By Sarah DiGregorio
- Total Time
- 8 hours 20 minutes
- Rating
- 4(2,940)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Here to save your weeknight life: a slow-cooker main that’s truly “set-it-and-forget-it,” with results that taste like they required significantly more effort. This rich and flavorful pork takes about 5 minutes to throw together in the morning. Before dinner, just simmer the sauce — a sweet-salty mix of soy and honey — until it’s syrupy, shred the meat, add a flurry of fresh herbs and you’re done. The meat is a wonderfully simple anchor, and you can build a meal around it: Add lettuce cups and kimchi or serve it over rice, whole grains or even tortillas.
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 3 to 4pounds boneless, skinless pork shoulder, trimmed of big hunks of fat and cut in half
- 8large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3tablespoons minced fresh ginger (from one 3-inch piece)
- 1teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste
- 2teaspoons finely grated lime zest and 2 tablespoons juice (from 1 lime), plus more lime wedges for serving
- 1cup tamari or low-sodium soy sauce (see Tip)
- 1cup honey
- 1tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- Cooked rice, noodles or lettuce cups, for serving
- Toasted sesame seeds, sliced scallions and chopped cilantro, for topping
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
668 calories; 38 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 45 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 35 grams sugars; 38 grams protein; 1281 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Place the pork in a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Scatter the garlic, ginger, red-pepper flakes and lime zest over the top. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the tamari, honey and sesame oil, then pour it over the pork. Using tongs, turn to coat all sides of the pork in the sauce, and spoon some over the top so that some of the garlic and ginger is on top of the pork. Cover and cook on low until the pork is very tender and shreds easily with a fork, 8 to 9 hours; it will hold well on warm. (If you are home and able to flip the pork once during cooking, that will help the flavors distribute evenly on the meat and make the color uniform. If not, it will be fine.)
Step
2
Using tongs, transfer the pork from the slow cooker to a serving platter or large, shallow serving bowl. Using a ladle, skim excess fat off the surface of the cooking liquid, if desired. Carefully pour the sauce into a large pot. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat and let it simmer until reduced and slightly syrupy, 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, coarsely shred the pork using two forks.
Step
3
Sprinkle the lime juice over the top of the meat. Drizzle about half the sauce over the top of the shredded meat, tossing to evenly combine. Serve over rice or noodles or in lettuce cups. Top with sesame seeds, scallions and cilantro. Pass the remaining sauce at the table, if desired, as well as extra lime wedges and red-pepper flakes.
Tip
- Tamari, a gluten-free Japanese fermented soy product similar to soy sauce, is generally a little less salty than grocery store soy sauce, and it works slightly better in this recipe.
Ratings
4
out of 5
2,940
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Cooking Notes
Margaux Laskey, Senior Staff Editor, NYT Cooking
This kind of dish is why people love slow cookers: very low effort, max yum. My 5 and 7 yos love it over jasmine rice with sliced avocado and cucumbers on the side. I've made this with fresh or jarred garlic and ginger. Either works.
shell
The sesame oil should be added after cooking (at the end) or it turns bitter.
Brett
I was confused by all the conflicting comments.So I cooked it per the recipe.It was fantastic.
Susan
Giving just 2 stars. First the pre-crockpot prep is not an easy 5 min. There is some substantial chopping and dicing to do. All that would have been worth it for a delicious braising sauce to spoon over the meat at the end. I did not like this sauce. Meat came out fine, but sauce tasted burnt/bitter. I tried to doctor it w rice wine, apple cider vinegar, more honey. Nothing helped the bad aftertaste.
Stephen
Had great intentions of starting this in the morning to be ready for dinner in the evening... Needless to say I didn't get it all prepared until close to 3 pm. Luckily, this recipe worked a treat in our pressure cooker - 30 mins on high with 30 mins natural release. Made it per the recipe otherwise, and it was delicious!
Kathy
I followed some of the suggestions: 1/2 cup of honey and added about 1/2 cup of water . I had plenty of sauce. With many comments about it being too salty, I used Trader Joe’s Soyaki sauce for the soy sauce and thinking was a great alternative.Pork was tender, sauce was delicious and the scallions, sesame seeds and limes added great texture and color. I didn’t use any grated lime due to other comments and don’t think it was missed. Will definitely make again!
Meghan
To make this on the stove instead of a slow cooker: heat high heat oil in a Dutch oven. Cut meat in 2-3 pieces, season with salt and pepper, and sear on all sides until golden brown. Will probably take 15 mins. Meanwhile, chop your ginger and garlic. Remove the meat from the pan. Sauté aromatics. Add sauce to the pan, scrape up the burnt bits of pork, bring to a boil. Put meat back in the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and put in a 250 oven for 4 hours (for about 4 lb of meat).
Patricia Garcia
Sometimes, I can't believe some of the comments made here....Susan, chopping garlic and ginger is substantial pre-crockpot prep? Lordy girl, don't ever make a real braise, you'll be dog-tired. Guessing you don't cook a lot.
Kait
This was an enjoyable meal that allowed the meat to get some nice crispy edges while still being moist and flavorful. However, given the calories and effort required, I have to recommend the Skinny Taste Banh Mi Bowl recipe over this one. Virtually the same flavor payoff (my fiancé didn’t realize it was a different recipe) with less work and fewer calories. Highly recommend serving both recipes with rice, cilantro, jalapeños/Serrano peppers, pickled carrots, cucumbers, and a sriracha aioli.
