Pork Crock-Pot Recipes

There are so many reasons to love slow cooked pork. It’s tender, flavorful, and, with the help of a Crock-Pot, nearly impossible to mess up.
Pork shoulder, also called pork butt or Boston butt, is the most common choice for slow cooking. Taken from the upper portion of the front leg of the pig, this inexpensive cut is relatively tough and marbled with fat. Luckily it takes just a few steps to transform pork shoulder into a silky pile of meat: combine the pork and the broth or sauce of your choice in a Crock-Pot, then step away for a few hours. Yes, pork shoulder needs a long cooking time to get that insanely tender, falling-off-the-bone texture, but once it’s done, you have the base for a week’s worth of delicious meals.
A staple of our collection of pork Crock-Pot recipes is pulled pork. The cooked meat should come off the bone with a few passes of a fork, after which you can combine the succulent, porky threads with a variety of toppings. Try mixing the pulled pork with tomato sauce for an easy pasta dish, then pile the left-overs in tortillas for our Slow Cooker Pork Tacos. Another favorite: our Southern Barbeque Pulled Pork Sandwiches, in which pulled pork is smothered in a tangy sauce made from ketchup, brown sugar, cider vinegar, molasses, and mustard. If the weather is cold, a hot, long-simmered pork stew is in order. Adding legumes like Marcia Kiesel does in her Ham Hock and Chickpea Stew is a smart choice because they’ll cook along with the pork without losing their texture.
One last tip for excellent slow cooked pork? Take it from star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and use bold spices. He marinates his pork shoulder with hot paprika and Sriracha chile sauce. "Chile is my condiment of choice,” he says. “A little here, a little there, makes the food sing.”
—Carrie Mullins

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Slow Cooker Coconut Pork Curry

Grace Parisi cooks pork shoulder with bold ingredients like fresh ginger, garlic, curry powder, cumin and turmeric. The flavors intensify and penetrate the meat after four hours in the slow cooker.

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Slow Cooker Barbecued Pulled Pork

Serve the pulled pork with coleslaw and pickles, or mound it on hamburger buns and top with coleslaw and thinly sliced onion and dill pickles.

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Slow-Cooked Pork Shoulder with Roasted Apples

This cut takes a long time to cook, but the prep is minimal and the results are outstanding: supercrispy skin and meltingly tender meat.

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Slow-Cooked Sweet-and-Sour Pork Shoulder with Pineapple

Inspired by the retro combination of ham and pineapple, Jean-Georges Vongerichten created this twist by mixing the pineapple with vinegar for a sweet-sour effect, and marinating pork shoulder with hot paprika and Sriracha chile sauce. "Chile is my condiment of choice: A little here, a little there, makes the food sing," he says.

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Slow Cooker Mexican Pork and Tomatillo Stew

HELENE DUJARDIN

This flavorful and hearty stew will hit the spot on a cool winter day.

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Pork Rillettes

Rillettes is a rustic pate made from meat that's been poached in its own fat, then shredded and stored in some of that fat. Inspired by a dish at Fort Defiance, a bar in Brooklyn, New York, writer Oliver Strand makes pork rillettes in a slow cooker; the recipe works equally well prepared on the stovetop over low heat. The quick pickle of dried apricots is an ingenious sweet-tart accompaniment to the rich meat.

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Slow-Roasted Pork

Hunter and metal artist Audwin McGee is a big fan of slow-cooked meats: "You just can't mess up a big hunk of pork. I like to use a bone-in Boston butt or shoulder with good fat content, so it doesn't dry up." His pork is smothered in a garlic-rosemary paste, then cooked at a low temperature for several hours until it's supertender.

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Slow Cooker Ham Hock and Chickpea Stew

F&W's Marcia Kiesel credits split pea soup, one of her favorites, as the inspiration for this hearty stew. Like split peas, chickpeas need to simmer for a long time, making them great for a slow cooker.

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Pork Crock-Pot Recipes

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Slow Cooker Coconut Pork Curry

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Slow Cooker Barbecued Pulled Pork

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Slow-Cooked Pork Shoulder with Roasted Apples

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Slow-Cooked Sweet-and-Sour Pork Shoulder with Pineapple

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Slow Cooker Mexican Pork and Tomatillo Stew

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Pork Rillettes

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Slow-Roasted Pork

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Slow Cooker Ham Hock and Chickpea Stew

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Pork Crock-Pot Recipes

1 of 8

Slow Cooker Coconut Pork Curry

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2 of 8

Slow Cooker Barbecued Pulled Pork

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3 of 8

Slow-Cooked Pork Shoulder with Roasted Apples

3 of 8

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Slow-Cooked Sweet-and-Sour Pork Shoulder with Pineapple

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Slow Cooker Mexican Pork and Tomatillo Stew

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Pork Rillettes

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Slow-Roasted Pork

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Slow Cooker Ham Hock and Chickpea Stew

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