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.
Yum this sounds and looks so delicious. I've never used jerk seasoning before but we love spicy.
Pulled pork in the crockpot is one of my family's favorites! These sandwiches look delicious, and I love all of the spices you've used.
Now I'm daydreaming about Jamaica, and I've never even been there! If only I had a pork butt in the fridge, I would be putting this on tomorrow for sure - wind chills are supposed to be about -20 tomorrow here in Michigan. Oh, the humanity....
Bundle up and get that fire roaring!
This looks absolutely fantastic. I've never had 'jerk' food before (not too common here in northern England, and I've yet to go to the Caribbean), but I go crazy for spicy food. And pulled pork. So this sounds perfect. Now to search for flights to Jamaica...
I WISH we could get some snow here. They *say* we may get some today here in Northern Alabama. I'm not holding my breath.
You can have some of ours! It must be a huge shock moving temperature zones like that! I hope you get at least a few flurries!
This is my kind of sandwich. I love sweet, spicy, herby meats...and it looks so tender too! I wish we could all escape to the Caribbean for a bit! Hope you stay warm this week!
Woa I can only imagine the heat level with scotch bonnet peppers! Either way, though, having a dish that takes you back to a warm vacation on an island is always nice to have 🙂
I love jerk anything, and not *just* because it reminds me of being in the Caribbean too. And I can totally empathize with you, there's a boatload of snow on the ground right now. Sigh... Oh well, I'll just have to make your recipe and dream, right? 🙂
I'm not a hot and spicy type of girl, jalapenos are more than enough heat for me, thank you very much, but I might change my tune if the highs in my area were only -14! Thanks for sharing this recipe, once I tone down the heat I might really like it, lol! HUGS!
Oh, my. I want one of those piled high with pork sandwiches right here in my kitchen! YUM!
Oh gosh now you have me in a daydream of the Caribbean days! I bet this would take me back there in a heartbeat!! Thank you for sharing this fabulous reminder!
Isn't it wonderful when food can take you to the places you've always wanted to go while never leaving your own home kitchen? I'll bet these sandwiches would make me feel like I was on a Caribbean beach too, sipping a nice mojito (or two). Great recipe and thanks for sharing!
I'm not much for spicy so I'd probably have toned it down a bit too! My daughter would love this and probably add her own hot peppers!
Wow your sandwich looks so delicious! I love the flavors you have in the pork!! Perfect for a week night meal!!
Jerk seasoning reminds me of the Caribbean too...even though I've never been there. I'm looking forward to trying this recipe and dreaming of the day...