CROCKPOT PORK SHOULDER ROAST

Pork shoulder is a pretty inexpensive cut of meat and can fall into the super cheap category if you happen to find it on sale. I made up this recipe for pork roast one Sunday morning and we were pleasantly surprised by the result. Fresh herbs will taste best for this recipe but dried herbs will work as well if that is what you have on hand.

serves 6-8

1 bone-in pork shoulder roast, around 3-4 pounds
1 large yellow onion, chopped in large pieces
3-5 carrots, depending on size, peeled and chopped in 2-inch pieces
4 garlic cloves
3 sprigs rosemary (or 1 1/2 tsp. dried)
6 sprigs thyme (or 1 1/2 tsp. dried)
1 Tb. apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 cube each chicken and beef bouillon
1/4 tsp. salt (plus extra for seasoning the meat)
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper (plus extra for seasoning the meat)

Place chopped onion and carrots in bottom of crock pot. Peel and smash two garlic cloves and add to the onion and carrots. Put in one sprig of rosemary (1/2 tsp. dried) and two sprigs thyme (1/2 tsp. dried), as well as the vinegar, water, and bouillon.

Strip the remaining rosemary and thyme of their leaves (or 1 tsp. each of dried rosemary and thyme) and chop them finely with the two remaining garlic cloves. Add the salt and pepper and mix all together in a paste.

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or reasonable substitute) in a large skillet until smoking. Salt and pepper the pork roast well on all sides and sear in the hot pan until all sides are well-browned. Place in crock pot, smear with the herb/garlic paste, cover and cook on low for 8 hours.