Why You Should Be Giving This Pork Cut The Pot Roast Treatment In Your Slow Cooker

If you're craving pot roast but on a tight grocery budget, pork shoulder is more affordable and just as delicious as beef chuck, and you might not even be able to taste the difference. Since pork shoulder is marbled full of beautiful fat with a thick fat cap on one side, it acts a lot like beef chuck when cooked low and slow, letting all that deliciousness render, melt into the meat, and become just as succulent and tender as your typical pot roast.

In fact, the only thing that really needs to change are the seasonings, and that's largely a matter of preference. If you like, you can stick with your favorite three-ingredient slow cooker pot roast recipe, smothering the pork shoulder with condensed mushroom soup and onion soup mix for a delicious, budget-conscious dinner that takes literal seconds to prepare. Line the bottom of your slow cooker with thick slices of white onion and carrot pieces for additional flavor.

You can also fancy things up a bit by searing your pork shoulder before slinging it in the slow cooker, but that may dry your meat out if you're too enthusiastic about it. Instead, it's best to let it simmer low and slow for up to 10 hours. Provided you're using the right cooking method, pork shoulder is a great cut of meat for beginners because it's so difficult to mess up, so don't worry too much about overcooking it in the Crock-Pot.

If you like your pork to taste like pork rather than a stand-in for beef, the easiest way to do it is with seasonings. Instead of brown gravy, try something tangy and mustard-based that complements pork's natural earthy sweetness. Ham gravy makes the best base if you have the pan drippings to make your own, or you can find jarred versions in your local grocery store. From there, it's a matter of amping up the flavor with ingredients such as stone ground mustard, fresh cracked pepper, and fennel seed.

Fennel root also makes a delicious addition to the veggies lining the bottom of your slow cooker, should you decide to go that route (think thick slices of white onion, fennel bulb wedges, and a few thick-cut carrots). Veg like this not only adds flavor and nutrition to the finished dish, but also insulates the pork shoulder from direct heat that could suck out some moisture if you don't get your meat-to-gravy ratios quite right. The veg gets pretty soft, so you can either mash and blend them into the gravy, or serve whole over roasted potatoes to provide textural contrast. You could also rely on your easy slow cooker pulled pork recipe for barbecued flavor inspiration. The trick here is to keep the flavors mild to let the pork shine, so lean heavily on the broth and use items such as barbecue sauce, chiles, and brown sugar in moderation.