The great folks over at POM Wonderful sent over some pomegranate juice for this cook to play with. With this massive heat wave that engulfed Philly, it was no surprise that the sky said “Enough” and it was torrential downpours that signaled a day of kitchen experimentation. While the temperature outside has cooled off a tad, I still did not want to use the oven if I could avoid it so it was time to put the slow cooker to use.
Last week, I made a ton of chicken stock after reading The Cozy Girl’s post about a great way to re-purpose a rotisserie chicken and it added a nice touch instead of water. I added the pomegranate juice in 1/4 cup increments until I found the right note that just sang and balanced all the flavors going on. The flavor is phenomenal in this Slow Cooker Pork With Pomegranate and Chipotle due to the tang from the pomegranate coupled with the smoky heat from the chipotle pepper. The pork shreds with little effort and will be moist and succulent. Combine all that with onions which have a jam-like consistency and serve it with some crispy smoked paprika potatoes, it all just sings beautifully.
One good lesson learned – slow cookers aren’t just for fall and winter.
Ingredients
- 2 lb. boneless pork loin
- 1 cup pomegranate juice
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 2 Vidalia onions, sliced into half moons
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tbsp. of mojo de ajo (or 2 garlic cloves and olive oil)
- 1/2 tsp. of cumin
- 1/2 tsp. of smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp. of adobo sauce and one small chipotle minced
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt & Pepper
Directions
- Season the pork loin with salt and pepper.
- Sear off the pork loin in some olive oil (I used some from the mojo de ajo). While I know it's a bit hot, the flavor it imparts is well worth it. Set aside.
- Add the onions and sauté until brown...
- Add 1 tbsp. of either mojo de ajo or the garlic.
- Add the onions and garlic to the slow cooker.
- Add the pomegranate juice and brown sugar.
- Add the cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle pepper and adobo. Stir to combine.
- Nestle the pork loin on the onions and add the chicken stock to halfway up the pork loin. Nestle the bay leaf in the stock.
- Add a pinch of salt and pepper and cover.
- Set the slow cooker to low for 6 hours.
- When it's done, pull out the pork loin and let rest for 15 minutes and then shred.
- Serve with some of the onions and the sauce drizzled over the pork portions and enjoy!
Gather the Ingredients
Searing = Flavor
Onions are well on their way
Time to add the POM
SOOOO good! And the kitchen and the cook survived the heat wave.
[FTC Disclaimer: POM Wonderful provided the pomegranate juice for this recipe. Also, this post contains affiliate links. My opinions, as always, are 100% my own.]
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This sounds delicious! I'll have to try it!