Roast Pork in Slow Cooker with Crackling
Here's a simple and delicious recipe for roast pork in a slow cooker with the beautiful crispy crackling we all love!
This is such an easy recipe and so delicious that we have been regularly making this every few weeks, and crispy crackling is a huge treat!
The trickiest part is probably removing the skin/fat layer ready to crackle. You'll need a sharp knife, remove any string then gently run the knife under the fat layer, trying to keep as close to the meat as possible. But don't worry too much as any bits of meat that end up on the crackling are super tasty because they gently baste in the fat and become crispy too :)
Set the pork skin layer to one side and focus on the pork meat. Rub in the olive oil, salt and pepper. At this point, if you have time you can sear the meat in a hot frying pan to add even more taste.
Place your carrots, thyme, garlic and bay leaf into the base of the slow cooker, ready to balance the pork roast on top.
Balance the pork meat on the vegetables, making sure the meat isn't touching the base or sides of the slow cooker.
Pour in your vegetable or chicken stock around the meat. Set off your slow cooker for 4 hours on high, on 8 hours on low for even more tender, fall-apart slow cooked pork!
Next, you need to thoroughly dry your skin as moisture is the enemy of crispy crackling! Pat dry with kitchen paper, then salt on both sides and place in the fridge to wait until there is 1 hour left for your slow cooker. Pat dry again!
You'll need a pretty high heat for the fat to render, basically you are making your own lard - don't waste it! We used gas mark 8 to blast it for the first 20 minutes.
Keep pouring off the lard and turning until the whole piece of crackling is crispy and golden.
The advantage of removing the skin first is that you can render the whole slice so it's super crispy all the way through! Otherwise you'll end up with a white soft fat layer next to the meat.
Roast pork goes with lots of sides, keep it healthy with steamed vegetables like broccoli or add creamy mashed potato and spoon over the delicious pork jus you made in the slow cooker. Any pork leftovers are lovely gently heated up in the stock on the hob over a low heat.
The nutritional information assumes all fat and jus is used up!
Roast Pork in Slow Cooker with Crackling
Recipe Category: Main Meal
Recipe Cuisine: British
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 480 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 819
Rating: 5 from 1 votes
INGREDIENTS
- 1.2 kg pork joint
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 springs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 400 ml vegetable or chicken stock
- 3 carrots
- Salt
- Pepper
RECIPE METHOD
- Remove any string, slice off the fat and reserve, season pork thoroughly and rub in olive oil
- At this point if you have time you can sear the meat in a hot frying pan
- Add carrots, garlic, thyme and the bay leaf to the slow cooker, balance pork on top then pour stock around the pork and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours
- While the pork meat is cooking, dry the pork skin and salt generously
- Keep in the fridge until 1 hour remains for the slow cooker
- Pat dry and salt again then place on a foil-lined baking tray and cook at gas mark 8 (230c / 450F) for 20 minutes
- Drain off the lard and turn over, continue cooking for another 20 minutes, drain again, continue cooking until fat has rendered and crackling is completely crispy, cut into pieces
- Remove carrots, thyme and bay leaves from slow cooker, pork will shred into the stock
- Serve with the carrots, garlic and mashed potatoes, with stock spooned over and crackling on the side
Really Sugar Free Recipe Video:
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