Slow-cooker pork casserole with honey and mustard

Tender chunks of juicy pork shoulder, slow-cooked in a delicious honey and mustard flavoured sauce, make this slow-cooker pork casserole taste out-of-this-world amazing!

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Slow cooked pork shoulder casserole

If you have a slow-cooker then you really should try this recipe for honey mustard pork casserole.

This casserole is made with pork shoulder (sometimes called Boston butt), which can be quite a tough cut of meat unless it’s properly cooked. Pork shoulder contains a lot of collagen and gelatin, which makes it ideally suited for the long slow cooking time you get by using a slow-cooker. By the time the meat is cooked, the collagen and gelatin have softened and dissolved into the cooking liquid, leaving only juicy, succulent meat and a rich delicious gravy.

Pork loves sweet flavours (have you tried my pan-fried pork with pears and onions yet?) and the sweetness of the honey coupled with the tang of the mustard work really well together in this dish.

Throw in some potatoes, onions and leeks and a few other flavouring ingredients and you have a warming and comforting stew that will brighten up the coldest winters day.

Why I think you’ll love this dish

• This pork casserole is a very economical dish. Pork shoulder is a relatively inexpensive cut of meat. And because it’s bulked up with potatoes and other vegetables, a little goes a long way.
• It’s so easy to make. Just prep the meat and vegetables and throw everything into the slow cooker, then forget about it until you are ready to eat. And while you are waiting you can enjoy the delicious meaty aromas permeating your kitchen, whetting your appetite for what is to come
• Because we are using pork shoulder, the meat won’t dry out and become tough. You don’t have to worry about over-cooking this casserole. If you forget to turn it off and leave for longer than the stated recipe time, it won’t be the end of the world.
• It freezes really well, so you could double up the recipe and freeze half for another meat.

Ingredients

To make this slow cooker pork casserole you will need these ingredients. It looks like quite a long list, but these are all staples that you probably have in your pantry already.

Pork shoulder – sometimes called Boston butt. Buy boneless shoulder and cut it into cubes yourself, or ask your butcher for ready-cubed meat. You should also remove the skin before cooking and trim away most of the visible fat. One pound (450g) of pork shoulder will easily be sufficient for a casserole feeding 4 people.

Vegetables – this is up to you, but at the very least I would use potatoes, onions and leeks. You can add other root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips and swedes. I also like to add plenty of chopped mushrooms. You can use any mushrooms you like. I like to use brown chestnut mushrooms, but white button mushrooms or large portobello mushrooms work just as well.

You will also need –

• Paprika – which goes so well with pork.
• Wholegrain mustard – you can use Dijon mustard or English mustard, but adjust the amount according to the heat of the mustard. I have used wholegrain mustard in this recipe, which is quite mild.
• Honey – for sweetness
• Worcestershire Sauce – adds a touch of umami
• Tomato Puree – to enrich the gravy. Make sure to use either thick tomato puree or tomato paste. Ketchup or tomato sauce will not work in this recipe.
• Salt and pepper – for seasoning – this can be adjusted to your own taste.
• Stock cube – use either a chicken or a vegetable stock cube dissolved in one cup of boiling water.
• Flour – used to coat the pork before browning.
• Sunflower oil (not pictured) – for browning the meat

How to make it

** Get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

• Preparation time – 20 minutes
• Cooking time – 5 to 6 hours on low or 4 to 5 hours on high in a slow cooker.
• Yield – this will feed 4 people.
• Calories – 551 per serving

Preparation

• Remove most of the visible fat from the pork, including the rind or skin (if there is any) and cut into 1 and a half to 2-inch sized pieces.
• Combine the flour, paprika and salt and pepper in a bowl and use it to coat the pork pieces.
• Peel and rinse the onions and potatoes. Cut the onions into 1-inch pieces cut the potatoes into 2-inch pieces.
• Slice the leeks lengthwise, rinse under running water to remove any dirt, and then slice them into semi-circles.
• Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth or kitchen paper towel to remove any bits of dirt, then slice or quarter the mushrooms depending on the size.
• Make the stock by dissolving the stock cube in 1 and a half cups of boiling water. Mix the tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, honey and mustard into the stock and set aside.

What to do

• Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan and fry the pork over a medium heat until it is browned on all sides (image 1 above).
• You may need to do this in batches to avoid over-crowding the pa.
• Transfer the browned pork into the slow-cooker.
• Now fry the leeks and onions in the same pan until they start to brown. Scrape the bottom of the pan to pick up any pieces of browned meat that may remain. If necessary add another tablespoon of oil to the pan.
• Transfer the leeks and onions into the slow-cooker.
• Add the potatoes and mushrooms (and any other vegetables you may be using) to the slow-cooker and pour over the prepared stock.
• Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook either on low power for 5 to 6 hours or on high power for 4 to 5 hours.
• The meat will be cooked then you can pierce it easily with a fork, and it is starting to fall apart.
• If you find the gravy is too thin you can thicken it in one of two ways:
  • mash one or two of the potato pieces and stir them through the gravy. The starch from the potatoes will thicken the gravy.
  • make a slurry of 1 to 2 teaspoons of cornflour (cornstarch) with 3 tablespoons of water. Drizzle the cornstarch into the hot casserole and stir until the gravy is the desired consistency. You may not need to use all the slurry. Let the casserole continue cooking for another minute or two to make sure the cornflour is completely cooked.
• Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
• Serve over rice with a side of mixed green vegetables. See my posts on how to cook rice in the microwave or how to cook rice in the oven, for easy ways to cook the perfect rice every time.

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Freezing and storage

You can freeze this pork casserole for up to 4 months.

Allow to cool and then transfer to meal-sized freezer containers, label and place in the freezer.

To use, allow to defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat either in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.

You can also prepare this dish in up to 3 days in advance, then store in a covered container in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat it.

Additional resources

Don’t forget to check out my handy Cookery Conversion Calculator if you want to convert any of your recipe measurements from grams to cups, ounces, tablespoons or millilitres and vice versa. You can also use the calculator for converting oven temperatures between Fahrenheit, Celsius and Gas marks.

If you live at a high altitude you may find you need to adjust your baking recipes to compensate for this. You can read all about it in this post on baking at high altitudes.

Slow cooker pork casserole with honey and mustard recipe

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