How to cook the best slow cooker pork shoulder. This pork shoulder roasting joint is slow cooked with apples, apple cider and mustard for the ultimate low effort Sunday lunch.
Even better, we will show you how to transform the juices and the apples into the best slow cooker pork gravy. Plus, plenty of pork gravy leftover for freezing for other meals.
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Pork Shoulder In Slow Cooker
One of the first foods I ever cooked in the slow cooker and a true favourite of mine was slow cooker Asian pulled pork. Its just so easy to cook and makes the best ever pulled pork sandwiches. Plus, the next day I love to eat a pulled pork salad for lunch.
It took me several years to vary this when it came to pork in the slow cooker. After all, you got a pork shoulder for pulled pork.
But whilst pulled pork was amazing for a Friday night in, I wanted something that was just as simple for Sunday lunch.
And our slow cooker pork leg joint was born. It was the perfect Sunday meal and made the best gravy ever.
Then my next challenge happened. I wanted to achieve the same results as our slow cooker pork leg, but with a pork shoulder joint. And instead of leaving it on to become pulled pork, we would take it out soon enough so that we can slice it like a roast pork.
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Can You Cook Pork Shoulder Joint In Slow Cooker?
Yes, you can. Pork shoulder joints are fantastic for cooking in the slow cooker. They are perfectly tender when slow cooked and you will struggle to not go back for seconds.
Do I Need To Add Liquid To Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder?
No, you don’t need to add liquid to a slow cooker for a pork shoulder, but you might want to.
If I am cooking a pork shoulder to make pulled pork, I will not add liquid. It generates its own fats so will never go dry and then once cooked, you will be smothering it with barbecue sauce.
But if you want to make a slow cooker pork shoulder roast then adding liquid can be a great way to create your future gravy or a nice pork sauce.
Best Way To Cook A Shoulder Of Pork?
If you are looking for the best way to cook a shoulder of pork, then note nothing beats the slow cooker.
Even though a pork shoulder is not as tough as some other meats, the slow cooker makes the pork shoulder so tender, you will never want to cook it a different way ever again.
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Pork Shoulder Recipe Ingredients
Pork – We used a 1.9kg/4lb boneless pork shoulder joint. You can go bigger or smaller depending on who you are feeding.
Apples – Pork and apple go perfectly together. I recommend slicing some apples and cooking the apples with the pork. I used pink lady’s as I love those apples, but you can use any.
Onion & Garlic – Then for extra flavour for your slow cooker I recommend some onion and garlic. They are also fantastic for your pork shoulder sauce that we are going to make after the pork has cooked.
Cider – Then instead of cooking with some stock, I recommend a can of cider. This works as the base for your sauce but also adds extra flavour to your shoulder roast.
Mustard – I also recommend smothering your pork shoulder in mustard before it cooks and then the mustard will add great flavour to the pork as it cooks.
Seasoning – Then for seasoning your slow cooker pork shoulder joint I recommend salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley.
Then for the kitchen gadgets that we have used in this pork shoulder slow cooker recipe it has just been our Ninja Foodi. We have this one and its wonderful for many types of slow cooker recipes and also great for easy Sunday lunches.
Plus, we recommend you head over to our slow cooker recipes category as we have more than 100 tried and tested slow cooker recipes and have been using slow cookers for 18 years.
How To Cook Pork Shoulder In A Slow Cooker?
- Sauté. I recommend you start by sauteing your onion with extra virgin olive oil and then hit cancel and sauté your garlic.
- Slice. Next slice your apples (no need to peel) and add them to the slow cooker. Pour in your cider and stir.
- Score. Then score your pork shoulder and season it well with your seasonings and then rub it with mustard.
- Cook. Load your pork shoulder into the slow cooker and then slow cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 hours.
- Blend. After moving the pork shoulder to rest before slicing, get out your hand blender. Then blend the ingredients of the slow cooker until smooth. You now have a delicious pork, apple, and cider sauce to serve with your pork.
- Serve. Once the pork shoulder has rested (approximately 10 minutes) slice and then serve with your pork gravy sauce.
And I am sure you can see why this recipe for pork shoulder is a true favourite of mine.
How Long Does Pork Shoulder Take To Cook In Slow Cooker?
The pork shoulder roast dinner that we are making takes JUST 4 hours on high or 7 hours on low.
Though if you would like to make pulled pork with your pork shoulder than add an extra 1 hour to make it fall apart.
Can You Freeze Pork Shoulder?
Yes, you can freeze pork shoulder. You can freeze it as you buy it and save it for future slow cooker meals. We did this a lot when it was on a special deal. Though thaw it before you cook it in the slow cooker.
Secondly, you can also freeze cold cooked pork shoulder and save it for another day.
More Slow Cooker Sunday Lunch Ideas
Beyond cooking a slow cooker pork roast shoulder there are many other great options for a slow cooker Sunday roast. These are fantastic because you can put it on at breakfast time and then have a roast dinner ready for you later.
Here are a few more of my favourite slow cooker Sundays:
- Slow Cooker Topside Roast Beef
- Slow Cooker Bacon Chops
- Slow Cooker Lamb Chops
- Slow Cooker Savoury Mince
- Slow Cooker Brisket & Gravy
- Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
Your slow cooker pork shoulder recipe is below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.
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Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder
Ingredients
- 1.9 kg Pork Shoulder Joint boneless
- 1 Medium Onion
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- 4 Medium Apples
- 330 ml Can Cider
- 2 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Mustard
- 1 Tbsp Parsley
- 1 Tbsp Thyme
- Salt & Pepper
Kitchen Gadgets:
Instructions
- Peel your onion and garlic and thinly slice. Sauté the onion first in the Ninja Foodi with extra virgin olive oil using the sauté function. Press cancel and then sauté the garlic too.
- Slice your apples and keep the skin on. Add to the Ninja Foodi along with the cider. Stir.
- Score the pork shoulder and then add the seasonings and then smoother the top and sides with the mustard.
- Place the pork shoulder over the apples and cider and set the slow cook function to 4 hours on high or 7 hours on low.
- When the Ninja Foodi beeps put the cooked pork shoulder roast to one side and using a blender, blend the liquid. This is your pork sauce, and any leftover can be frozen once cool.
- Slice your pork shoulder and then serve it with your favourite sides and your pork sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Can’t make it now? Then save it for later!
I love pork and never cooked it in a slow cooker as thought it might go slightly dry, but my god it turned out delicious, will be doing again and might even do it over Christmas.