Tasty and tender pork slow cooked with mustard, herbs and cider – what’s not to like? My Slow Cooker Pork & Mustard Stew is perfect for a winter’s evening.
Which cut of pork is best to use?
You can use any cut of pork for this, I tend to use shoulder. You do want a small amount of fat so it doesn’t dry out when you are cooking it over a few hours.
I like to brown the meat before adding it to the slow cooker because this means it holds together when cooking. If you don’t brown the pork, it has a tendency to break up more which isn’t what I wanted for this recipe.
Flavours that work well with pork
Mustard and cider are flavours that compliment pork perfectly. My favourite mustard is wholegrain because it has a milder flavour than other types of mustard. I think it works really well in sauces along with the mustard powder.
Cider and apples in general also work really well with pork. I didn’t want to use apples in this recipe because I thought they would turn mushy after the long cooking time. Using cider adds the apple flavour without creating mush.
If you would prefer you can use non alcoholic cider instead. As an alternative, you could use 100ml of apple juice and make up the rest with more vegetable stock.
Slow Cooker Pork & Mustard Stew cooking tips
As with a lot of my slow cooker dishes, I tend to add a little bit extra liquid to ensure it doesn’t all cook off. This is especially handy if you are leaving your slow cooker on overnight so you won’t be there to check if it needs a bit more liquid.
Because of this, you may want to thicken it slightly. You can either do this by taking the slow cooker lid off and allowing some of the liquid to evaporate.
I prefer to add a small amount of cornflour mixed together with some water and stir that through the dish. Leave it for 5-10 minutes and your sauce will have thickened.
I also add a bit more liquid because I freeze a lot of my dishes and they seem to always loose some liquid once they have defrosted.
So if I have a thinner sauce when I freeze the dish, my thinking is I will still have plenty of sauce when I defrost it and reheat it. I can then thicken it if needed.
This Slow Cooker Pork & Mustard Stew freezes really well. Leave it in the fridge for 8 hours or so to defrost and make sure it is piping hot before serving.
What to serve with this Slow Cooker Pork & Mustard Stew
As with all stews and casseroles, I like to serve them with some form of potato. It adds to the comforting deliciousness of them. I usually serve this stew with mashed or baked potatoes.
Most of my air fryer potato recipes would work really well with this tasty pork stew.
I like to serve at least two vegetables with any meal. So many vegetables would work really well with this Slow Cooker Pork & Mustard Stew. I love Tenderstem broccoli and think my Roasted Parmesan Tenderstem Broccoli would work really well. You can leave off the Parmesan if you would prefer.
Another simple and delicious side dish to serve with this stew are my air fryer baby carrots. They are so easy and the flavours go perfectly.
Other recipes you might like
- Spicy Korean Pork Stew
- Slow Cooker Cuban Pork
- Slow Cooker Pork & Sage Ragu
- Pork Fillet Stroganoff
- Hearty Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole
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Slow Cooker Pork & Mustard Stew
Tasty and tender pork slow cooked with mustard, herbs and cider – what’s not to like? My Slow Cooker Pork & Mustard Stew is perfect for a winter’s evening.
Ingredients
- 500 g pork shoulder diced
- 2 small leeks washed & sliced
- 1 ½ tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 150 ml water
- vegetable stock pot or stock cube
- 250 ml cider
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp dried mustard powder
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- ½ tsp mixed herbs
- spray oil
- 1 tbsp cornflour mixed with water optional
Instructions
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Cut the pork into chunks. Brown the pork in batches in a pan or in your slow cooker on the hob (if your slow cooker allows this) using some spray oil
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Once all of the pork is browned, add it all back into the slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients to the pork
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Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-9
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Roughly 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, if you would like the sauce to be thicker mix the cornflour with enough water to make a slurry. Stir into the sauce and leave to thicken
Recipe Notes
I use a 3.5L slow cooker.
Louise (Cooking with Kids) says
Thanks for sharing this recipe – I haven’t tried pork in the slow cooker but this seems like a recipe my family would enjoy.
Cat says
It’s really tasty 🙂
Corina Blum says
This looks delicious! At this time of year it’s good to get the slow cooker out and I need to make some more recipes in mine. Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Cat says
I rely on my slow cooker at this time of year because it’s my busiest time at work. I really don’t feel like cooking when I get home after working late so my slow cooker is my saviour!x
jacqui bellefontaine says
I ove slow cooked stews like this and having a cottage in Suffolk where they produce excellent pork this recipe is ideal for me
Cat says
Ooh I’d love that. I think I could live off just pork!
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
This looks like a plate of pure comfort food. Delicious. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Elaine says
This is perfect for a cold day. The gorgeous flavours would all meld together wonderfully made in the slow cooker. Pork + cider = yumminess.
Curly says
Definitely it’s so comforting, especially with some mash!
Claire says
Lovely recipe especially in winter. My husband is a huge fan of mustard so this was definitely a big hit with him!
Curly says
Oh perfect. It is so comforting isn’t it.
Deborah says
wonderful recipe, easy to make and then just leave in the slow cooker to finish. Family all made the comment that it had loads of flavour. Thank you
Curly says
So pleased you all like it Deborah 🙂
K. H. says
How much vegetable stock pot or stock cube did you intend to be used in this recipe? Thanks for your time.
Curly says
Hi, I add a standard size stock cube or stock pot along with the liquids in the recipe. I hope that helps, but please let me know if you are still unsure.
Jenny Grant says
This is a lovely dish but 2tsp of salt plus a stockpot makes it far too salty – and I love my salt!! Will make some adjustments next time, because there will be a next time!
Curly says
Hi Jenny, sorry about that it does seem like a bit too much salt. I don’t know if I made an error or was very into salt that day! I’ve amended in the recipe. Really pleased you still managed to enjoy it 🙂