Crockpot pork loin roast loin end

Well it’s been a while since I posted a “new” recipe generally I am designing websites for a living, which gives me time to cook at home a lot, not always post a lot.

Generally I like to add my own twist to recipes I find on the Interweb, but sometimes when I find a food blogger that does good things like Spiced Peach http://spicedpeachblog.com/roasted-rib-end-pork-loin-roast-with-sage/ , the recipe doesn’t need any improvement.

The only thing I did differently is I slow cooked it in my trusty old $9.99 cooker from Walmart.

I never like to copy other peoples content, but in this case I didn’t really change much and it is smelling wonderful at this moment.

The Recipe from Spiced Peach

Roasted Rib End Pork Loin Roast

garlic powder, sprinkle over pork

3 1/2 Pound Rib End Pork Loin Roast

1/2 dozen slices smoked bacon

1 medium onion, peeled, sliced and cut into half crescents

2-3 bay leaves

1 handful fresh sage, chopped

salt and pepper

Braise in a Pan

I added a slice of bacon to a pan and a little good olive oil, and braised the Pork loin on each side. I also was fairly generous with the garlic powder, salt and pepper. I also have a nice little organic farm here so I had a jar of sage from last summer, which had dried, but was nice and fresh and added that to not only the braising pan, but all over the pork roast.

After the Braising

I always get the crock pot on high before I start and I put a large sliced onion on the bottom of the slow cooker before I do anything. I also put the bay leaves on top of the onions and let it heat up while braising the pork loin.

What Now?

After I get a nice color on pork roast I just simply put it in the crock pot and put the lid on, and wait 5 hours. Since it has been 5 hours I took a little piece off which just fell off and it tastes heavenly. Since this is a post in progress, once I plate it and serve it up to my family I will post more pictures.

Conclusion

I just added a sliced whole potato to the crock pot for the last hour of cooking and those tats smell and taste great.

I will update this post with the final conclusions, which are looking pretty good, thanks Spiced Peachie…

http://www.mapleshadefarmny.com/pot-o-gold-carrot-soup/

http://www.mapleshadefarmny.com/savory-peach-pepper-pork-chops/

The thing I really cannot get over is the offensive smell, which as a cat owner, and in a side by side comparison smell nearly the same, sometimes the cat food smells better actually.

So I am still off the Progresso Traditional Split Pea with Ham band wagon until further notice.

http://progresso.com/Products/Soup/Traditional-Split-Pea-with-Ham

Traditional-Split-Pea-with-Ham (Note the misspelling of the title tag attribute)

curry spiced ground pork kabab

Great recipe from a local farm in Delhi New York, Maple Shade Farm. The Wilson Family has been raising Heritage Breed Berkshire Hogs since 1998.

Curry Spiced Ground Pork Kebab

They look like fancy folk food too…

This is a ridiculously easy, and incredibly delicious take on potato au gratin that will have you making these tasty potato muffins all the time.

I made them every day for a week after adapting this recipe from one of my favorite food bloggers, Witty in the City.

I tried a number of different combinations, one of which I’ll share here using classic cheddar and bacon. Potato, bacon and cheddar, really can’t go wrong with that, and you probably have it laying around unlike something like Gruyère. Any favorite cheese here will do, my wife suggested a goat cheese version which is on the horizon.

potato-gratin-muffin baked in a muffin pan

You will need a regular sized muffin pan, and a mandolin for getting nice even slices of potato (optional).

I will go through some of the other combinations at the end of the post, but let’s get started and preheat the oven right away to 400 degrees because by the time it is up to temperature these awesome potato muffins will be ready to go in.

Ingredients

One decent sized potato
1/2 cup of cheddar cheese
3 slices of bacon
1 tablespoon of heavy cream per potato muffin
sour cream (optional but really compliments the finished product)
some scallion for garish (optional)
salt
pepper
knife,fork (optional)

Get Prepped

Cook the bacon ahead of time
Grate the cheese
Slice one potato into thin even slices
Spray some non-stick spray stuff into around each muffin cup

Get cooking!

Layer 2 slices of potato on the bottom of each muffin cup. Season them with a little salt and pepper and pinch a little cheese on the top, not too much or the cheese my overwhelm the potato. Also the bacon will add saltiness so one round I did not season and it tasted just fine.

Repeat this process until you have reached the top of the muffin pan. Finally spread some bacon bit awesomeness on the top of each one, and pour a tablespoon of the heavy cream into each cup. If you use too much bacon you might not ever eat a potato any other way.

Here is a picture of them after about 15 minutes cooking, this was my first attempt and I needed to add a little more cheese on top. Depending on your oven these should take between 25-35 minutes. You can see by the picture I HAD to test one which revealed some of the inner layers of potato needed more cooking.

One brave little potato muffin sacrificed for the others…

What do you use these awesome things with?

I can’t imagine there is anything these potato gratin things can’t go with and fail.

Here I marinated and grilled a steak and they complimented it perfectly.

The next day I had a few leftover (very difficult!) and they went great with some eggs benedict.

