So Halloween is over and now I feel like we’re kind of in the calm before the storm that is Thanksgiving-the New Year. I’m in the mood for home-y comfort meals, especially if I can make them in my Crock Pot! This Crock Pot Apple Cider Pork Roast totally fits the bill–a little sweet, a little tangy, super easy, with a handful of ingredients I already have in my house.
To get started, you’re going to caramelize some onions. If you’ve never done it before or if you need a refresher, check out this post. You’ll need a medium white onion, sliced in half and then cut vertically, some butter, and some extra-virgin olive oil (I love using our garlic olive oil).
Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When melted, add the onions in a single layer and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden and caramelized. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside.
For the roast, you’ll need a 2 1/2-3-pound pork sirloin roast, some apple cider (like the murky brown apple juice you can find in grocery stores and roadside stands all over the place in the fall, or Simply Apple the rest of the year), some mild coarse grain or Creole mustard, honey, salt, and pepper.
While the onions are caramelizing, season the pork roast on all sides with the 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
When you have removed the onions from the pan, increase the heat to medium-high and add the pork roast (you may need to add another teaspoon or so of oil). Sear on all sides.
When the roast has seared, place it in a slow cooker. Top with caramelized onions.
In a 2 cup measuring cup, whisk together the apple cider, honey, and mustard. Pour it over the roast and cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours or until the meat can easily be shredded with a fork.
When the meat is done, remove the roast and onions from the slow cooker and shred. Pour the cider mixture into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. While the cider is heating, whisk together the cold water and cornstarch. When the mixture is boiling, whisk in the cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and add vinegar.
Serve the pork on top of mashed potatoes and topped with gravy.
Crockpot Apple Cider Pork Roast
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 onion, medium sliced vertically
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 2½-3 pound pork sirloin roast
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ cups apple cider the murky, brown stuff--it's widely available in the fall, but you can usually find Simply Apple year-round
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon Creole or mild coarse grain mustard
- 1 ½ tablespoons organic apple cider vinegar again, the murky stuff, like Bragg's
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- mashed potatoes side, optional, see notes
Instructions
- Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When melted, add the onions in a single layer and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden and caramelized. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside.
- While the onions are caramelizing, season the pork roast on all sides with the 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. When you have removed the onions from the pan, increase the heat to medium-high and add the pork roast (you may need to add another teaspoon or so of oil). Sear on all sides.
- When the roast has seared, place it in a slow cooker. Top with caramelized onions. In a 2 cup measuring cup, whisk together the apple cider, honey, and mustard. Pour it over the roast and cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours or until the meat can easily be shredded with a fork.
- When the meat is done, remove the roast and onions from the slow cooker and shred. Pour the cider mixture into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. While the cider is heating, whisk together the cold water and cornstarch. When the mixture is boiling, whisk in the cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and add vinegar.
- Serve the pork on top of mashed potatoes and topped with gravy.
Notes
- We recommend this method for mashed potatoes.
Nutrition
Questions & Reviews
That was a super delish sunday dinnter! Thank you!
You have the apple cider vinegar listed two different ways…. do I add it with the honey mix or wait until the end? Thanks.
Haha never mind!
This is one of the best recipes on this site and that is saying a lot because I love everything Our Best Bites. Delicious!!!
I’m seriously so happy to hear this!!! Thank you so much!
This was sooooo delicious, my family gobbled it up! It was nice to have a pork recipe that isn’t bbq or mexican! Thanks for another amazing recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it!!!
I would love to do this in the instant pot. Do you think if I just followed other site’s recommendations for time it would work?
It *will* work in the Instant Pot, but I haven’t tried it, so I can’t give definitive times. I’d recommend slicing it like Sara has in her Instant Pot recipes and maybe following those time guidelines.
Hi Kate, do you think that you could make this in a dutch oven? I just got one and I’m excited to use it!
Like a dutch oven with coals, outside? I’m sure you could, but I’m definitely not an expert on this. 🙂
If you mean a dutch oven like a Le Creuset, you could definitely do that. I’ve done similar roasts for 3-4 hours at 300 degrees F, but I’ve never tried it with this recipe, so it’s hard to say for sure.
Lol, yeah like a Le Creuset dutch oven! =) Thanks, I’ll give it a whirl!
This sounds delicious, is there a specific gravy you recommend?? I don’t have a fat separator…
You just make it with the liquid in the crock pot. 🙂
I would also LOVE an Instant Pot conversion! Love your pressure cooker recipes!
Does stone ground mustard work? Couldn’t find Zatarains or course ground.
Yep, stone ground is great!
I made this for dinner tonight and we loved it, even though I messed up and put the vinegar in at the beginning. ? I guess that’s what happens when you’re in a rush to get dinner in the crockpot before 9 am church on fast Sunday. I’ll have to make it right next time and see if we can tell a difference. We also had your World’s Best Rolls and are ending the meal with Apple cider floats so thanks for the yummy dinner tonight!!
I also put the vinegar in with the cider, mustard and honey. I was in a hurry and it was listed with them. 🙁 Hopefully it still turns out tasty.
It’ll be fine! If it’s not strong enough, just add a little more at the end.
I made this last night and did the same thing! Turned out great. My picky eater 3.5 year old ate all of her “roasts beef” as she called it, and my 7 year old liked it too! GREAT recipe!