Preparation: 10 minutes plus 3 hours sitting
Cooking: 5–6 hours
Servings: 6–8
This slow-cooked pork makes a tender, comforting, and satisfying meal. Enjoy it served simply with the fresh crispness of a green salad, or the crunch of a simple coleslaw, the sweet spiciness marrying beautifully with the fresh vegetablles. This is one of my favourite recipes; it’s a simple to prepare and then leave it to create its magic kind of meal. You can pop the meat into the slow cooker first thing in the morning before work and you have dinner sorted. Arrive home to a delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen when you open the front door.
Brain Food Note
Pork is packed full of B vitamins, iron, zinc, protein, and many other nutrients that help increase concentration, alertness, and memory, aiding in a happier and more stable mood. Bone broth and apple cider vinegar help calm and relax the mind and help you handle stress more easily. Add nutrient-rich cabbage, carrots, or salad greens to help fight inflammation in the gut and brain.
1.5 kilo pork shoulder with bone
1 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup bone broth
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 red cabbage, finely sliced
2 small carrots, finely sliced
1 small Lebanese cucumber, peeled into thin strips
Mix all the spices together. Wash the pork and pat it dry with paper towels, then rub the spice mix all over the pork. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge or for at least 3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C (or 400 degrees F). Put the spiced pork in an oven dish and place it in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove the meat from the oven and place it in the slow cooker with the bone broth, apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, garlic, onion, and maple syrup. Cook for 8 hours on low or 5–6 hours on high, or until the meat can be easily pulled apart with a fork.
Remove the pork from the slow cooker. Place on a chopping board and, using two forks, pull the meat from the bone. Place the pulled meat back into the sauce for about 10 minutes, or until you are ready to serve.
Place the sliced cabbage, carrot and cucumber strips onto a board or platter and pile on the pulled pork, drizzle a little more sauce over the meat.
Alternatively, place the chopped cabbage and carrot into cos lettuce cups and lay the pork on top, then add cucumber strips, sliced spring onion, thinly sliced chilli, and coriander, if desired.
