Slow Cooker Roast Pork With Crackling

🤍 Recipe Highlights

I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about this slow cooker pork roast with crackling recipe in the points below:

• Simple ingredients: some of the ingredients needed are pantry staples and the rest are simple ingredients that you will be able to get at the grocery store. They are year round available ingredients that will be easy to get your hands on.
• Hands free: for the most part this recipe is 'hands free'. We do a little prep work and then hand things over to the slow cooker to let it do its thing. Then we do a little pre oven prep work and then let the oven do its thing. For the majority of the entire cook time you can have be 'hands off' and let the pork roast itself 😉👌.
• Family friendly: everyone of all ages will enjoy tucking into this tender meat with perfect crackling. It is a satisfying dish that will appeal to both young and young at heart.
• Roast dinner: there is something to look forward to about the weekly roast. From the juicy meat to the roast vegetables and gravy if you please (yes please! 😍). Its a perfect weekend dinner choice with delicious and satisfying results.
• Special occasions: for special occasions throughout the year it can be nice to have a signature dish up your sleeve to whip out as the need arises. This slow cooked roast pork with crackling will be one that you can turn to again and again with everyone looking forward to the main event!

🥗 Ingredients

The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the slow cooker pork roast with crackling recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.

As you can see the recipe calls for:

• Olive oil: there are 2 ingredients to ensuring crispy crackling. The 1st is olive oil and the 2nd is salt.
• Salt: we want to use cooking salt, not table salt. Combined with the olive oil this is how the skin crackles.
• Salt and pepper: we use salt and a little bit of black pepper for seasoning the pork. This is done on the underside (meat side) not skin side.
• Onion powder: we use onion powder and garlic powder to add additional flavor to the pork meat.
• Garlic powder: as above. These 2 are excellent pantry staples and perfect for a wide variety of recipes.
• Fennel seeds: fennel and pork is a match made in heaven. We use a small amount of fennel seeds along with the garlic and onion powders when seasoning the pork.
• Pork: we want to use a boneless pork shoulder for the recipe. You will be able to get this from the grocery store or your local butcher. Slow cooking the pork over a number of hours leads to fantastic results that melt in your mouth!

Tasty Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making my recipes. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients, or wanting alternatives, read this section (further below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which are coming next 😉👌.

🍳 Instructions

Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by preparing the pork. You will need a cutting board to begin with.

• Unroll the pork and lay flat (Photo 1)
• Season with salt and pepper (Photo 2)
• Sprinkle the garlic powder (Photo 3)
• Add the onion powder (Photo 4)

👩‍🍳 How to Make Slow Cooker Roast Pork With Crackling

To make the slow cooker roast pork with crackling we begin by seasoning the pork shoulder. To do this place the pork skin side down on a clean chopping board and unroll it.

Next season the meat with salt and black pepper. Once done, sprinkle garlic powder over the meat, followed by onion powder and massage these in with your fingers.

Then when ready, sprinkle the fennel seeds over the meat as well as shown in the photo below.

• Add the fennel seeds (Photo 5)
• Roll the pork back together (Photo 6)
• Transfer it to the slow cooker and cook (Photo 7)
• Transfer it to a rack in roasting pan (Photo 8)

Next roll the pork shoulder with skin surface back on top as shown in the photo above and then place the rolled pork shoulder into the slow cooker insert.

Allow it to cook on low heat for 6-7 hours. In the final 30 minutes, preheat the oven to the temperature specified in the recipe card below.

Once the pork has cooked, remove the lid from the slow cooker and set it aside.

Then use 2 silicon turners to lift the pork up and out of the slow cooker and place it onto a rack in roasting tray (it will be very hot at this point!!) . If the surface is not level, use some rolled balls of foil under the pork to level the surface.

Pour the olive oil over the surface of the pork skin ensuring that it is fully covered. Next sprinkle salt across the pork on top of the oil.

When ready place the uncovered pork shoulder into the oven on the middle shelf. Allow the skin to cook with bubbles forming on the surface as the skin starts to crackle.

It will take 30 - 40 minutes for the skin to crackle. Or if it is does not fully crackle during this time, allow it to keep cooking, checking it every 5 minutes until it does.

Then use oven mitts to remove the roasting tray from the oven and place it onto a heatproof surface. Loosely cover with foil and let it rest for 15 minutes.

When ready use a knife and carving fork to slice the pork and crackling.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

Potatoes and veggies all the way when it comes to roast dinners!

Options include the Duck Fat Roast Potatoes, Creamy Garlic Potatoes, Garlic Butter Potatoes or the Skin on Roast Potatoes.