Mama Fontana
I’ve made this twice, once with a pork roast and once with a beef roast. Both times baked in a Dutch oven for 2-3 hours. The beef was much better than the pork!
Heather
I initially rated this three stars, but I took the leftovers out of the freezer last week and used them in a stir fry, and they were delicious. I simply froze hunks of the cooked meat in the sauce, and then I used the sauce in the stir fry. Bumped it up to four stars and will definitely make it again!
Lindsey
Due to coronavirus shortages at the grocery stores, I had to settle for pork tenderloin instead of pork shoulder. I know that's a completely different cut of meat. I still followed all of the instructions and slow-cooked it on low for about 6 hours. Was still able to shred it (although it was a bit dry). We ate it with white rice and had the leftovers as pork fried rice the next day.
Amanda
I enjoyed this. No burnt flavor as I followed other reviewers’ advice and swapped 1/4 cup of brown sugar for the honey. I only added lime as a garnish at the end and didn’t use much of the sauce. We ate it with squeezed lime juice, scallions and cilantro over white rice and it was pretty delicious.
Jen
6 pound pork roast in 300 degree oven for about 5 hours, basted a couple times; used olive oil instead roasted sesame oil for the roast, based on previous comments; then added a drizzle of sesame oil at the end while reducing the sauce. In addition to the suggested garnishes, I served this with quick pickled veggies (carrots and cucumbers, radishes next time) - the pickled veggies really added brightness to the dish as a whole.This was terrific and easy - great combo! Will be on repeat.
Payal
I used an Instant Pot and it worked well! Cooked on high for 30 minutes and then natural release (it was over an hour before I opened it up). It was tender and there was no burned taste. I also used coconut aminos instead of tamari or soy sauce and it was not salty at all. I used a lot a red chili powder instead of the flakes and it came out with a nice spice balance of sweet and spicy. I would have used much less sesame oil since the sauce at the end was too oily.
mw
can I use bone-in
MB
We loved this recipe! Super easy and super delicious. We ate this in butter lettuce "cups" with pickled veggies. And then we ate the leftovers on a baguette with some sriracha mayo - a delicious little bahn mi style sandwich!I will try to trim my pork shoulder a bit better next time because we ended up with a lot of fat to skim off the sauce before cooking it down and there was still a little too much in the sauce.
VZ
Didn’t read other comments before making it and followed the recipe as is. Didn’t find it to taste burnt or bitter at all. Made for a satisfying meal.
Ari
I’m cooking for just 2, and am curious if anyone knows by how much I should reduce this recipe?
chris
Made the mistake of adding the lime juice to the slower cooker, didn’t have any issues with bitterness! Only had Trader Joe’s Soyaki on hand, so I halved the honey to account for its sweetness. Delicious and will definitely repeat!
Birdie
This was really excellent especially for how easy it was. I didn't have enough honey on hand so I subbed in a little brown sugar and pineapple juice for what I didn't have. Turned out very good. Served over brown rice with roasted broccoli. This pork would make really excellent fusion tacos too.
ChefBoyAl
Delicious. Like others have noted, I felt there was a slight bitter aftertaste, however, not enough to keep me from making it again. Next time I will hold the lime zest until the slowcooker is done.
CK
Has anyone made this without sesame oil? My daughter is allergic to sesame. Is there another oil we can use for added flavor?
SweetMommaP
I’ve made this many times - some where I measured/have all the ingredients and most where I wing it. It’s never not been good - really good!! Which is amazing for how easy it is. Garlic & ginger from a tube? Awesome. Red pepper flakes vs a couple splashes of Franks Hot Sauce! Both are terrific. Lime juice, grapefruit juice, whatever you have that’s acidic? Throw it in. You can leave this for many hours and it only gets better. The prefect “you don’t have to be perfect” recipe…
Hazel
The recipe was great! I opted to add the lime juice at the end and instead of rice we had some roasted butternut squash. They paired really nicely : )
hh
I did this over 2 days. I cooled the sauce overnight so I could skim off the solidified fat more easily. I think my slow cooker runs hot, because 8-9 hours would have definitely been way too long. Parts of the meat were a bit dried out staffer 7 hours. Next time I think I’ll do 6 hours on low and will add a cup of water to the liquid as others have suggested. Tastes great though!!
Toronto Mama Bear
Made this as written today. Absolutely mouthwatering. I forgot to add the lemon zest. I will definitely make this again. Served with baked potatoes fresh crusty Italian bread and steamed broccoli. By the way did not use the slow cooker- used the oven at 275 is listed.
Toronto Mama Bear
Made this today as written, no substitutes. Absolutely divine. So tender and very simple to make. I use the oven not a slow cooker. Made some steamed broccoli, baked potato crusty Italian bread. I will definitely do this again. Highly recommend it.
Jackie
Absolutely delicious!Served to Jeanette, April,Adam and Anna
Myninka
This is the second time I am making this recipe and this time I really liked it! First time I made the mistake to make it with beef (chuck roast), the flavors were crashing with each other. This time with pork shoulder, coconut aminos which is naturally sweet so I added only 1/4 cup honey, and instant pot for 1 hour, immediate release. Next time I would add 1/3 tamari 2/3 coconut aminos, for more complex flavor. Served with rice and green beans first evening and second - stir fry with noodles.
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