An inexpensive cut of meat, pork loin roast transforms into a feast when braised in the slow cooker and topped with a sherried mushroom gravy. This slow cooker pork loin roast is tender and moist!
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There are a few recipes that rank on my must-make list. I understand that people have differing opinions, tastes, and dislikes, so I hesitate to push things on people. To each his own.
That said, this Slow Cooker Pork Loin with Sherried Mushroom Gravy? It’s a must make. Trust me.
There’s just something so amazing about the flavors that you really need to get this dish into your monthly rotation. The pork loin is generally affordable year round, making it a cheap eat. The mushroom and sherry gravy makes it good.
It’s the perfect comfort food!
Slow Cooker Pork Loin with Sherried Mushroom Gravy
Slow cooker meals have been sold as a one-and-done kind of thing. Just throw a few ingredients in the pot and Abracadabra! a table-ready meal appears.
All too often, our expectations are dashed when we open the lid and say, “Oh look. Brown.”
Truth be told the slow cooker is not a magic time machine, nor do slow cooker meals magically appear Pinterest-perfect on your table.
Luckily, this recipe takes just a few steps to make it so.
Seasoning the meat heavily and browning it in a skillet before letting it braise in the slow cooker gives it several layers of flavor. Straining the drippings and incorporating them into a luscious mushroom gravy is totally worth the ten minutes of active work while the meat rests and one of your minions sets the table.
What is the difference between a pork loin and a pork tenderloin?
Pork loin and pork tenderloin are two different cuts of meat that should be prepared differently. The loin is from the back of the pig, from shoulder to leg and cut into chops and roasts. The tenderloin is from the loin area, tucked under the backbone. It’s more tender. T-bone pork chops include the tenderloin in a similar way to T-bone beef steaks.
I prefer to braise pork loin over a long period of time, but to grill or stir fry tenderloin quickly – like this Grilled Pork Tenderloin with a Homemade Spice Rub.
Do you have to use sherry in this recipe?
The sherry in this recipe adds distinct flavor to the resulting gravy. I don’t pay big bucks for high alcohol sherry, but instead use standard cooking sherry that’s found on the vinegar aisle of the grocery store. I keep a bottle on hand for this and other recipes, such as Easy Stuffed Mushrooms with Bacon & Greens and Moo Shu Chicken.
How do I cook a pork loin in a slow cooker?
Start by heating the oil in a large skillet. Then season the pork loin generously on all sides with the seasoning mix. You want to brown the pork loin in the hot oil, turning to brown the meat on all sides. The seasoning mix will form a light crust. Once the meat has formed a crust, then transfer the pork loin to the insert of the slow cooker.
Then add the onion to the drippings in the skillet and cook, stirring, until very tender. Place the onions atop the roast in the slow cooker.
Pour the chicken stock and the sherry around the pork loin in the crock. Cover and cook until the pork is tender, about 4 hours on HIGH or 5 to 6 hours on LOW.
I think one of the tricks is the shorter cooking time, particularly if your slow cooker runs hot as mine always seem to do. This can be problematic if you’re using your slow cooker while you’re away from home all day. I guess I would say, put it on low and try to get it off the heat before it hits the 7 hour mark.
Not overcooking the pork results in very tender meat that slices well. Go too far and the meat shreds well but tends to be on the dry side.
One of my favorite parts of this dish, of course, is the gravy. I love mushrooms and I’ve slowly convinced most of my children to get on board with mushrooms. So yummy!
How to make this slow cooker pork loin good and cheap:
Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. Stock up when you see pork loin on sale and stash extras in the freezer. Likewise, load up on onions and mushrooms. It’s one tip I have for you to save money on your groceries.
- Price match. Check your grocery store fliers to see who has the best price on the items on your list.
- Make your own spice mixes. I love to mix my own spice blends. I save so much money over commercial blends.
Tools I use to make this recipe easy:
This is a pretty straight-forward dish. You don’t need any fancy equipment. However, having some good basic kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs. Here are the tools that I like to use in this recipe.
- 6-qt slow cooker – A must-have for this recipe.
- plastic cutting boards – I have blue boards for veggies and white boards for meat.
- Ergo Chef chef’s knife – I’ve had my set for several years and they work well.
- carving fork – Hams are unwieldy suckers; a fork can better help you carve.
- Ergo Chef cooking tongs – I love these! They are my favorite cooking tongs and good for serving as well.
If you prepare this recipe, be sure to share a picture on social media and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
Slow cooker pork loin with sherried mushroom gravy
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 to 5 lb pork half loin roast
- 2 tablespoon Jamie's Spice Mix
- ½ onion sliced
- 2 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoon dry sherry
- ¼ cup butter
- 4 oz mushrooms (chopped) (2 cups)
- ¼ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Season the pork loin generously on all sides with the seasoning mix.
- Brown the pork loin in the hot oil, turning to brown all sides. The seasoning mix will form a light crust. Transfer the pork loin to the insert of the slow cooker.
- Add the onion to the drippings in the skillet and cook, stirring, until very tender. Place the onions atop the roast in the slow cooker.
- Pour the chicken stock and the sherry around the pork loin in the crock. Cover and cook until the pork is tender, about 4 hours on HIGH or 5 to 6 hours on LOW.
- Remove the pork roast from the slow cooker along with the onions and place on a platter. Tent with foil.
