Don’t run away. Please. I know sauerkraut sounds scary (actually, I have always loved sauerkraut, so I’ve never thought it sounded scary, but I know it’s scary for a lot of people.) What I have here before you today is the moistest, most tender, most flavorful pork roast, not too sweet, not to sauer (see what I did there?), high in protein, low in calories, and a dinner that every single person in my family, including my pickiest eaters, will gobble up every single time.
My parents and older brothers and sisters had a whole life before I came along–my closest sibling is 10 years older than me, so all of the backpacking trips, the whitewater river trips, that time they lived in Europe for a year–all that happened before I was born. By the time I came along, my parents were tired and basically gave me free reign of the house and went on trips by themselves while I stayed home with my teenage siblings.
So anyway. Back to that whole Europe thing. My dad was a university professor who took a sabbatical for a year and they lived in Germany. So when I was growing up, we ate lots of German fare. Sauerkraut. Various sausages. Sauerkraut and sausages together (in fact, sauerkraut and sausages was the first meal I ever learned how to cook by myself). Sauerkraut and pork. You get the idea.
I had completely forgotten about sauerkraut pork until I recently stumbled across this recipe and the memories of this particular dish were so overwhelming. I was worried it wouldn’t taste as good as I remembered it or that it would just be different, kind of like going back to visit your hometown and realizing it doesn’t really feel like home anymore.
But.
It was awesome. It was so easy. My house smelled amazing. Everyone ate every bite and asked when we could have it again. I served it with loaded baked sweet potatoes and green salad and it was just the kind of meal that you eat and you feel like your body is thanking you for doing something nice for it.
You want to start by heating 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle a 3-lb. (approximately) pork loin roast (loin, sirloin, tenderloin, whatever) with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
Place the roast in the hot skillet and brown on all sides. Place the roast in a Crock Pot.
Take a 32-ounce package of sauerkraut (look for the stuff in the refrigerator section kind of by the hot dogs, sausages, etc., either jarred or in a pouch like this; the canned stuff tastes, well, kind of metallic and weird), 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon brown or mild coarse-ground mustard…
and combine the ingredients in a large bowl. Add in 1 medium sliced apple and 1/2 of a chopped onion.
Place the mixture over the pork
and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8 hours or until very tender and flavorful. Shred or cut into slices and serve with lots of the sauerkraut mixture on top. It’s great with potatoes (mashed…baked…scalloped…however you like ’em!) and a green salad or steamed vegetables. Makes 10-12 servings.
Recipe lightly adapted by Our Best Bites from Land O’Lakes
Crock Pot Pork Roast with Sauerkraut and Apples
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 2½ – 3 pound pork loin loin, tenderloin, or sirloin
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 32-ounce package or jar of sauerkraut undrained
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon coarse grain mustard brown or mild
- ½ onion, medium chopped
- 1 apple, medium sliced
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the pork roast with salt and pepper on all sides, then brown it on all sides in the hot skillet. When the roast has been evenly browned, place it in a crock pot.
- In a large bowl, combine the sauerkraut, chopped onion, sliced apple, maple syrup, and brown sugar. Spread it evenly over the pork roast. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours (or until the meat is very tender and flavorful).
- Shred or slice and serve with plenty of the sauerkraut mixture on top. Serve with your favorite potatoes and a green salad or steamed vegetables.
Questions & Reviews
12/31/18. This is the 1st time I am making any pork & sauerkraut dish using a recipe. I have “winged it for 40 years with various degrees of success. Bad case of bronchitis left me unable to trust instincts-this recipe resonated with me. Added garlic powder to the pre-browning rub I made; reduced coarse brown mustard to 1 heaping tsp just because I hate mustard; used a med-to-large honey crisp apple; reduced brown sugar to 1 1/2 T and real maple syrup to 1 T. I used a 2.5 pound boneless center cut sirloin pork roast. It is in slow cooker now due to come out around midnight. Put it on high for 45 minutes then reduced to low for 5 hours. Making home made garlic mashed potatoes with pork gravy to serve as side. Kraut was superb – just right amount of sweetness. pork roast a bit overdone for our liking but was “fork-pull-apart” and very tasty. will make again, but reduce cooking time to low for 4 hours
Similar to what I do, only I add caraway seed and don’t use the maple syrup, but double-up on dark brown sugar (as it has more maple syrup in it) and two apples.
Yummy recipe, made for our 2018 New Year diner with smashed potato’s. So flavorful, takes a little bit of the tartness from the sauerkraut. I don’t eat a lot of pork, but I will not wait until next year to make this recipe again.?
Oh my gosh…..got up at 4 this morning and made this for New Year’s good luck tradition…pork and sauerkraut on NY’s Day. Anyway…..oh my goodness….YUM! Thanks for a delish recipe! I did nothing different from your version, and it was AMAZING! :oP
Just made this, can verify that it’s pretty close to all the German food I ate when I lived there for 3 years. Now all I need is some really hard brotchen bread and a waiter that never comes back…
I am searing my pork right now! But doesn’t your butter just burn when you cook it on medium high? I just threw out my burned butter and started over with canola oil. Am I missing something?
The pork/sauerkraut ratio was way off for my little 2lb pork roast. I had tons of the kraut mixture left over, but didn’t mind a bit. I could have (and did) eat that stuff alone, by the plateful. Thanks for a very tasty unique recipe:)
How do you cut your apples so perfectly thin and uniform? Do you just have amazing knife skills or do you use a tool that does it for you? My knife skills need some serious work!
I am sorry to report that we did not love this. I wasn’t sure how I felt about sauerkraut before this but I know now. Not a fan. The pork was amazingly tender and moist but the sauerkraut mixture was not a flavor I enjoyed. But seriously, my first disliked meal after years of using your recipes, you guys are still my favorite.
Thank you for this recipe!! I made it last night and my family loved it. Thank you for another fantastic recipe that my kids will eat.