Slow-Cooker Pork Shoulder with Gingery Black Bean Sauce – Recipe!

A nicely cooked meal like Slow-Cooker Pork Shoulder with Gingery Black Bean Sauce is delightful to come home to after a busy day and a pork shoulder is the right cut of meat to use in this recipe.

A simple dry rub enhances pork flavors and creates a crust that is lovely with black bean sauce.  You can purchase black bean sauce, a dark hued paste that’s salty on the tongue at first, yet deepens during cooking into a rich caramel taste, in most grocery stores, online or Asian markets.  I used a heaping spoonful, along with fresh ginger and a few other pantry items to create a sauce on the stove top to pour over the pork after its time in the slow cooker.  The Asian inspired flavors are so mouthwateringly good, and bound to have you doubling down for another helping.

I served this shredded roast over steamed spaghetti squash, which works beautifully together.  The sweet strands of squash highlight the intensity of both the roasted pork and the sauce, and become a beautiful combination, while the leftovers can be transformed for another meal.

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Ingredients

Pork

2 1/2 pound pork shoulder roast

1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Black Bean Sauce

1/4 cup black bean sauce

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 cloves garlic minced

juice of 1 lime

cilantro of garnish, if desired

steamed spaghetti squash, suggested

(Serves 4-6)

To Prepare:

1. Remove pork from any packaging and pat dry with paper towel.  In a small bowl, combine onion powder, cumin, salt and pepper.  Rub mixture all over pork roast.
2. Place pork in slow cooker with 1/2 cup of water.  Cook on high heat for 4 1/2 hours.
3. 30 minutes before roast is done, add all black bean sauce ingredients to a sauce pan, along with 1/2 cup warm water.  Simmer over heat for 12 minutes.  Add more water to thin, if necessary.  Keep warm over low heat.
4. Remove roast and place in serving dish.  Using two forks, shred meat into big chunks.  Pour most of sauce over top.  Serve remaining sauce with meat.  Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with spaghetti squash, if desired.  Enjoy!