Slow Cooker_ The Best Cookbook Ever - Diane Phillips [167]
Cranberry Cinnamon Glazed Pork Loin
This beautifully colored pork loin braises to tender perfection in a port, cranberry, and cinnamon sauce. The sauce is then thickened after cooking and served over the pork. Serve this world-class entrée on a bed of wild rice with dried apricots and almonds.
One 4-pound boneless pork loin, rolled and tied with kitchen string or silicone bands
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Two 14- to 15-ounce cans of whole berry cranberry sauce
½ cup Ruby Port
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Two 4-inch cinnamon sticks
1 whole clove
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
season the pork with the salt and pepper and put it in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Mix the cranberry sauce, port, and vinegar in a bowl and pour over the pork. Add the cinnamon sticks and clove. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, until the pork registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer and the meat is tender.
remove the meat from the slow-cooker insert, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a saucepan, and bring it to a boil.
stir the water and cornstarch together, whisk into the sauce, and bring back to a boil. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
remove the string or silicone bands from the pork and cut into ½-inch-thick slices. Serve with the sauce on the side.
serves 8
Ham with Spicy Mustard Glaze
Fully cooked smoked hams can be served directly from the refrigerator, but they are so much more delicious when they are heated in the slow cooker and the juices of the ham mingle with a glaze or flavored sauce. You will need a large five- to seven-quart slow cooker for a bone-in ham. The results are tender and full of flavor no matter which glaze you decide to use.
One year for a holiday brunch, I was in charge of the ham, and my friends were bringing the sides. I had been traveling and had gotten home the night before the brunch. Fortunately I’d purchased the ham before I left, but now what to flavor it with? I checked the fridge and found apple cider and pub mustard and thought the two would make a fine combination. I added some cinnamon, cloves, and allspice to the pot and came up with a winner.
1½ cups apple cider
One 4-ounce jar Stonewall Kitchen pub mustard or other whole-grain mustard
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
Two 4-inch cinnamon sticks
3 whole cloves
4 whole allspice berries
½ cup Ruby Port
Two 15-ounce cans whole berry cranberry sauce
Grated zest of 2 oranges
½ cup orange juice
One 5-pound smoked ham
combine the cider, mustard, sugar, and spices in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the port, cranberry sauce, and orange zest and juice and stir to combine. Put the ham on top of the glaze and spoon the glaze over the top of the ham.
cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 3½ to 4 hours or on low for 8 to 9 hours, spooning the glaze over the ham a few times during the cooking process.
remove the ham from the cooker, cover with aluminum foil, and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. If you would like to thicken the glaze, skim off any excess fat, strain it through a finemesh sieve into a saucepan and boil, stirring frequently, until reduced to about 2 cups. (You will have a lot of liquid from the ham that has diluted the glaze.)
slice the ham and spoon the glaze over the slices.
serves 10–12
Coca-Cola Ham
Southern cooks swear by their Coca-Cola hams, which are basted with cola throughout the baking time. I decided to have some fun with this one and made a slurry paste out of cola, brown sugar, rum, and lime juice and zest. The paste gives the ham a sweet and tart flavor, and the juices from the ham make a terrific glaze to serve with the ham.
½ cup Coca-Cola
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ cup dark rum
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Grated zest of 1 lime
One 5-pound