Slow Cooker Smoked Pork Shoulder

I picked up a smoked pork shoulder from Balky Farm on a whim at the last farmers market, and a fortuitous whim it was. This is an extremely simple treatment, but it was addictively delicious. And, of course, the leftovers - in the form of pulled pork - can be used for all kinds of things.

3 lb smoked pork shoulder (or larger)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water

Do  not trim the pork before cooking, as the fat will help keep it moist and add flavor (trim after cooking).

Place all ingredients in the slow cooker. Cook on Low for 7-8 hours (a bit longer would probably be fine; this is quite forgiving). Just before serving, remove the should from the slow cooker. Trim off the large pieces of fat and cut up the meat into chunks. Alternatively, shred it with a couple of forks to make pulled pork straightaway.

Serves 4-6.

Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions

The humble onion is a great locavore winter staple, usually available in plentiful quantity. Transformed by caramelization, they add a rich, intense shot of flavor to whatever recipe you use them in. They'll keep for at least a week in the fridge, and they freeze well, so it's worth making a big batch once in while.

I love caramelized onions, but until now have made them only infrequently because of the time required to be spent standing in front of the stove to do the job properly. It seemed worth trying in the slow cooker, and I have to tell you, this is brilliant. You can make a whole big batch this way with minimal time spend having to tend them. That said, this is best done on a day when you'll be at home and can check in on the onions and stir them once in a while. Because slow cookers vary in shape and power, you'll need to see your particular one does here. My own is a large oval one, fairly new and pretty hot on the High setting.

Step 1: Fill your slow cooker with thinly sliced onions. Drizzle generously with olive oil and stir until the onions are all well coated.

The exact amount with vary with the size of your cooker. You don't have to make a full sized batch if you don't want to.

Step 2: Cook the onions on High, stirring once in a while. There will be a tendency for a few of the slices right at the edge to get brown and crispy and stick to the sides, so you'll want to stir them around periodically. This also gives you a chance to check on their progress. If your cooker runs especially hot on the High setting, you may want to switch it to Low after a few hours, or go back and forth. After 4 hours or so, my onions looked like this:

Continue cooking the onions, periodically stirring and scraping away from the edges. As they cooked down, I just pressed them inward a tiny bit from the sides of the cooker, which helped preventing sticking.

Step 3: Toward the end of cooking, 7-8 hours in or so, you'll see there's a lot of liquid in the cooker. To really properly caramelize, you need this to mostly evaporate. Leave the cooker on High, but crack open the lid. At this point my onions looked like this:

Step 4: Take the lid off entirely and continue to cook the onions on High, checking in periodically. You can use your judgment on when exactly to do this, but make sure it's a time when you will be able to watch them a little more more closely - checking in every 20-30 minutes instead of every few hours. When the onions are a nice rich shade of brown and the liquid is mostly gone, they're ready:

You can use them straight away, or put them away in the fridge or freezer. 

Alternatively, you could leave them right in the cooker and add beef broth, white wine, salt and pepper to make the soup part of French Onion Soup. (Serve with a good quality peasant bread, toasted, and topped with melted cheese. Gruyere is traditional, but cheddar isn't bad.)

Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder with Soy-Tomato-Ginger Sauce

This was easy and really delicious, plus it made enough for leftovers the next day.  If you don't have the Tomato Ginger Chutney available, substitute a couple tablespoons of ketchup or tomato paste plus 1/3 cup of some other chutney or jam plus a tablespoon or grated ginger root.  You can also substitute ribs for the pork shoulder, but you'll need more like 4-5 lbs.  Serve this over rice or noodles.  You can toss in some veggies at the last minute, or prepare them separately, if desired.

1/2 cup Tomato Ginger Chutney
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-3 tsp Asian hot sauce (e.g. sriracha), or to taste
3 lb bone-in pork shoulder

Combine the chutney, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and hot sauce in a small bowl or jar and mix well.

Place the pork in the slow cooker and spoon or brush the sauce all over it.  Pour any extra over the meat. Cook on Low for 6-8 hours, until the pork is falling apart when you stick a fork in it.

Serves 6-8.

