Although I could go into a long philosophical rant on whether or not Crock Pot cooking is actually cooking, I also realize that many of my own creations deal with chopping things up into smaller pieces and throwing it together in a pan.
I mean - I just posted a caponata recipe last week. So I don't think my argument would carry much weight.
Instead, let me simply say that my mouth doesn't water much for dishes that are already watery.
By this, I mean that I do not care much for au jus, broths or dishes that involve considerable splashing while eating them. I prefer thicker, creamier, heart-arresting sauces or gravies.
Therefore, I've only used the Crock Pot once in the past 10-20 (or 38) years or so, and it only was only to cook a beef tongue, which I sliced up for tacos (really good if you can overcome the idea of tongue).
But a strange thing happened when blogger friend Amie Kanengeiser found herself on "New Day Cleveland" with a BBQ Pulled Chicken Recipe...
...and I thought the recipe looked good!
I suddenly had a change of heart and my mind declared, Maybe I should give the Crock Pot a second chance. Perhaps I can even put my own twist to a dish.
Later that same day, while working out with my trainer, an idea struck me....
Later that same day, while working out with my trainer, an idea struck me....
Instead of using water or broth, maybe I can use fruit and honey for a less watery result!
So here are the ingredients I used for this Crock Pot Experiment:
- 2 pounds pork shoulder
- 1 onion
- 1 pint fresh raspberries
- honey
This is a rather simple set of ingredients...
...and it all looked easy enough...
...but, after a layer of chopped onion, I realized that the pork bone didn't fit...
...so I had to cut it up in pieces.
And do you notice that potato slice at the bottom right corner of the pic?
I originally was going to include red skin potatoes to soak up the extra juice, but there was no room for them either.
But don't worry - if the dish got too water, I had a Plan B!
I crushed some raspberries with my hand and mixed them a bit with the pork, putting more onion on top...
...and then poured some local honey over it all.
...and let it cook...
...and cook.
After 4 hours, I checked it and it had cooked pretty well...
...but the pork still wasn't very tender...
...so I decided to pull it apart and toss it back in for another hour...
...which actually made a huge difference.
...but the pork still wasn't very tender...
...so I decided to pull it apart and toss it back in for another hour...
...which actually made a huge difference.
But I still had to deal with all the raspberry-honey-au jus...
...so I made a ton of Japanese sushi rice to pour it over...
...and it made me a happy guy at lunchtime.
.
...so I made a ton of Japanese sushi rice to pour it over...
...and it made me a happy guy at lunchtime.
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Good to hear!! Looks excellent. You said you avoid the gravy/au jus - thing, but you did exactly what I do when cooking a beef or pork roast: Let it go for x hours, then pull it out and shred it and let it go for at least another hour. Very tender and it absorbs more juice. I got home after seeing you at GE, telling the fam "Guess what Kris is gonna cook?" And when I told them, I got "Ew." No one here shares the meat + sweet cooking desire.
ReplyDeleteGood job!
Lunch plate looks good there! rice is healthier than potatoes, but I'd probably be tempted to put it on a bun, North Carolina pulled-pork style & add some vinegar into the au jus to add a bit of tart to the sweet.
ReplyDeleteI love your idea of using fresh fruit and honey! I will definitely try your recipe- it looks and sounds wonderful!!! And oh my goodness, Kristian, you are so sweet giving me the lovely mention! THANK YOU! I love my crock pot. There are surprisingly so many things you can do with it, I am amazed. Although i tend to go the pulled chicken/pulled pork route, I am looking into maybe trying some of the desserts.... hmmm.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you've never really taken to the Crock Pot! I love mine. I've even made stuffed peppers in it. Your recipe looks tasty except for that abnormally red color - can't believe it kept the color with so few raspberries. But as long as it tasted good! Love the blog as always. Today I especially love the video of Amie!
ReplyDelete