Recipe: Pulled Pork with Spicy Onion Gravy

Be prepared to fall in love with your food, people, because this is the most delicious syn-free pulled pork you will ever taste, and when it’s coupled with the thick, rich onion gravy, it is out of this world! This is the dish slow cookers were created for, so if you don’t already have one, go out and buy a basic model slow cooker immediately – they cost as little as a tenner, so you have no excuse not to have one, and I guarantee you’ll thank me for it once you have tried this pulled pork It’s one of my favourite recipes!

Key:
F = Free food (eat as much as you like)
S = Speed food (these should make up at least a third of your meal)
P = Protein free food (eat as much of these as you like!)
HEa = Healthy Extra A (a daily allowance of dairy produce)
HEb = Healthy Extra B (a daily allowance of a product with fibre)
# = a number denotes roughly how many syns are in foods used

I served mine with steamed baby new potatoes, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, and tender stem broccoli – absolutely delicious!

PULLED PORK WITH SPICY ONION GRAVY
Syn-free and good for those on SP too!

Ingredients:

• One pork loin joint (large enough to feed however many people you’re feeding) (P)
• 2 small/medium onions per person (S)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed (S)
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds, crushed (F)
• 1 tbsp dried mixed herbs (F)
• 1/2 tbsp garam masala (F)
• 1/2 tbsp paprika (F)
• 1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper (F)
• 1 tsp jerk seasoning (F)
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning (F)
• 1 tsp ground ginger (F)
• Stock cube(s) (F)
• Boiling water (F)

Directions:

• Mix together the garlic, herbs and spices for the rub.
• Remove any visible fat from the pork.
• Coat the pork in the spice rub, pressing it into the meat, then wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least an hour (preferably overnight, to really get those flavours into the meat).
• Roughly quarter the onions and place in the bottom of the slow cooker.
• Place the meat on top of the onions, and pop any remaining spice rub on top of it.
• DO NOT ADD WATER TO THE SLOW COOKER!
• Switch on the slow cooker – I usually leave a 4-person joint in there for a good 4-5 hours on high, or 6-7 hours on low.
• When you’re ready to serve, remove the pork loin from the slow cooker and put it in t a large bowl. Attack it with a couple of forks – it will pull apart very easily.
• Remove half the onions from the slow cooker and add them to the pork (I cut mine up with scissors for ease and speed), mixing them all in nicely.
• Pop the stock cube and a little boiling water in a large jug and whisk together, then add the remaining onions and any juices or scraped up “gubbins” from the bottom of the slow cooker, and blend till smooth to make a thick gravy.
• Serve the pulled pork and onions with the gravy and bask in the golden glow of compliments from your family as they dig in.

For my gravy, I use a Knorr ham stock cube and an Oxo beef stock cube – the beef one is simply to give the gravy a deeper colour and a little extra “oomph” to the flavour. The onions have been soaking up flavour from the meat and the spice rub, and they add a lovely juiciness to the meat.

You can serve this with veg, or it is equally delicious served on a wholemeal bread bun (your HEB choice). If you have any leftovers, it’s very nice chilled with a salad too.

Pork loin can be a bit expensive, so do what I do and look for a nice piece that’s been reduced because it’s on it’s short dated – you’ll save yourself money and it’s just as good!

If you try this recipe, I’d love to know what you think of it, so please do leave a comment below!