Pineapple Pork Loin In The Slow Cooker
This easy, tender slow cooker pineapple pork is sweet, savory and delicious meal! Perfect to have a delicious dinner ready when you are.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3-4 pound boneless pork loin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 20 ounces canned pineapple you need the pineapple cut into chunks and the juice
- ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 6 cloves garlic minced, or 1 teaspooon granulated garlic
- 2 teaspoons orange zest optional - see notes
- Sliced green onions optional- for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Season both sides of the pork loin with salt and pepper. Add pork loin to the warm skillet. Sear each side of the pork loin for about 4-5 minutes, or until a light golden brown. This step can be skipped, but does add more flavor to the finished pork.
- Place the pork loin into the bottom of the slow cooker with the side with more fat facing up. This fat will render as the meat cooks and add great flavor. Add the pineapple pieces and pineapple juice around the pork. Add the and soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic and orange zest to the slowcooker and cover.
- Cook the meat on low for 6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours until the pork is fully cooked through. Your meat should have an internal temperature of 145 with a meat thermometer. You can switch the machine to warm when it has finished cooking until you are ready to eat.
- Remove the meat from the slow cooker and let it rest for 15 minutes if slicing or shred with two forks in the slowcooker if shredding. Serve with optional green onions and enjoy!
Video
Notes
1/4 cup of orange juice can be substituted for the orange zest. You can also substitute lemon zest for a slightly different flavor to the meat that is still delicious. Orange zest and juice can also be left out of this recipe for a slightly less flavorful dish.
Fresh garlic is delicious in this recipe, but don't hesitate to substitute one tablespoon jarred minced garlic or one teaspoon of dried granulated garlic (which is more concentrated) if that is what you have on hand.
Searing the pork is also optional in this recipe. Searing a large roast like this pork loin adds a lot of flavor to the final meat, but if you are short on time add it to the slow cooker without searing. If you are skipping searing the pork, add the salt, pepper and oil over the pork and give it a little bit of a rub before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Remember pork loin (different from pork tenderloin, see above for more info) is a large piece of meat that is best cooked low and slow. This helps to render the fat in the meat so it becomes tender. Not cooking the meat long enough can sometimes produce meat that “seems dry” but it actually just that the meat itself hasn’t cooked long enough to become tender. This means just because your meat hits the safe temperature, doesn’t necessarily mean it is finished cooking to become tender. Unfortunately, I can not account for every single person’s individual slow cooker and weight of meat to tell you exactly when your meat will be done. Using these tips consistently produces a delicious pork loin for most slow cookers.
I have been hearing more and more often that readers are finding boneless pork loins in the grocery store that are in the two pound range. If you are sure it is pork loin and not pork tenderloin, I recommend subtracting about 20-30 minutes from the cook time.
The pork loin should easily shred with two forks when ready. If it doesn't easily shred, you can always cover and cook it a little longer, I usually start at 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 363kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 910mg | Potassium: 783mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 38IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2mg