Garlic Maple Pork Roast

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Did you know that the month of October is National Pork Month affectionately known as Porktober? Yes, friends, you might have learned something new today. To celebrate Porktober, Susanne and I will be featuring two yummy pork recipes this month perfect for fall entertaining.

Today’s delicious slow cooker pork roast recipe is sure to be a hit. You can click here for a downloadable copy of this menu. Here was how our dinner went over and a how-to of Susanne’s slow cooker pork roast recipe.

Celebrate Porktober at Costco!

During the month of October at Costco, you can find specials on these pork cuts:

Now through 10/12: Boneless Chops and Roast Specials
10/13 – 10/19 Boneless Sirloin Tip Roast
10/20 – 10/26 Whole Boneless Loins

So Susanne, her cute 7 month pregnant belly, and I hit our local Costco to take advantage of the roast on special for this recipe.

The Boneless Pork Shoulder Butt Roast at Costco comes in packages of about 16 pounds, which is already cut in two roasts.  One half of this package is perfect for this recipe, or if you have super-sized crock pot, double the rest of the ingredients and go for it!

Slow Cooker Pork Roast Recipe 

Slow Cooked Garlic Maple Pork Shoulder Roast

Serves a crowd of 8-10 with leftovers

Ingredients:

6-8lbs Boneless Pork Shoulder (or pork butt)

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground nutmeg

3 tsp Salt

(For salt, my favorite is Maldon Sea Salt Flakes which comes in easy dissolving flavorful flakes. Affiliate link.)

Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

12-14 garlic cloves, smashed

then 1 more teaspoon salt when sautéing garlic

1/4 cup Sherry Wine

1/2 cup Pure Maple Syrup (not the fake stuff)

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp molasses

1/8 cup Worchestershire sauce

3 T White Wine Vinegar

Ready, Set, Cook!

1. Mix in a small bowl the nutmeg, cloves, salt and pepper.

2. Cut the Pork Roast in half to get more surface area to sprinkle the Pork Shoulder Roast generously with salt and pepper, the ground cloves and nutmeg.  Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over medium and brown the both pieces of the Roast on all sides.  Place in your crock pot turned on to low.

3. Turn the heat down to medium low and quickly sauté the garlic in the pan drippings until golden (taking care not to burn) and then deglaze the pan with the Sherry Wine (stirring with a wooden spoon to get all of the good flavors off the pan).  Season with 1 tsp Salt + a little Pepper.

4. In a separate bowl stir together the brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup and pour over the Pork Shoulder Roast followed by the garlic and Sherry mixture.

5. Cover with a lid and let slow cook into deliciousness for 8 hours.  If you’re home and able, flip the roasts around halfway through the day.  When the meat is tender and falling apart, remove from the crock pot onto a sheet pan covered with foil to let cool a bit before you pull apart.

6. Last comes the sauce! Strain the remaining cooking liquid through a sieve into a fat separator.  If you don’t have a fat separator, place into a clear measuring cup and let sit still for a few minutes so the fat will rise, then spoon the excess fatty liquid off leaving just your delicious cooking liquids.

7. Pour into a small pot and bring to a simmer on your stovetop.  For every 1/2 cup of liquid you have stir in 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar) and a little salt and pepper to taste.  You can play around and add more vinegar if you like a tangier flavor!   (The sauce is a thin, light consistency.)

Serve Pulled Pork on a platter, either drizzled with sauce or pass the sauce around the table because you’ll probably want to add some more!

Here is our friend Sara ready to serve it up. Bring on Porktober!

Now for the delicious pork side dishes.  Both of these were a perfect complement to the flavors in the pulled pork.

Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe 

Serves 8

Ingredients:

4 Acorn Squash

4 Tbsp of butter, cut into 4 pats or squares

sprinkle of brown sugar

sprinkle of chili powder

Salt and Pepper

Ready, Set, Cook!

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Cut Squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place on a foil line sheet pan with 1 pat of butter in each, a sprinkle generously with brown sugar, chili powder, salt and pepper.

Roast for about 1-1 1/4 hours or until flesh pierces easily with a fork.  Turn the oven to broil and watch carefully for about 1 min to get golden brown deliciousness.  Take care when removing from oven not to spill the pool of yumminess in the middle, as you want every bit of this to make it to your mouth.

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad  

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 lb Brussels Sprouts

1/2 cup Walnuts, chopped + toasted

1/2 cup Shaved Romano Cheese pieces

1/4 c Dried Cranberries

1/4 cup fresh Lemon juice (2 lemons)

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 tsp salt (kosher or sea salt- Maldon is my fave)

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Ready, Set, Cook!

Make sure brussels sprouts are rinsed clean and trimmed, then slice lengthwise, then place on flat edge and chop into a very thin slaw, stopping when you get to the white end.

Stir together the lemon juice + EVOO briskly add salt and pepper.

Mix all ingredients together and toss with the dressing to coat.  Taste for seasoning, if needed add a little S+P.  Garnish with Romano Cheese shavings.

(Can make a few hours ahead and let the flavors mingle.)

Our Porktober Dinner was a Huge Success! 

Susanne’s recipe was simply out of this world! When my husband walked up the drive to meet us after work for dinner, he said he could smell the aromas from down the street.

We love a great slow cooker pork roast recipe for fall entertaining because of the “make ahead” capability. The pork was delicious – so tender and juicy.  Putting it on butter rolls to make sandwiches the next day for leftovers was almost as good as the main meal.

The kiddos even gave the pork a thumbs up!

We invite you to visit your local Costco this month and try out this recipe for a group of friends.  Nothing better than sharing a good meal over some laughs this fall.

Happy entertaining from our family to yours!