Slow Cooker Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork Over Cornbread
Yesterday was a day spent slow cooking balsamic honey pulled pork.
The weather outside was windy and rainy, the Detroit Lions and Tigers were playing which means my husband took over the TV and well I took over the slow cooker. Tell me, how lame is that? No I kid… while the slow cooker was going I took over cleaning… wait that’s even lame-er. Ummm I-I did the laundry?! Oh never mind.
Now I wish I could tell you that this slow cooker balsamic honey pulled pork is a “set it and forget it” kind of recipe… well it is, and it’s not. There is a fair amount of prep work, but then you get to forget it for about eight hours which gives you time to clean, do laundry, make cornbread and/or check Pinterest.
Then right before it’s done all you have to do is make the quick and easy balsamic-honey bbq sauce, shred the pork and toss it around in the sauce and EAT. So I guess I would say that it’s a recipe perfect for a cozy Sunday and maybe not-so-much a busy Monday. But then again, anything is possible.
Sooooo this is a pork butt roast. It’s about 3.5 lbs, with the bone IN {for more flavah-flave} and still a little frozen. I pulled it out a day in advanced and it hardly mattered a bit! BUT not to worry… it all turned out just fine.
I started by seasoning it generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
I heated up a large deep skillet over medium-high heat with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and seared it on each side for about 5-8 minutes {per side}.
Dropped the crusty roast into my slow cooker…
And then I immediately turned off the heat to the pan, stood back and then slowly poured about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of chicken broth {I eyeballed it}… be sure to scrap up all those little bits of flavor on the bottom of the pan!
Along with the roast I added in half a diced green pepper and 2 small {and I mean s-m-a-l-l} yellow onions.
Then I poured in the pan juices and broth.
And grabbed some rosemary and thyme.
I stripped the leaves off of the stems by running my fingers along their stem backwards… they should easily pull free.
You’ll need a tablespoon of chopped rosemary…
And a tablespoon chopped thyme.
Add the chopped herbs into the slow cooker, secure the lid and turn on high for 8 hours. No need to stir, flip or any of that jazz. Just enjoy the aroma that fills your home.
With about 30 minutes left on the pork you’ll want to start the balsamic bbq sauce. This sauce is slightly sweet from the brown sugar and honey… and the balsamic vinegar gives it its twang. I would imagine this sauce would work lovely on chicken too!
Okay… grab a sauce pan and pour in the cup of balsamic vinegar.
A cup of ketchup.
A quarter cup of dark brown sugar.
A quarter cup of honey. Beeeeautiful!
One tablespoon of Dijon mustard.
A tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
Then just press one clove of garlic… or you can simply mince the beejesus out of it.
Season with a pinch of cayenne pepper, a 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.
Whisk and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer for 20 minutes or until reduced by a third.
Meanwhile; remove the pork from the crock pot. It should be falling off of the bone… as you can see I mean literally.
I like to sift through it and remove any fatty pieces before shredding the pork with a couple of forks.
Drain the liquids out of the slow-cooker and into a mesh strainer. Keep those onions, peppers and herbs and put them back into the crock pot.
Turn the crock pot down to low, throw in the shredded pork and pour in the balsamic honey barbecue sauce.
Toss it all around to get the pork nice and saucy.
You could stack the balsamic honey pulled pork on top of slider buns, or dinner rolls… but today I piled the pork on halved corn bread… open-face style.
Oh and I slipped a few slices of pickled jalapenos onto mine to cut through the tangy sweetness.
Pickled jalapenos add a brightness and quite a bit of spiciness to the pulled pork and if you can handle the heat, then you’ll just love this balsamic honey pulled pork.
I’m already looking forward to the leftovers!
My cookbook Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy is now available! CLICK HERE for details and THANK YOU in advance!
Crock Pot Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork Over Cornbread
Sweet and tangy pulled pork piled high on top of cornbread! For a little heat, add slices of pickled jalapeno!
Yield: 6+ servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8.5 hours
Ingredients:
3 to 4 pound bone-in Pork Butt Roast, trimmed
Salt and Pepper
2 small {or 1 medium} Yellow Onion, chopped
1/2 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon Fresh Rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon Fresh Thyme, chopped
1/2-3/4 cup Chicken Broth
FOR THE BALSAMIC HONEY BBQ SAUCE
1 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 cup Ketchup
1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Honey
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 clove Garlic, pressed through a garlic press {or minced fine}
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 pinch Cayenne Pepper {optional}
6 Cornbread Muffins
Sliced Pickled Jalapenos
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork Sliders
Directions:
Season both sides of the pork with salt and pepper.
Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat with a tablespoon or so of olive oil.
Sear the pork roast in the skillet for 5 minutes per side or until a nice crust forms.
Turn off your stove top and place roast in to slow-cooker. De-glaze the pan the roast was in with chicken broth and add scrape up the brown bits at the bottom. Pour broth/pan juices into slow-cooker.
Add chopped onion, green pepper, rosemary and thyme into the slow cooker as well. Secure lid, set temp to high and cook for 8 hours undisturbed.
With 30 minutes remaining on the pork make the barbecue sauce. In a medium sauce pan combine the balsamic vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, honey, mustard, Worcestershire, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne. Whisk and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Let simmer for 20 minutes or until reduced by a third.
Meanwhile; remove the pork from the slow-cooker to a cutting board and drain the cooking liquids through a strainer to catch the peppers, onions and herbs. Add the veggies and herbs back to the slow-cooker and reduce the heat to low or warm.
For the pork; trim and discard any excess fat and shred with two forks. Add the pork back to the slow-cooker and pour in reduced balsamic-honey sauce. Stir to coat.
Split a corn muffin in half horizontally and top with pulled pork.
Garnish with chopped parsley and sliced pickled jalapenos if desired.
Enjoy!
Making my recipe? I would love to see!! Don’t forget to snap a photo and tag @simply_scratch before posting to Instagram, Twitter or facebook (for facebook tag @simplyscratch)!
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Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours! (
This sounds so ridiculously delicious!
Love the idea of both the honey pork AND serving it over corn bread! Yum.
Really, I have never seen anything so delicious in my life! My husband gave up meat…. crazy man. I think I may make this to just to temp him back to the dark side!
I want everyday to be Crock Pot day.
I’m impressed. I sat on the couch and watched the Lions w/ my husband.
This looks so fantastic, yum!
simplyscratch replied: — October 16th, 2012 @ 12:18 pm
Good for you! I’m so not the sporty-kind-of-gal… so I cook or bake instead 🙂
Genius Laurie!! This sounds and looks so deliciou!
This is beyond genius! Love that it’s served over cornbread and I’m pretty sure that I could drink that sauce!
Now this is my kind of meal. Your husband must adore you!
i could drink that sauce!
Okay I’m so making this!
Great recipe, Laurie! This looks like the perfect comfort food for chilly fall evenings. So delish! I’d love to try it.
This looks ridiculously yummy.
simplyscratch replied: — October 16th, 2012 @ 12:18 pm
Thanks Dana!
i love a good crockpot meal! oh yum.
simplyscratch replied: — October 16th, 2012 @ 12:22 pm
Me too Jessica 🙂
This looks AMAZING. I saw this on IG yesterday and it was funny cause it seemed like you were making dinner all day but after reading this recipe, i can see why it kind of is like an all day process! at least you have 8 hours to set and forget 🙂
simplyscratch replied: — October 16th, 2012 @ 12:21 pm
Exactly! 🙂
This looks absolutely divine!
I love, love, love the sauce for this pork, your house must have smelled amazing! I can eat pickled jalapenos as a snack, so I would definitely be sprinkling/pouring those over the top.
definitely worth the prep work!!
YUM! I love everything about this – from the slow cookerness to the fresh herbs to the meaty goodness!
We just had pulled pork yesterday and it was not nearly as delicious as this must be!!!
Great recipe this sounds amazing!
This was on sale at our local store so perfect timing! I made it on Saturday and we all loved it (husband, 1 yr old and 2 year old included). We aren’t the biggest vinegar fans so I tempered the flavor with a little BBQ sauce (blasphemy!) Thanks for your ongoing delicious ideas!
I made this Monday! (Yes, I was searing a pork shoulder at 5:15 in the morning!) It was so, SO delicious!! Jeff loved it too, so it is definitely a keeper. Personally, I found the sauce to be just a tad too sweet (just a tad), but I think I can leave out the brown suger… Nice job!
Wow. You had me at “balsamic honey pork”. Love bone in recipes. The bone gives great flavour and the cut always tends to be moist and lovely. Great photos. I love the idea of this served with a basket of bread rolls.
Beautiful Laurie! Just so beautiful. Pork is huge here in the Philippines and me using the crockpot is the best thing ever.
I made this last week and we loved it! It was really easy to make and we ate the leftovers for several days without minding a bit. I have a question – how long do you think the BBQ sauce would last in the refrigerator? Thanks!
This looks absolutely amazing. I’m hoping to fit it in between the holiday craze 😉 Thank you for sharing!