Cider Vinegar Pork Roast

My mother-in-law got this tangy roast recipe out of Reader's Digest. Even though I'm really not a huge fan of pork or peppers, I just love this unique combination of flavors. The original recipe called for a boneless loin roast, but my mother-in-law has used bone-in roast and I used a boneless pork butt, a less expensive cut than loin. One thing that surprised me about this original instructions was that they didn't mention browning the roast first. I thought about browning the meat anyway, but figured I might as well save time and see what happened if I didn't. Well I thought this turned out just as well as other roasts I've made that I did brown first, but perhaps it could have been even better had I browned it? Who knows. The gravy is my favorite part, but when I attempted to strain off the fat, the seasonings were getting strained out too. So I gave up on that and the first night I made only 1 cup of (fatty but delicious) gravy and then refrigerated the remaining cooking juices. The next day, I just used a spoon to scoop all the congealed fat off the top and made more gravy. The gravy tastes awesome served over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice.


Cider Vinegar Pork Roast

1 pork roast (3 to 4 pounds)
2 cups chicken broth
1 sweet red pepper, cut into narrow strips
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 teaspoons cornstarch
4 teaspoons water

Cut the roast in half and place in the bottom of a slow cooker. Combine broth, red pepper, onion, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper; pour over roast. Cover and cook on low setting for about 3 to 4 hours or until thermometer inserted in center reads 160. With a slotted spoon, remove the red pepper and onion and set aside.

To make gravy, skim the fat off the cooking juices and measure out two cups. In a saucepan, stir cornstarch and water together until smooth; add measured cooking juices. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened. Serve roast with red pepper, onion, and gravy. Yields about 6 to 8 servings.

Recipe from Reader's Digest March 2009.