Pork Recipes For the Crock Pot

Oh, you have to love pork! For so many delicious foods to come from one place is remarkable. Pork is one of the easiest foods to prepare, as there is much you can do with it. From barbecue sandwiches to roasts to sausage, pork provides so much variety that making it is not the hard part; it's the deciding what to make next that will present the problem! Cooking pork in the Crock Pot will render some of the tenderest meat found anywhere and you'll want to serve it again and again. If you're in a bind for what to do next with pork, here are a few simple pork recipes for the Crock Pot.

The first suggestion to come to mind has to do with how wonderful pork and apples go together, as though they were made for each other from the beginning. If making something in the slow cooker with pork, whether it's pork chops, a roast or ham, how about using apple juice combined with a small amount of corn starch to pour over it? Make sure to add some chopped apple for some extra flavor. To really dress things up a bit, toss in some fresh cranberries, honey, cloves and nutmeg for an aromatic fall meal.

Another nice idea for pork would be some good-sized ham steaks with pineapple juice and chunked or mashed pineapple on top. Have some cherries ready on the side to add some bright colors to this tasty meal. Kids and most adults as well, love ham. Adding these few simple items will turn a good meal into a great meal! Your family will love you for it and you'll love the ease in clean up following a slow cooker meal. A wonderful substitute for the ham steaks could be a pork roast. The juices from the pork roast will enhance the good flavors emanating from the roast will blend, blending with the other ingredients to help create an appealing gravy for mashed potatoes.

Barbecue pork for sandwiches is always a welcome meal in any household and it's one the whole family will enjoy. This particular recipe, however, will take longer than the usual four to six hours due to the firm belief that any good barbecue, no matter the cut, is best served in the manner of "slow and low". The "slow" in this phrase means over as much time as possible without ruining the meat while the "low" means at the lowest temperature possible, without drying out the meat. In this recipe, start it the night before, on the lowest setting possible, and prepare to abandon yourself to it when you come home the next evening.

In the Deep South, where Elvis and Barbecue is King, great pride is taken in the preparation of their barbecue and recipes are handed down from one generation to the next. When preparing the meat (generally the cut is a pork loin or small shoulder), create a mixture of vinegar, water, Worcestershire sauce, powdered garlic and powdered onion, finely chopped onion and salt and pepper to taste. Cook the pork cut in this for several hours, adding your favorite barbecue sauce only in the last two or three hours, if at all. In the south, it's preferred to add the barbecue sauce to the sandwich, rather than the meat, and a good dollop of Cole slaw on the sandwich is always welcome.

If you are new to Crock Pots, don't let them intimidate you for they can become one of your best friends in today's harried world. With a bit of creativity and a desire to try new things, some of the most delicious pork recipes you've ever had are within your reach.

Lisa Paterson is an avid home cook who loves to share her favorite recipes with the rest of us. Find all her crock pot recipes at http://www.A-Crock-Cook.com. And be sure to try one of her Pork crock pot recipes.

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