Slow Cooker Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork Over Cornbread
Slow cooker balsamic honey pulled pork is sweet, tangy and delicious! Try serving it on cornbread and top with pickled jalapeños! Delicious!
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. Purchasing a roast with the bone in will yield more flavor.
Next, start by seasoning it generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Next, heat a large deep-sided skillet over medium-high heat with a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Then sear it on each side for about 5-8 minutes per side.
Next, use tongs to place the seared roast into your slow cooker.
Next, immediately turn off the heat under the pan, stand back and then slowly poured about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of chicken broth I eyeballed it). Then scrap up all those little browned bits of flavor on the bottom of the pan.
Along with the roast, I added in half a diced green pepper and 2 small yellow onions.
Next, pour in the pan juices with the broth.
Then grab some rosemary and thyme.
Next, strip off the leaves by running your fingers along their stem backwards… they should pull free easily.
For this, you’ll need a tablespoon of chopped rosemary…
And then a tablespoon chopped thyme.
Lastly, 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 tang. I would imagine this sauce would work lovely on chicken too!
First, grab a sauce pan and pour in 1 cup of balsamic vinegar.
Next add 1 cup of ketchup.
Then 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar.
Next pour in 1/3 cup of honey. Beeeeautiful!
Then one tablespoon of Dijon mustard.
And then 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
Next, press one clove of garlic or you can finely grate it on a microplane
Lastly, 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.
Taste test to check to see if you want more sweetness, adding more honey if desired.
Meanwhile; remove the pork from the crock pot. It should be falling off of the bone, as you can see I mean literally.
Next, sift through the meat 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.
Next, turn the crock pot down to low, throw in the shredded pork and pour in the balsamic honey barbecue sauce.
Next, toss it all around to get the pork nice and saucy.
Finally, it’s time to dish it up. You could stack the balsamic honey pulled pork on top of slider buns or dinner rolls. However today I piled the pork on halved corn bread for an open-face situation.
Oh and I slipped a few slices of pickled jalapenos onto mine to cut through the tangy sweetness.
The Slow Cooker Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork is so easy, delicious and comfort food for sure and I’m already looking forward to the leftovers!
Enjoy! And if you give this Slow Cooker Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
My cookbook Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy is now available! CLICK HERE for details and THANK YOU in advance!
Slow Cooker Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork
Ingredients
FOR THE BALSAMIC HONEY BBQ SAUCE
Instructions
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!