Porkbraten

The only beef we eat in this house is steaks or hamburger meat. Every once in a blue moon I get a chance to buy skirt steaks and the occasional veal.

Reason? Most cuts of meat are too large for two. I am dying to make a BBQ'd brisket and when I do buy mine I will ask the butcher to grind half of it.

With a freezer full of loin of pork, and a hankering for a sauerbraten, I decided to use a pork loin instead of the traditional beef roast. Pretty sure I had a one-of-a-kind idea I went researching the Internet and found I was so wrong. While I was slightly disappointed at not being in the forefront I was content in knowing it could be done successfully and easily.

Pork required only an overnight marinade while the beef needed three days. I also found that if the marinade ratio was off, the beef turned out slightly mushy, where I know the pork will not. Armed with that information, I had to settle on a marinade good for pork. That meant I could use a more vinegar to sugar ration (great for Diabetics).

I also wanted to use my baby slow cooker (remember this loin was all of 1 1/4 pounds).

Pork Sauerbraten
serves 4

* 2 pound pork loin
* 1 medium onion, sliced
* 1 cup apple cider vinegar
* 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger
* enough chicken stock to bring liquid 3/4 the way up the side of meat.
* handful of gingersnaps, crumbled
Mix first 7 ingredients in a bag and marinade overnight. Drain meat from marinade and dub dry. In a saucepan, heat a teaspoon of oil till it shimmers and brown the loin on all sides, about 4 minutes a side.

Pour marinade over cooked meat to deglaze the pan and spoon everything into a small crock pot. Pour enough chicken stock to bring the liquid level to at least half way up the sides of the meat. Cover, set on low for 8 hours and walk away.

Remove meat from crock pot and throw handfuls of crushed gingersnaps into the sauce and whisk until you get the thickness you desire.

Review: Although I checked on the pork every hour and took it's temperature, I have to admit pork loin does not do well in a slow cooker. It doesn't have enough fat content to keep it moist. I probably should have used a butt or shoulder cut and braised it in a low oven with the liquid coming only half the way up the meat. Overall, the flavor was wonderful and I would do this again.