The End

Other combinations I am still working on:
A slice of cooked sausage in the middle of the stack
A slice of provolone in the middle
A big piece of pork belly in the middle
A slice of zucchini in the middle, or when my fresh zucchini from the garden is ready, add to that stuffed zucchini flowers which I will post a recipe when they come in this summer.
Also since I buy very local honey and maple syrup I was thinking of a drizzle in the middle for a pancake breakfast combination, it should glaze and might be interesting. I will post an update on this…

It is tried and true, and although the BBQ sauce fluctuates a bit, the crock-pot tends to meld things together in a way that the ingredients never seem to over power one another.

I will say this sauce has A LOT of ingredients and it has grown stable at this point and is seriously some of the best BBQ sauce I have tasted and much cheaper than store bought sauces, maybe 2 dollars of ingredients to make 4-5 bottles . And that’s verified by a number of people who love it as well. This also goes well on grilled chicken, or anything you like to pour some sauce on.

This sauce starts out sweet after slow cooked, but packs some heat on the after bite. Combined with my “white trash” cornbread that’s easy enough for me to make from start to finish in 40 minutes or less; I always say easy peasy, go off and do something else.

For the ribs, any baby back, or pork rib is fine. I also use country style boneless fake ribs (cheap!) which is just as good really, and makes a good pulled pork sandwich the next day, when the flavors interfuseiside. Depending on the size of your slow cooker a full rack can easily go inside a 4-6 quart.

Ingredients First make the BBQ sauce

1 cup ketchup or less, add more water for a thinner sauce,
2-3 tablespoons of water
1/4 stick of butter
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed. Less garlic no problem!
1-2 tablespoons hot sauce – this is a choice if you like the heat! I use dinosaur devil’s duel, add any favorite hot sauce.
1/4 cup honey or less – I put in maybe 3-4 tablespoons, my honey is local and very thick
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon of crushed ginger
1 teaspoon of molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch of Cajun type seasoning
1 pinch crushed red pepper
1 pinch ground white pepper
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch of onion power

I have been using Red Monkey Foods spices lately, just unreal, http://www.redmonkeyfoods.com/ wish I had found them when I wrote this recipe.

From a small 900 square foot milk barn in Golden City, MO in 2002 to a 40,000 square foot production and warehouse facility in Mt. Vernon, MO, B&M Incorporated is growing exponentially. Retailers and consumers are recognizing the value in eating healthy via Organic and All Natural products, and the B&M focus was founded on Organic and All Natural principles.

In a large saucepan over medium low heat, mix together all the ingredients and get them well incorporated, and bring to a slight boil and simmer. You can also turn it off, because in a few minutes you will be pouring it over the ribs and closing the lid on the crock pot and 4 hours later you will be loving this.

Ingredients Prep the slow cooker

I like to get the crock-pot on high as soon as I start. Sometimes it is just getting all your stuff to temperature as you move along to save some time in the long run and has no negative on the outcome.

1 onion sliced to lay on the bed of the cooker
2 cloves of garlic – optional and really you will never taste the garlic.
Put that right in the cooker

Important

Trim as much fat off the ribs as possible. Once in the slow cooker the fat will rise to the top and muddy the sauce quite a bit. I have forgotten this step in the past and it’s not that big of a deal, especially once it is refrigerated overnight.

Braise the Ribs

This is defiantly optional, but I like to salt and pepper the pork and sear them for a few minutes on each side. It adds a little extra flavor, color, and saves a little overall time.

Winter, Spring, Summer Time put them on the Grill for 10-15 minutes

Hey since it’s summer I tried a version by coating the ribs with the BBQ sauce and putting them on the grill for about ten minutes on each side. The result was really good and it looked really good. I also used Frank’s Red Hot Sauce which worked very nicely and had a little vinegar profile. I used two tablespoons, and wish I used 4, the sweet took over a bit. But I could pour that hot sauce over my head and drink it for days.

Slow Cook Baby Back Ribs, Catskills Style

Ok that’s pretty much it! Add one layer of ribs over the onions in the crock pot, and pour some of the BBQ sauce over it. Then if you have more ribs, pour and repeat.

Put the lid on and crank the cooker to high and in 4 hours, maybe a little less or more (always check the proper temperature for your cut of meat) they are done.

Crock Pot BBQ Ribs after a sear on the grill.

This is best when they are just done, or refrigerated overnight, in between that, ah not as good, but still good.

Final Notes:

You don’t have to make the BBQ sauce, you can use any favorite BBQ sauce and simply pour it over and done. Believe me making your own BBQ sauce is very easy. Please consider leaving a comment if you have any questions, or what kind of results you got using this recipe. Be-live me I imagine you will improve or modify recipe, it would be great to share it others. I even have to go back to this post to remember all the ingredients.

potato-gratin-muffin baked in a muffin pan

A favorite side with my ribs lately is my Muffin-Pan Potato Gratins | Cheddar Cheese and Bacon

Thanks!