Slow Cooked Lamb Riblets with Cumin, Garlic, and Lemon

Balky Farm of Northfield has been offering lamb and goat riblets (like spare ribs, but smaller) on sale the last couple of farmers markets, so I bought some.  So glad I did!  Well seasoned and slow cooked, they are tender, succulent, and flavorful.    You could easily substitute goat for lamb here.

3 lbs lamb riblets
Salt and pepper
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and minced
2 Tbsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Generously sprinkle the riblets all over with salt and pepper.  Combine the minced garlic, cumin, and lemon juice in a small bowl and mix to form a paste.  Smear this all over the riblets.  Place the seasoned riblets in your slow cooker and cook on Low for 8-10 hours.  Serve or follow the optional browning step (good but not at all necessary).

Optional: After slow cooking, place the meat on a baking sheet and quickly brown under the broiler (a couple minutes should do it).

Serves 4-6.

Slow Cooker Lentil Tomato Soup with Bacon

Simple and hearty, really almost more of a stew than a soup.  You can, of course, make this on the stovetop instead of the slow cooker.  Saute the onions first instead of last, then add the other ingredients and simmer until the lentils are tender.  But if you start it in the slow cooker, this can be ready in 20 minutes once you get home from work.

1 1/2 cups brown lentils
4 cups cubed potatoes
3 cups crushed, ground, or chopped tomatoes (canned or frozen)
4 cups beef stock
Salt and pepper to taste
8 slices bacon
2 medium onions, chopped

Place lentils, potatoes, tomatoes, stock, and salt and pepper in the slow cooker.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low 7-9 hours.

Just before you are ready to serve the soup, cook the bacon until chewy (I do this under the broiler, using a rack over a pan, for about 6 minutes) and saute the onions until slightly browned.  Stir bacon and onions into the rest of the soup.  Add additional stock if desired.  Serve hot.

Serves about 6.

Slow Cooker Sage and Garlic Chicken with White Beans and Tomatoes

Bone-in chicken pieces, especially legs, work well in the slow cooker, where they stay wonderfully moist and flavorful.  Since the juices stay in the cooker, you end up with something like a cross between a roast and a braise.  You can also take them straight from the freezer into the cooker, which also makes them easy.

In a colder season, you can substitute dried sage (use about 1/2 tsp and sprinkle it over the chicken) and frozen or canned tomatoes.

Serves this over rice or barley (cooked in chicken broth if you like).

1-2 cups cooked white beans
6-8 garlic cloves, peeled
4 chicken legs
Salt and pepper to taste
8-12 whole fresh sage leaves
3 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped or squished through your fingers

Place the beans and garlic cloves in the bottom of the cooker, then add the chicken legs.  Salt and pepper them generously.  Lay 2-3 sage leaves over each leg.  Top the whole thing with tomatoes.

Cook on Low for 6-9 hours.

Serves about 4.

Pureed Red Lentil and Potato Soup

A little bit Spanish style, with paprika and a bay leaf, and some good quality olive oil on top.

This is suitable for making in the slow cooker as well; just skip the sauteing step and toss everything into the pot.

olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped tomatoes plus their liquid (canned, or thawed if frozen)
1 1/2 cups red lentils
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 12 oz. total)
4 cups chicken stock and/or water
1 tsp paprika
1 large bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
Good quality extra virgin olive oil for topping

Heat a little olive oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except for the extra virgin olive oil. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the potatoes and lentils are tender, about 25-30 minutes.

When the potatoes and lentils are tender, puree the soup with an immersion blender, or do it in batches in a blender or food processor and return it to the pot. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Serve hot, adding a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to each bowl at the table.

Serves 4-5.

Slow Cooker Chipotle Lentil and Squash Soup

The flavors of fall, with a smoky, spicy kick. I made this in my slow cooker, as described below, but you could also do it on the stovetop; in that case saute the onions and garlic first. Also note that you can either puree this or leave it chunky - if you choose to leave it chunky, be sure to minced the chipotle(s) well instead of leaving them whole. One chipotle will result in mild spiciness. Two will make it pleasantly hot. Three would probably be too much for my taste.

2 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 cup brown lentils
2 medium onions, chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
1 or more chipotle peppers in adobo
Chicken or vegetable stock
2-3 Tbsp cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream or plain yogurt for topping

Place the squash, lentils, onions, garlic, and chipotle(s) in the slow cooker. Add enough stock to comfortably cover. Cook on High for 8-10 hours. When lentils and veggies are tender, add cider vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Puree using an immersion blender or in batches in a blender or food processor.

Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt (which helps cut the heat of the chipotles).

Serves 4-6.

Sweet and Savory Balsamic-Braised Beef Shanks

Another great winter braise to make on the weekend. If you don't have beef shanks, this would also work well with any other tough, bone-in cut, such as short ribs, or even a pot roast. This is excellent with mashed potatoes.

I like to make this type of braise by browning the meat in the oven, then simmer on the stove top, partly because it's easy and you can do all the meat at once and partly because it involves a lot less smoke. But you can also brown on the stove top. For that matter, you can also cook the braise in the oven (at about 300 degrees) if you prefer. I like to do it on the stove top so I can check on it more easily.

If you like, you can substitute dry red wine for some of the beef stock.

4 lbs beef shanks
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp dried lemon zest (or 1-2 tsp fresh)
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 lb plum tomatoes, finely chopped (frozen or canned is fine)
1/2 cup raisins
A few cups of beef stock

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Sprinkle the beef shanks all over with salt and pepper, then place them in a single layer in a roasting pan and brown in the oven for about 25 minutes.

While the beef browns in the oven, heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven. Add the onions and saute over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes until nicely soft and a bit browned. Add the garlic and saute another minute. Then add the lemon zest, balsamic vinegar, sugar, tomatoes, and raisins.

When the meat is browned, place it in the Dutch oven with the other ingredients. Add enough beef stock to cover the meat about three quarters of the way. Bring the whole thing to a nice simmer, then reduce heat to very low and cook for 2-3 hours, covered. The meat is done when it is very tender and easily pierced with a fork.

Serves 4-6.

Tip: You'll probably have a few cups of braising liquid leftover when you finish the shanks. Don't throw it away! Stick it in the freezer (well labeled, of course) and pull it out later for an instant sauce. This is especially great for a slow cooker meal - just stick chicken legs and braising liquid in the cooker, all still frozen in the morning, and enjoy a delicious meal at dinnertime.

Slow Cooker Ham and White Bean Stew

After Christmas, we were in a rush to leave town, so I just shoved the leftover ham in the freezer. Yesterday I took some of it out and made this simple and tasty stew in the crock pot. Remember that you'll need to soak the beans overnight if you plan to start the stew in the slow cooker in the morning. This is a slightly different take on a soup I made around this time two years ago.

1 1/2 cups dried white beans
Water
1 bay leaf
1 medium onion, quartered
2-3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
Black pepper to taste
2-3 cups chopped cooked ham
Salt to taste

Soak the beans overnight in a couple times their volume of water.

In the morning, drain and rinse the beans and place them in the slow cooker. Add enough water to cover them by about 1/2-inch. Add the bay leaf, onion, garlic, and pepper, put the cover on, and cook on High for 7-9 hours.

Optional: when the beans are tender, you can puree them fully or partially. If you opt to do this, be sure to remove the garlic, onion, and bay leaf first.

Add the ham somewhere behalf mid-day and serving time (and, if you choose to puree the beans, after you have done so). Remove the garlic, onion, and bay leaf if you have not already done so, and serve.

Serves 4-6.

Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Stew

This takes a little more effort than some of my slow cooker recipes, but you can still get it all into the pot in about 20 minutes. The result is great comfort food, very satisfying.

2-3 medium potatoes, cubed (no need to peel)
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
2 medium onions, in chunks
Chicken stock and/or water
4 whole chicken legs or equivalent parts (frozen is fine, no need to thaw)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large sprig rosemary (optional)

Place all the vegetables in a layer in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add chicken stock or water to just cover them. Place the chicken pieces on top and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Add the sprig of rosemary if you have it. Put the cover on the pot and cook for 7-9 hours on Low (or a bit longer; this is quite forgiving).

Just before you are ready to eat, you may opt to take out the chicken and remove the meat from the bone, then put the meat back into the stew. Or serve with the whole chicken parts for a speedier arrival at the table.

Serves 4-6.

