Slow Cooker Fall-Apart Braised Pork with Cabbage and Apples
on Feb 03, 2020, Updated Mar 17, 2023
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This is delicious and it’s cheap and that’s just the facts.
I hate to start of singing a dish’s praises by mentioning how inexpensive it is….and I hate using the word cheap to talk about any food. But you know what? This is delicious and it’s cheap and that’s just the facts.
And it also feels super seasonal for fall and winter, what with the cabbage and the pork and the apples and the slow cooker. It also smells amazing.
And did I mention that it is cheap?
Searing Before Slow Cooking
Like many slow cooker recipes, you’ll want to start this in a skillet. Slow cookers are amazing, but of course where they shine is in the set it and forget it department. Making dinner in the morning, and having it ready to dig into at night is a very sexy promise. But in order to get a bit more texture and a bit more flavor, you’ll want to kick things off in a pan, most cases. This is one of those cases.
What Kind of Apples Go with Pork?
You can use any apples you like, from Golden Delicious to Empire to Fuji. You add the apples towards the end of the cooking process so they get nicely softened, and both lend flavor to and absorb flavor from the rest of the dish, but don’t become mushy.
Letting the Pork Sit After Cooking
When you remove the pork from the slow cooker you want to allow it to sit on a cutting board for at 10 to 15 minutes. This allows the meat to reclaim its juices – but don’t expect the slices to slice perfectly. The gorgeousness of low and slow cooking is that the meat will become fall apart tender. Even a leaner cut like a pork loin.
This Slow Cooker Braised Pork with Cabbage and Apples is delicious and it’s cheap and that’s just the facts.
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Serve Up All the Good Stuff From the Slow Cooker
You can use a slotted spoon to transfer the apples, cabbage, and onion mixture into a shallow serving bowl, and lay the sliced pork over the top. In my case I served up some of the cabbage and apples on the side of the pork, and the rest in a different side dish to be passed around.
What to Serve with Slow Cooker Fall-Apart Braised Pork with Cabbage and Apples:
- Millet and Greens Salad
- Chopped Winter Salad
- Light Green Crunchy Salad
- Mashed Yukon and Sweet Potatoes with Sauteed Leeks
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Roasted Garlic
Other Slow Cooker Recipes:
- Barbacoa Beef in the Slow Cooker
- Red Lentil, Fennel, and Chicken Slow Cooker Soup
- Easy Slow Cooker Hot Pimento Cheese Dip
- How to Make Shredded Chicken in the Slow Cooker
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Slow Cooker Fall-Apart Braised Pork with Cabbage and Apples
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 3-pound boneless pork loin
- 2 onions halved and thinly sliced
- ½ head cabbage red or green, cored and sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 cup apple cider
- 2 apples any kind, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive over medium high heat in a large heavy skillet. Season the pork with salt and pepper and brown the pork on all sides, about 8 minutes in all. Remove the pork to a plate.
- Return the pan to the heat and add the remaining tablespoon olive oil. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes, until they start to become tender, then add the cabbage, cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the ginger and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Add the vinegar and the white wine, bring to a simmer, and stir for a couple of minutes to release any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Transfer the vegetable mixture with the liquid to a slow cooker. Add the cider and tuck the pork into the mixture; in the pork; the liquid and vegetables should come up about 2/3 quarters of the way around the meat. Set the slow cooker on High for 4 hours (until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 140 F if you are using a meat thermometer). After 3 hours, tuck the apples into the cabbage mixture and continue cooking in the slow cooker for the remaining hour.
- Remove the pork from the pot and allow it to sit on a cutting board for about 10 minutes. Slice the pork. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the apples, cabbage, and onion mixture into a shallow serving bowl, lay the sliced pork over the top, and drizzle over some of the liquid from the slow cooker.
Pork was tender and flavorful. Recommend seasoning it the night before and letting it sit uncovered in the fridge. Take out about 1 hour before browning. Also, I didn’t see in the recipe that was posted where to use the 1 cup of apple cider. I added with the wine and vinegar. Finally I had some carrots to use up, sliced them and added to onions and cabbage. This will be a recipe I make again though I may try on low setting for 8 hours so it can be a weeknight meal after working all day.
Glad you liked the recipe! The apple cider is added to the slow cooker along with the pork.
Is it just me who don’t see when/how to tie the pork with a string? It looks like the food has it in the pictures but I don’t see it in the instructions. Sorry I’m advance if it’s a common knowledge that isn’t common to me.
sometimes the pork comes tied, sometimes not, and either way is fine! If you want to tie it you can, but it’s not necessary.
Do you think I could do this same recipe but with corned beef? We LOVED it with pork but the husband wants to try it with beef.
well, you are in luck! here is a recipe for that! https://themom100.com/recipe/slow-cooker-corned-beef-and-cabbage/
Awesome, thank you!
I made this tonight and it was delicious. I agree, browning the meat and vegetables made all the difference in the flavor. Thanks for a keeper recipe.
We believe that we will use more cabbage next time. Also, we didn’t add the apple cider. And we used prunes instead of apples. It was delicious.
How well would this freeze do you think?
It would freeze well, though the apples would lose some of their texture.
I will add a whole cabbage next time. The cabbage was so good everyone wanted more. I also threw in some carrots for color. It was fantastic. Definitely going to fix it again!!!!
my my question is a pork loin is lean doesn’t it get dry and mealy cooked in a crock pot or slower cooked?
it turns out surprisingly well! the slow cooker works its magic.
The recipe calls for apple cider vinegar & apple cider as part of the ingredients. In the directions are you supposed to put the apple cider when you add the vinegar & white wine? Thank you.
it’s added in the next step, when you add the liquid to the vegetables in the slow cooker, but you can add it to the pan after you deglaze with the vinegar….super forgiving and flexible.
Do you have an instant pot version of this
I don’t sorry!