How do I slow cook pork?

Top tips to slow cook pork to perfection

We have some great slow cooker recipes in this section.  Here are a few tips to bear in mind:

• Keep it easy and opt for recipes that don’t need a lot of prep work. If they do, do your peeling and chopping the night before and store in a food bag in the fridge (you don’t want onion tears first thing in the morning), or to save on time why not take advantage of the huge variety of ready-prepared vegetables available?
• Buy the right cut of meat. As meat is cooked slowly, it lends itself to more economical cuts of meat like pork shoulder – a double bonus! See our cuts page for ideas.
• While it’s important that your recipe doesn’t dry out, don’t be tempted to put extra liquid into your recipes. The moisture can’t evaporate away like when you cook on the hob, so you should adjust your recipes slightly – a general rule is to half the liquid if using a slow cooker.
• Keep the lid firmly on and no peeping as any steam generated underneath the lid helps to retain moisture in the slow cooker.
• Leave it alone. Slow cookers haven’t changed their design much since their introduction in the 1970’s – because they work so well so just let it work its magic.
• Always ensure your food is thoroughly cooked before eating it. We’ve got a rough guide below to help you decide how long you need to cook your favourite recipes in the slow cooker for.