Slow-Cooked Pork Roast

November. The first day fell on a Monday and the morning light was different, lower and more orange, and my commute felt like driving through an old photograph. I love November in Alabama in a way I cannot fully defend to people from places where fall is more dramatic. We do not have the maple trees. We have the subtler shift, the light and the air and the way everything goes slightly golden before it goes grey.

I have started my Thanksgiving planning, which is earlier than strictly necessary but I find the planning as satisfying as the cooking. I am making the full spread this year: turkey, which I have never actually cooked myself and am planning to brine for the first time, plus the green bean casserole and the mac and cheese and the sweet potato pie and the collard greens and the rolls. I am going to attempt all of it. I made a list on my phone. It is ambitious.

I also made pork and sweet potato stew this week, a recipe I put together myself from things I know: cubed pork shoulder browned in batches, sweet potatoes cut into chunks, onion and garlic and a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, chicken broth, smoked paprika, fresh thyme. Served over rice. It was very good in the way that improvised things sometimes are, when all the elements trust each other.

At work a new child named Lily started Monday. She cried at drop-off every morning through Thursday and then on Friday she walked in, saw the painting station was set up, and went straight to it without looking back. Her mother waved at me from the door with her eyes full. I have seen that moment hundreds of times and it still gets me every single time.

The stew I threw together this week reminded me how much I trust pork to carry a meal — it browns beautifully, it holds up to long cooking, and it makes a whole house smell like something worth coming home to. If you want something a little more structured than my improvised version, this slow-cooked pork roast captures all of that same warmth with a little more intention behind it, which felt right for a week when I was already thinking about what it means to plan something and then watch it come together.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 8 hours | Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

3 to 4 lbs boneless pork shoulder roast
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Season the roast. Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels. Mix salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and dried thyme together and rub the mixture all over the surface of the roast.
Sear for depth. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the pork roast on all sides until browned, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. This builds the flavor base that carries through the whole dish.
Build the base. Place the sliced onion and minced garlic in the bottom of your slow cooker. Lay the seared roast on top.
Add the liquid. Pour the chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce around the roast — not over the top — so the crust stays intact as it cooks.
Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the pork is tender and pulls apart easily with a fork.
Rest and serve. Transfer the roast to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing or pulling. Spoon the juices from the slow cooker over the top before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow-Cooked Pork Roast — The Warmth You Build When November Arrives