Slow Cooker Pork Stew
Huge thank you to Morrighan Corbel for being a guest writer for this post. I got sick and she volunteered to help write a post for us.
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This is one of my very favourite slow cooker recipes. I am unashamedly in love with my slow cooker and I think every freelancer should have at least a small one. It's a great tool for chucking a load of ingredients into it in the morning and having a delicious meal in the evening- and while stews and casseroles are the go to recipes for slow cookers, you'd be surprised how versatile slow cookers can really be! The low and slow cooking method is also great for cheaper, tougher cuts of meat like brisket and pork shoulder, meaning it's perfect if you're cooking on a budget. My slow cooker is 3.5L and this recipe filled it, so if you have a smaller slow cooker I'd suggest halving the recipe.
This stew uses pork shoulder but if you're vegetarian, you could easily swap out the pork for a can of your favourite beans, use veggie stock instead of chicken stock, and swap the Worcestershire sauce for soy sauce.
Slow Cooker Pork Stew
What you need
700g (1.5 lbs) of pork shoulder, cubed into inch size pieces
2 large Maris Piper potatoes, cubed into inch size pieces
1 parsnip, sliced
3 medium carrots, sliced
2 small brown onions, roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 can of chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
500ml (2.5 cups) of chicken stock
2 teaspoons of ground black pepper
2 teaspoons of salt
2 tablespoons of smoked paprika
2 teaspoons of oregano
2 teaspoons of thyme
2 teaspoons of rosemary
2 bay leaves
Preparation
1) Put your chopped pork shoulder in a bowl and season with a teaspoon of black pepper and a teaspoon of salt. Give it a mix to make sure all your pieces are seasoned. This is a quick recipe, but if you have more time and feel like putting in the effort, you can also add in a cup of plain flour and brown off the meat before you add it to the slow cooker. This adds a nice layer of crunchiness to the pork and a slightly richer flavour, but even without the browning it's still going to be delicious, and if time is of the essence then I wouldn't bother.
2) Layer the meat into the bottom of your slow cooker. The order of ingredients in the slow cooker is very important. Meat will take the longest to cook and also needs the most heat, so always place meat at the bottom of your slow cooker.
3) Potatoes, or any other starchy root vegetable you want to add, will take the next longest to cook. Add them over your meat. Be very careful not to mix your layers.
4) Add the parsnips, carrots, onion, and garlic to the slowcooker, in that order. Again, try not to mix layers.
5) Season with the rest of the salt and pepper, then add the can of chopped tomatoes in an even layer over the veg.
6) Add the Worcestershire sauce and the chicken stock to the slow cooker. Pour the stock in slowly so it doesn't disturb the layering too much
7) Season with the paprika, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves.
8) Cook on low heat for 6+ hours. When it's done, remove the bay leaves and stir.
I recommend serving with your favourite crusty bread. It's really hard to leave this alone in the slow cooker because your whole house will smell like stew while it's cooking, but it's so worth the wait and so easy to make. It's one of my go-to comfort meals for winter or when I'm swamped with work but want a hearty meal. I hope you enjoy it!
If you try it, please let us know if you liked it and what you changed to make it your own.
Best of luck!
❤️
Written by Morrighan Corbel