A recent New York Times Cooking recipe for Honey Soy-Braised Pork with Lime and Ginger caught my eye because it was a true set-it-and-forget-it crockpot meal that could easily be converted to a freezer meal, and the flavor combination sounded delicious. I decided to try modifying it to make it top-8-free, and this is the flavor-packed, versatile result.
This dish is easy to prepare, stands up wonderfully as a freezer meal and works well served a number of ways: I’ve had it over jasmine rice with sesame seeds and green onions; stuffed in a baked sweet potato; and used as taco filling with salsa, vegan sour cream and Violife shredded cheddar.
So, the next time pork shoulder or pork butt goes on sale, stock up and store a couple of bags in your freezer for long winter nights. Your future self will thank you.
Enjoy!
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pounds boneless, skinless pork shoulder or pork butt, twine removed
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp minced ginger
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- zest and juice of one lime
- ¾ cup coconut aminos
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Place pork into your slow cooker.
- Sprinkle the salt, pepper, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and lime zest all over the pork.
- In a glass measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients to create a sauce.
- Pour sauce over pork.
- Place the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours (or high for 4 hours).
- Carefully remove the pork to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Discard the remaining cooking liquid, then return the pork to the slow cooker and shred.
To make it a freezer meal:
- Place pork in a one gallon, freezer-safe bag (you can buy these reusable freezer bags on Amazon).
- Sprinkle the salt, pepper, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and lime zest all over the pork.
- In a glass measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients to create a sauce.
- Pour sauce over pork.
- Seal bag, removing as much air as possible as you do so.
- Label and store in the freezer for up to three months.
- When you’re ready to prepare the pork, thaw in the refrigerator, pour the contents of the bag carefully into the ceramic liner of your slow cooker and then follow steps 5 through 8 above.
