Name: Slow-Cooker Apple Cider Pork
Total time: 7 h
Ingredients: 1 (5-pound) boneless pork butt roast , trimmed; 3 tablespoons kosher salt; 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar; 1 teaspoon pepper; 1 cup apple cider; 1 cup apple butter , divided; 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 onion , halved through root end; 4 garlic cloves , smashed and peeled; 3 sprigs fresh thyme; 1 tablespoon cider vinegar; 1/4 cup minced fresh chives

Why This Recipe Works

To adapt this recipe for a slow cooker, we chose fatty pork butt as our cut. We had to make sure that the sauce, which often turns out watery and bland in the slow cooker, tasted concentrated and flavorful. Our solution for a rich and complex sauce was to cut back on some of the cider used for braising and to add apple butter, onion, garlic, and fresh thyme. Rather than searing the pork before braising it, we rubbed it with salt, pepper, and brown sugar so that it browned slowly during the long cooking time. When the pork was tender, we removed it from the slow cooker and let it rest on a carving board before slicing it. We stirred more apple butter and a splash of cider vinegar into the braising liquid to give the sauce extra apple flavor and brightness. Before serving the sliced pork, we poured some of the sauce over the top and sprinkled it with fresh chives for a nice visual contrast and a mild oniony pungency.

Before You Begin

Pork butt roast is often labeled Boston butt in the supermarket.

Instructions

Pat pork dry with paper towels and sprinkle all over with salt, sugar, and pepper.

Whisk apple cider, ½ cup apple butter, and flour together in slow cooker. Add onion, garlic, and thyme sprigs. Place pork fat side down in slow cooker. Cover and cook until fork slips easily into and out of pork, 6 to 7 hours on high or 8 to 9 hours on low.

Transfer pork to carving board, fat side up; tent with aluminum foil; and let rest for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, using wide spoon, skim fat from surface of sauce. Discard onion and thyme sprigs. Stir vinegar and remaining ½ cup apple butter into sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Slice pork crosswise ½ inch thick and arrange on serving platter. Pour 1 cup sauce over pork. Sprinkle with chives. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.