Sweet & Hot Apple Slow Cooker Pork
I will use fresh gala apples and a bit of sugar & cinnamon instead of the canned apples
I will use fresh gala apples and a bit of sugar & cinnamon instead of the canned apples
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- non-stick cooking spray
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce chopped*
- 1 (2 1/2 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
- 3 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut in 1-inch cubes
- 1 (21 ounce) can lucky leafâ® premium apple pie filling
- Carbohydrate 34.1954776050992 g
- Cholesterol 85.0485 mg
- Fat 5.04080442709552 g
- Fiber 3.0474682391568 g
- Protein 33.4865550938743 g
- Saturated Fat 1.55421320208527 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (289g)
- Sodium 216.069614599289 mg
- Sugar 31.1480093659424 g
- Trans Fat 0.616314208337353 g
- Calories 319 calories
Step-by-step
- Lightly coat a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine chipotle peppers, salt, pepper, and paprika. Rub mixture over the pork. Place pork in the slow cooker. Top with sweet potatoes, onion and LUCKY LEAF Apple Pie Filling.
- Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours. Remove pork and apple mixture from slow cooker. Cover with foil and let stand 10 minutes. Transfer cooking liquid to a medium saucepan. Stir together 1/4 cup water and 3 tablespoons flour. Add to saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly; cook and stir 1 minute more. Slice pork and serve with apple mixture and thickened sauce.
Resting the cooked pork shoulder under foil for ten minutes allows the internal muscle fibers to relax and reabsorb moisture that otherwise escapes upon slicing. Pork shoulder contains tough collagen that breaks down completely during six to eight hours of low-heat treatment, converting into gelatin that enriches the surrounding liquid. Swapping canned pie filling for raw apples shifts both the moisture content and the starch behavior of the dish. Canned fillings contain pre-gelatinized starches and added sugars designed to hold their shape in pies, whereas fresh apples release raw water and pectin as they heat. Raw fruit will break down entirely into a smoother sauce consistency, though it requires supplemental sugar and spices to match the aggressive sweetness of commercial preserves. Chipotles in adobo introduce capsaicin and smoke, which cut through the heavy sugars of the apple component. Starch thickeners like all-purpose flour must be thoroughly whisked with cold water before hitting the hot cooking liquid to prevent lumpy gelling. Boiling the extracted juices with the flour slurry for a full minute activates the thickening power of the wheat flour by cooking out the raw taste. A five- to six-quart slow cooker provides adequate headspace for the 2.5-pound meat cut and cubed sweet potatoes without overflowing during the simmer cycle.