Slow Cooker Spare Ribs With Chutney

A few weeks ago we picked up a package of spare ribs from Bostrom Farm at the farmers market. Yesterday I cooked them in the crock pot with some tomato ginger chutney, and the result was fantastic. Super easy to put together, too. Another time I think I would try it with blueberry chipotle chutney. Barbecue sauce would also work well, of course. The chutneys make a good stand-in because they have similar sweet-spicy-tangy qualities. Try serving these with cornbread and a green salad.

2 lbs pork spare ribs
Salt and pepper
1 cup tomato ginger chutney

Thaw the ribs if they are frozen (I was able to thaw a package of them in hot water in about 15 minutes). Place them in the slow cooker, either as a whole rack folded over on itself or cut into four pieces. Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper, then cover liberally with the chutney on all sides.

Cook the ribs on Low for 6-8 hours. When they're done, the meat will be falling-off-the-bone tender.

Serves 4.

Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken

In light of this post, an easy and delicious recipe for whole chicken. The timing is quite forgiving, and the chicken comes out incredibly moist, yet with pleasantly crisped skin. This is also a great use for some of the fresh herbs becoming available in abundance at this time of year. Throw some garlic cloves in the cavity, too, if you like.

1 whole chicken (neck, giblets, etc removed)
A bunch of fresh rosemary, sage, oregano, or thyme
Salt and pepper

This will work for any size chicken that fits in your slow cooker. Stuff the cavity with the herbs and don't be shy about it. Sprinkle the bird liberally all over with salt and pepper. Place in the slow cooker and cook on Low for 6-7 hours for a 3-4 lb chicken (a bit longer for a larger one).

Slow Cooker Chicken Stew with Tomatoes and Fennel

Quick and easy from the freezer, but one of my better crock pot creations. If you used frozen tomatoes, be sure to thaw them first--you'll need their liquid. You can serve this on its own as a stew or over rice (obviously, you'll get more servings out of it if you serve it with rice).

2 lbs boneless chicken thighs (frozen is fine)
2 Tbsp green olive tapenade
4 cups chopped tomatoes and their liquid (canned or frozen)
1 cup chopped fennel (frozen is fine)
Salt and pepper

Place the chicken thighs in the slow cooker. It's fine if they are in a solid block (or two). Spread the top sides with the tapenade. Add the tomatoes and fennel and a bit of salt and pepper. Cook on Low for 7-9 hours. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Break up the chicken thighs into chunks with a spoon.

Serve alone or over rice.

Serves at least 6.

Slow Cooker Pinto Beans with Summer Veggies

Without my slow cooker, I would probably never make it to the Y for after-work exercise. My preferred recipes are all ones where I can just dump a bunch of stuff straight from the freezer into the cooker in 15 minutes or less (preferably less). In the right combinations, this works remarkably well. Beans are a great base - you have to remember to soak them overnight, but the time requirement is minimal. If you leave frozen tomatoes out overnight alongside the beans, they'll be fairly well thawed come morning (unlike the other veggies, you want the tomatoes thawed so that their liquid is available as cooking liquid for the beans).

2 cups dry pinto beans
Water
1 cup shredded zucchini (frozen is fine)
1-2 cups corn kernels (frozen is fine)
2 cups chopped/ground tomatoes (thawed if frozen)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce for topping (optional)
Cheddar or jack cheese for topping (optional)

Soak the beans overnight in several times their volume of water. In the morning, drain and rinse.

In the slow cooker, combine beans, zucchini, corn, tomatoes, onions, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf. Add enough water to cover all the beans but not have them swimming. Cook on low for 9-10 hours or on high for 5-6 hours.

When beans are tender, add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over rice, topped with hot sauce and cheese at the table if desired.

Serves about 6.

Slow Cooker White Bean, Tomato, and Fennel Stew

We've had such an abundance of standard winter vegetables that I have hardly touched the stores in my freezer so far (except for fruit for holiday pies!). But this was an easy freezer-based meal, simple and satisfying. You can serve this on its own or over rice; brown rice works nicely.

You can use canned or frozen tomatoes. If you use frozen ones, let them thaw overnight before putting them in the slow cooker. It's not hard to remember to do so, since you have to soak the beans overnight, too.

