One of the things which has surprised me the most about using a slow cooker is that it isn’t all stews, soups and casseroles. Of course, I have made stews, soups and casseroles, but I’ve also made meatballs, cake, melt-in-the-mouth meat and even a ‘fakeaway‘ (which, to you and I, is basically a replica of a doner kebab!). Today, I’m doing something which is even more of a departure from what you’d expect of slow cooked fayre – pork stacks.
Here’s how you make slow cooker pork stacks:
- Pork steaks or chops (2 per person)
- Stuffing, made up as per the instructions
- 1 cooking apple, sliced into rounds
- One onion, sliced
- Cheddar cheese, 1 or 2 slices per stack
- Tin foil for wrapping and making foil balls
- (Before you begin, unless you have the type of slow cooker which can cook dry ingredients, it’s wise to ball up some tin foil and place a cup of water in the bottom of your slow cooker, to prevent the pot from cracking which can sometimes happen with recipes with no moisture)
- Tear a square of tin foil off of the roll and place one pork steak in the centre
- Place a slice of apple on top of your steak
- Place a few rings of onion on top of the apple
- Place a couple of spoonfuls of stuffing mixture on top of the onions
- Top with a slice of cheese
- Place another pork steak on top and wrap the edges of the tin foil over to create a sealed parcel
- Repeat with the remaining ingredients
- Place the parcels in the slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on low
- Serve with mashed potato and veg of your choice
Because of the slow cooking, the meat is incredibly tender and the flavours of everything almost melt together. One pork stack is more than enough for one person and the girls shared one, which makes this a pretty cheap meal – even from Waitrose, the meat (which is the most expensive part of the recipe) was only £4 for a pack of six, which was enough to feed us four. It takes only a little bit of effort to make a really tasty meal, which is something I seem to find every time I try something new in the slow cooker.
