Crockpot Asian Peanut Butter Pork

The past two days a 2.4 pound pork roast (from the buy one get one free sale - was supposed to be $14) has been thawing in my fridge. And, for two days I've been terrified of it.

I like pork, but I did not want to dry it out, because that ruins it for me and it becomes inedible. That meant I'd probably want to cook it in a crockpot, versus in the oven. My new go-to for crockpot recipes is Stephanie at A Year of CrockPotting and she just finished up a whopping 11 recipe collection for the pork section on her site. Tons of variety and options to choose from!

Immediately, one stood out, Asian Peanut Butter Pork. As I was reading, she wrote how an anonymous commenter makes it every month for a potluck, and if she doesn't make it her friends get mad. Sounds good, right? I was almost sold there, but there's more. Stephanie packed this up for her friend, (also named Stephanie) and her family. She says she had a problem with it, and I'm thinking "oh no" because thankfully, she doesn't sugar-coat reviews and will honestly tell you when they work or not. Do you know what the "problem" was? Her husband ate the whole 2 pound pork tenderloin before her or the kids could even try it! hahaha I was sold!

Ingredients:
1.5-2 pound pork tenderloin (I used a 2.4 lb. roast)
1 onion, sliced in rings
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used low sodium)
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
3 Tbsp water
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp chopped peanuts (garnish; optional)
1 lime, cut in wedges (garnish; optional)

Use a 4-6 quart crockpot. Put onion slices into the bottom of your crockpot. Put the pork on top. Add brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, water, garlic, and peanut butter. No need to stir - the peanut butter needs to melt before you can. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4-6. The pork will be more tender the longer you cook it. 1 hour before serving, flip the meat over in the crockpot to allow the other side to soak up the peanut buttery goodness. Garnish with chopped peanuts, and serve with lime wedges.

One thing I noticed, is that this has a lot less liquid than what I usually cook with in the crockpot. When I'd go to check on it, it seemed a little thick and almost globby in some areas around the pork, so I'd stir every once in awhile, to keep it loosened up. I also went with cooking it on low for 8 hours, and the pork already looked white and not raw at about 5 hours, which made me nervous, like I was cooking it twice as long as needed. I checked with my meat thermometer, and according to that, it was already "well done!"

I decided to just go with it, and keep cooking - I ended up cooking 1 hour on high in the beginning (it was still frozen in the center), and then about 6.5 or 7 hours on low. It was SO juicy and tender, and the sauce was absolutely delicious and a perfect compliment! I served with leftover rolls from last night, which I just wrapped in foil so they wouldn't brown and re-heated in the toaster oven, and also frozen peas.


Last week, Diana from Pom Wonderful contacted me and asked if I would like to sample their product, along with some health information and try out some recipes. Yes, please!!!

So, I was very happy when a box of 8 bottles arrived on my doorstep today! We love pomegranate juice, so I'm really interested in incorporating it into new recipes and ideas, because I've never cooked with it before. I'll be sharing the recipes (and the healthy stats) with you as I make them.