1 1/2 cups dry white beans (such as navy or great northern)
3-4 cups crushed or coarsely chopped and seeded tomatoes (canned or frozen)
1-2 cups chopped frozen fennel
1 medium onion, diced
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp dried basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Soak the beans overnight in several times their volume of water. In the morning, drain and rinse them, then put them in the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes and their liquid, along with the fennel (which can go in frozen), onion, bay leaves, and basil. Add enough water to just cover the beans. Cook on High for 6-8 hours, until beans are tender.

When beans are cooked, add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6.

Crock Pot Chicken with Blueberries and Chutney

If it wasn't for my crock pot, I would probably never make it out to the Y after work to exercise. I love to do chicken because it is as simple as taking frozen chicken parts out of the freezer and putting them directly in the crock pot - no browning or other treatment needed. And the result is always delicious; this is a flavorful way of preparing chicken even if you only season with salt and pepper. I put it on in the morning, then set the rice cooker going before leaving for the Y in the late afternoon. When I come back an hour-plus later, dinner is ready.

4 chicken legs (frozen is fine; if thawed, reduce cooking time)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup chutney (I used my tomato-ginger chutney)

Place the chicken legs in the crock pot and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Spread the chutney over the meat, then sprinkle in the blueberries.

Cook on Low for 8-9 hours.

Serves 4.

I Feel Like a Squirrel

At some point over this weekend, Nate and I were looking out the window, watching a squirrel run along the fence with a good two or three nuts precariously clasped in its mouth. Nate wanted to know where the squirrel was going, so I told him it was probably going to stash those nuts away for the winter. Doing the human version of that was pretty much how I spent much of the rest of the weekend.

I husked two dozen ears of corn, stripped off the kernels, blanched it all, and packed it into the freezer. I harvested a bunch of kale from the garden, where it was once again overshadowing the smaller greens around it, steamed it and packed that into the freezer. I made tons of pesto, both the standard Italian basil variety and my own parsley-mint version, and stashed all that away in the freezer for quick meals to come.

While I was at it, I cooked a big batch of black beans in the crock pot (plugged outside on the deck to avoid heating up the kitchen unnecessarily) to replenish the stock I like to keep in the freezer and also to provide the basis for a quick meal later this week (to provide more time for working in the garden and putting up additional food). Oh, and I harvested a load of eggplant from the garden along with some tomatoes and cooked it up into sort of a stew with some garlic and onion, to be embellished later with additional ingredients for quick meals. Again, some went into the fridge for later this week and some went into the freezer. Whew.

Italian Lentil Soup

This is an easy recipe and a great vehicle for root vegetables--plus some of the greens starting to become available again. I often make it in the slow cooker, but it does just fine on the stove top, too. The quantities are very flexible and forgiving, so work with whatever you've got on hand. You can always add or substitute potatoes, turnips, or whatever else you like.

3 cups brown lentils
3 cups or so canned or frozen tomatoes, chopped
1-2 cups diced celeriac
2 large carrots, in 1/4-inch rounds
1 large onion, chopped
10-12 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp salt, plus more to taste
Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
3-4 cups coarsely chopped greens (spinach, kale, chard--whatever)
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients except for the greens and vinegar in the slow cooker or a large soup pot. Add water to generously cover. In the slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours. On the stove, bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for 45-60 minutes.

At the end of the cooking period, add the greens and cook until wilted. Stir in the vinegar, then taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Serves at least 6.

Slow Cooker Southwestern Beans

This is a staple in our house for nights when I won't have time to cook. I am still feeling very pleased with myself for freezing so many red peppers last fall--the supply is going strong and I am enjoying one of my favorite vegetables right through the winter. I usually serve these beans over rice, but you could also do them more like a soup. I've listed the vegetables I like to add, but it's entirely flexible: you can use more, less others, or none at all.

3 cups dried black beans, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
1 large onion, chopped
2 bell peppers (any color), diced
Tomatoes, chopped (optional: as many or few as you like; frozen or canned both fine)
1 cup corn kernels (frozen is fine)
3/4 cup salsa
Water
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded cheddar for topping
Hot sauce for topping (optional)

Combine all ingredients except water and salt and pepper in the slow cooker. Add water until the beans are fully but not generously covered. Add more water if you want the end result to be more like a soup or you won't be able to check on the beans while they cook.

Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8-9 hours. Add salt and pepper before serving. Top with shredded cheddar and hot sauce at the table.

Serves 6-8.