We had a hankering recently for Mexican but wanted something different than our “go to” of chicken fajitas, and pork shoulder roasts were on sale. A popular recipe that was floating around during my South Beach days was Chicken Escondido, a delicious chicken cooked on the stove top in salsa verde, tomatoes and black beans. So I thought I’d use some of the components of that recipe in the slow cooker with the pork. I’ve never cooked a pork shoulder roast in the slow cooker but have read lots about how tender and flavorful the meat is so I thought I’d give it a try. Muy bueno!
The roast had a lot of fat on it so I trimmed a good bit of it off, leaving enough for tenderness and flavor. You could probably skip the trimming but I’m sure you’d have a bunch of fat floating around to skim off. Personally, I’d rather spend a few minutes up front than deal with that. I didn’t brown the roast before putting it into the slow cooker but you could definitely add that step in for an additional layer of flavor.
I started with 4 pounds of meat and probably trimmed close to a pound of fat off. This fed us and two friends the first night, the two of us again the second night and I still had plenty to put into the freezer.
Makes 10 servings, each approximately 310 calories, 14 grams fat, 14 grams carbs, 4 grams fiber, 30 grams protein; 8 WW Points+ (plus tortillas or lettuce, and condiments)
Ingredients:
4 pound pork shoulder roast, trimmed (about 3 pounds trimmed), cut in large bits to fit the slow cooker
Salt and pepper
3 TBSP ground cumin
2 14.5 ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 large onions, sliced into thick slices
20 ounces salsa verde, mild (or hotter if you prefer)
½ cup chopped cilantro stems
Condiments for serving:
Whole wheat tortillas or lettuce leaves
Low fat sour cream with lime zest, kosher salt, and juice of 1 lime added
Chopped jalapeño pepper
Low fat grated cheese (I used colby-jack)
Chopped cilantro leaves
Salsa verde
Hot sauce
Lime wedges
Method:
Place onion slices on bottom of slow cooker.
Season pork with salt, pepper, and cumin and place on top of onions.
Pour black beans, salsa verde and cilantro stems over pork.
Stir around gently to combine and distribute around pork.
Cook on high for 5 hours. Shred pork with 2 forks and stir well. Cook an additional 30 minutes.
Provide tortillas, lettuce leaves and other condiments for serving.
What are you cooking in the slow cooker these days?