If you are more of a potato bake fan try the Potato And Cauliflower Bake, Potato And Broccoli Bake, Potato And Onion Bake or the Potato And Sweet Potato Bake.

Then roast some pumpkin with a spray of oil in the air fryer and boil some green beans. It is an easy combination that works wonders!

Grab some gravy and give the pork a drizzle with it.

For a wine pairing try a chilled glass of rose or a crisp pinot gris. Or for red try a smooth glass of pinot gris. The pork will go down a treat with many wine pairings! Phew 😂👌.

If you are more of a 'sauce' person than a gravy fan, try the Apple Sauce For Pork or have a look at all of my homemade sauces for more options.

👍 How to Guide

How to Store

Allow the pork to fully cool, then transfer leftovers into a sealed, airtight container. They can be kept for 2-3 days and are best reheated before being consumed.

How to Freeze

The pork and vegetables can be frozen if you have leftovers. The crackling won't freeze well, so it is not recommended to do that however.

Transfer leftovers of the pork and vegetables into airtight containers. Then seal and stack in the freezer for 2-3 months.

How to Reheat

Next day pork leftovers are even better 😉👌.

Add leftover roast pork and vegetables to a bowl and cover with cling wrap. Then reheat on high in the microwave in 1 minute increments until warmed through.

For frozen portions, allow them to fully thaw. Once thawed, transfer them to a bowl and follow the step above to reheat.

Crackling won't re crisp up in the microwave. You can add it to the air fryer but the results are not always as good when fresh out of the oven (something to keep in mind to avoid disappointment 😉).

😉 Substitutions and Variations

Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:

• You can omit the fennel seeds if you wish too.
• You can add ground or smoked paprika (1 teaspoon) to the other flavors when seasoning the pork.
• Or for an alternative dried herb, use 1 teaspoon of dried sage.
• If you want to score the skin you can, taking care to not cut into the meat. Or purchase the pork from your local butcher, who can score it for you.
• If you want to add a bed of onions to the slow cooker insert you can. These can then be drained (from the pork juices in the pan) and plated with the roast veggies for serving.
• If you want to make homemade gravy from the pan drippings, you can. Simply melt 2 tablespoons of butter and then whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour followed by adding the pan drippings. If doing this, I recommend not adding extra salt as it is already salty enough!

💡 Tasty Tips

Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:

• If you have time, remove any packaging from the pork and let the skin dry out in the fridge overnight. Then remove it from the fridge when starting the recipe so that it is close to room temperature when adding it to the slow cooker.
• We don't want to use the hot water technique with this recipe (pouring boiling water over the skin). This is because after it has been in the slow cooker for 6 plus hours the skin has a tacky surface and paper towel would stick (and stay) on the meat.
• Cooking the pork for 6 hours in the slow cooker, followed by the 30 - 40 minutes gives you enough wiggle room to get the crackling to work. Cooking it for 8 hours gives you no wiggle room as the pork can then become overcooked as you try and crisp the crackle.
• If in any doubt of the pork being properly cooked, you can use a meat thermometer.
• The pork will be very hot after it has been in the slow cooker for 6 hours. You will need 2 utensils like slotted turners to lift it up and out of the bowl.
• If you love slow cooker recipes you might also like the Pasta Bake, Braised Steak And Onions, Pulled Lamb, Lamb Ribs, Spaghetti Bolognese or the Pumpkin Soup 😉👌.

🤓 Frequently Asked Questions

How do you crisp crackling after a slow cooker?

Transfer the slow cooked pork to a rack in roasting tray. Cover the skin with olive oil and salt. Then place into a very hot oven and roast until the skin forms bubbles and crackles.

Can you put pork in a slow cooker without liquid?

Yes, you can put pork in the slow cooker without liquid. As the meat cooks, liquid from the pork (juices) will drip out and into the slow cooker insert.

Can you put raw pork in a slow cooker?

Yes, it is safe to add raw pork to the slow cooker. It will cook through over the specified cook time of the recipe and there is no need to brown or sear it first.

Is it better to cook pork on high or low in slow cooker?

Using low heat and cooking the pork for a longer time will deliver the best results. Whilst you can revert to high heat for less time, you will likely find that the pork tastes better when cooked at a lower heat for a longer period of time.

😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes

Here are some more ideas to keep your dinners interesting, inspired and something you look forward to making all day:

• Garlic Chicken Parmesan Pasta
• Italian Short Ribs
• Fettuccine Alfredo With Scallops
• Ham Fettuccine Alfredo
• Scallop Linguine
• Tuna Fried Rice
• Satay Lamb

You can also find all of my family favorites or dinner recipes in the one spot!

Adrianne

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