Slow Cooker Jerk Pork
No need for an expensive spice mix or hard to find Scotch Bonnet peppers, this slow cooker Jerk Pork packs all the Jamaican flavor using spices you already have in your pantry.
Sitting on the beach, eating pork and chicken so hot you just had to go to the bar and grab another drink to keep things manageable...
Sorry.
I just got lost in a daydream.
And then I opened my eyes to big flakes of snow clouding the view from our window, and predicted high temperatures for tomorrow at -14.
TAKE ME BACK!
Unfortunately, a mid-winter trip to the Caribbean isn't in our future. So, we'll have to make due with food that brings us back to those sunny days.
Not to mention, this pork will really warm you up from the inside out.
Our Slow Cooker Jerk Pork Recipe
One of the three main ingredients in jerk seasoning is the Scotch bonnet chili pepper, a variety of habanero. Habanero chiles are arguably the hottest in the world, somewhere around one thousand times hotter than the jalapeno.
YE-OW!
Since our trip, we've searched high and low for these chilies, to no avail. But, maybe it's for the better.
For our slow cooker jerk pork recipe below, we've replaced Scotch bonnet chilies with red pepper flakes for heat and black pepper for depth, creating a heat and flavor in this pork that is similar to the jerk pork that we ate in Jamaica.
Similar, that is, in everything except the 5-alarm fire in your mouth from eating Scotch bonnet chilies.
Don't get us wrong, this slow cooker jerk pork does give some heat, just not the kind that will have you running to the nearest faucet in a desperate attempt to cool the flames. (Although, if you want to serve these jerk pork sandwiches with a cool and refreshing Mojito, I don't think your dinner guests would mind too much!)
Jerk Pork If You Don't Like Spicy Food
If you'd like to give jerk pork a try, but aren't sure how you'll handle the heat, go ahead and decrease (or eliminate) the red pepper flakes in our slow cooker jerk pork recipe below.
You'll still get the slightly sweet, deep and herby flavor of allspice and thyme that is essential to the flavor of Jamaican jerk. Giving you a delicious pulled pork that is well worth enjoying, even without the heat.
Slow Cooker Jerk Pork
Ingredients
- 3 lb pork roast (Boston but or picnic roast), trimmed of excess fat
- 6 garlic cloves (or 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder)
- ½ bunch scallions, chopped
- 2 tablespoon red pepper flakes*
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground allspice
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon ginger
- 1 lime, juiced (roughly 3 tablespoon juice)
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce, traditionally brewed
- ½ c water
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 6-8 hours.
- Remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred with two forks. Return the meat to the slow cooker, mixing well with the juices.
- Serve with hearty bread. (The meat will keep warm nicely in a low crock pot for up to 2 hours.)
Notes
Nutrition
This is one of the recipes from the early days of Curious Cuisiniere. We've updated our pictures since we first shared it, but we've left some originals here, in case you've found us in the past and are looking for that old, familiar image.
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
I’m making a jerk pork butt in the slow cooker, and came across your recipe looking for cooking times. If you can’t find scotch bonnets (I’m using some sourced from a Dallas specialty retailer), use habaneros which are readily available. At least use jalapeños; a jerk without peppers is not a jerk. Black pepper and red pepper flakes change the recipe.
Thank you for sharing Brice. A lot depends on your heat tolerance too. Red pepper flakes are typically a mix of peppers, heavy on the cayenne.
I love slow cooker recipes! Hi, I'm stopping by from your SITS tribe. Looking forward to reading your posts.
Mouth-watering goodness for sure! I adore Cuban and Caribbean food and the heat of jerk seasoning.
Hubby loves jerk chicken so I know he would be all over this one. Isn't it fantastic the recipes you can make in a slow cooker!!!
I want to be in YOUR dream, too! This sounds wonderful.
Love the flavors here. My hubby can't really eat pork, but I bet it would taste awesome with chicken or beef.
That it would!