses.
Let's address the other elephant in the room. The title of my recipe does say pork. To all the Jewish mothers and grandmothers reading today, I'm sorry. I saw a friend post a pork recipe and it just sounded good. Thus inspiring this recipe, this post, and my first ever experience cooking a big hunk of pork. Saying it that way sounds delicious...doesn't it.
So you guys, I think I'm ba-curious. Have you ever heard of the term? Well supposedly there are vegans and vegetarians who break the habit for bacon. Ba-curious people are people who make exceptions in their diet for bacon. Can we call me the kosher version? I'm a Jew who enjoys my pork on the rare occasion. Shoot me?
So this slow cooker recipe is so simple it's stupid. I can't do just sweet. Always sweet and salty. Or my favorite: sweet and spicy. And it just so happens this month's #RecipeRedux challenge is all about spicy and smoky flavors. Sweet apples paired with spicy sriracha, and smokey paprika and cumin make for the perfect sweet and spicy apple cider slow cooker pork. Seriously, it's delish. I had to mess around with the cooking time because it wasn't as tender as I would have liked the first time I made it but let me tell you it's pretty great. Especially since it's my first time cooking pork loin. And just a side note, you can use pork tenderloin, which is a superior cut of meat and much more tender cut of meat than the pork loin, but it's significantly more expensive. Both work, it's up to you. Happy eating, friends. I like serving this on top of mashed cauliflower and a with a dollop of BBQ sauce.
Sweet and Spicy Slow Cooker Pork
| INGREDIENTS: 1 boneless pork loin (1.5-2 lbs) spice rub (recipe below) 1 bay leaf 2 apples, sliced 1 sweet yellow onion, sliced 4 cups crinkle cut carrots 2 cups apple cider 3 T honey 3 T sriracha spice rub: 1 T paprika 1/2 T cumin 1/2 T cinnamon 1 T chili powder dash of nutmeg | INSTRUCTIONS: Season pork loin with spice rub, salt, and pepper. Place apples, onions, and carrots in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add in bay leaf, cider, honey and sriracha. Place pork loin on top. Cook on low setting for 8 hours. Allow to cool for 1-2 hours. Pork should be tender and break apart with a fork. |
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