- Strain the drippings through a fine mesh sieve and measure out 2 cups, adding more chicken stock if needed.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter. Saute the mushrooms until they release their liquids and become very tender. Sprinkle the flour in and stir to coat. Cook on low for 1 to 2 minutes. The flour and mushroom mixture will smell a little toasty. Slowly add the 2 cups drippings into the pan, stirring continuously until well incorporated. Simmer for several minutes until the gravy is thickened to your desired thickness. Serve the pork roast with the gravy immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on November 4, 2017. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Adrienne
This recipe restores my hope in pork. Previous experiences with other recipes have been mediocre at best and downright awful at worst. This was fork tender and so tasty!
Dorene
The loin roast is called “Chef’s Prime” at our Hannaford grocery store. I mince garlic and let it sit in olive oil with generous amounts of marjoram and thyme. I also add Montreal steak seasoning to the mix. I then rub it all over cut of meat and slow-roast it in the oven at 325 for about 2 hours, more if it’s a larger cut. I cook to 160, tent it with foil for 15 minutes, then slice. It’s juicy, tender and tasty every time. It’s delicious and pretty enough for Easter dinner. Serve with baked potato and sliced steamed carrots. My family loves it.
Jessica Fisher
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your technique, Dorene!
TSandy
It’s easy. Erica from NW Edibles taught me. You need a smoker or know someone who has a smoker. (Offer to share your Canadian bacon with someone who owns a smoker to discover if you like making your own meat). I wanted to learn to smoke my own bacon. Then I discovered I could make my own Canadian Bacon too. I plan to try making my own pancetta next. BTW Erica is the food blogger who taught me how to make preserves without using commercial pectin.
Canadian Bacon At Home
Ingredients
For the Brine
1 gallon water
6.4 oz salt (This is 1-1/4 cups of the Diamond Crystal brand Kosher salt I use)
40 grams / 3 tablespoons pink salt (6.25% sodium nitrite curing salt)
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup sugar
8 garlic cloves, peeled and rough chopped
4 fresh or dried bay leaves
1 tbsp dried thyme, or a generous handful of fresh thyme
1 tbsp whole black peppercorn
Juice of 2 lemons
For the Canadian Bacon
1, 8-to-10 pound pork loin
Instructions
Combine all the brine ingredients in a large, non-reactive pot. Stirring occasionally, heat the brine over medium heat until the salt and sugar are fully dissolved. Let the brine cool, then pop it in the fridge to chill.
While your brine is chilling, trim the pork loin of any excess fat and slice in half to form two, 4-to-5 pound cylinders. Put each piece of pork loin in a heavy duty, gallon-size freezer bag. Divide the brine and the aromatics evenly between the bags, squeeze out excess air and seal the bags well.
Brine the pork in the the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, flipping the pork periodically to ensure an even brine.
Rinse and dry the pork, then allow to dry to form a pellicle.
Hot smoke the pork at 200 degrees until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 150 degrees.
https://www.nwedible.com/how-to-make-canadian-bacon-at-home/
**Make sure you read the information from the link I provided so you know which nitrate salt to purchase. The two nitrate salts are not interchangeable.
Jessica Fisher
Thanks!
TSandy
Same here. I slice up a Costco pork loin for pork chops. Another use for a pork loin is to make your own Canadian bacon. I’m on another food project kick learning to make my own pork products like breakfast and Italian sausages. Who knew Canadian bacon started out as a lowly pork loin!
Jodi
wow i had no idea! i love Canadian bacon!
Jessica Fisher
HOW do you make Canadian bacon? It’s a small fortune here. And pork loin is on sale for 99c/lb tomorrow. Need to know! 🙂
Alice E
Sounds Yummy! Pork loin is frequently on sale here also. One of my favorite things to do with it is a Betty Crocker recipe for Southwestern Pork Stew made in the slow cooker. I dial back the heat a bit by using the Mexican style diced tomatoes instead of the green chili ones. I was really glad I tried this recipe, hope you also like it if you try it out. For a larger family you will probably want to double it, at least.
The link is:
https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-southwestern-pork-stew/d116f8c1-e069-4c32-9270-9283eb2e2ce4
Jessica Fisher
Sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing!
Melissa
Sandi,
We do the same break down on the loin as well but I only do a roast in the winter since we grill a lot in the summer.
Ya know, I can’t even tell you how long I leave them in the oven. Been cooking so long I just kind of eye ball it. lol
It also depends on the thickness of your chops. But you will love the flavor of the melty cheese with the pork.
Just aside – the whole pork loin, often a sale item as low as $1.69/ib in my area, is a bargain for a lean protein. I tried to share that with the girls at work years ago and they all just looked at me blankly. Most households eat out a lot and fail to plan when it comes to meals. Our kids were just shocked at how many of their friends didn’t eat dinner at home. They are all grown now and can cook at home for themselves.
Melissa in GA
Jessica Fisher
Yay for teaching your kids to cook!
Meltssa
The whole pork loins are on special this month at Costco. We slice ours for boneless pork chops. We like to grill them for an easy supper but a special treat is pimiento cheese stuffed pork chops. They need to be cut a little thicker. You make a pocket in the meat, stuff, brown them a little in a skillet and finish in the oven. So very yummy.
Melissa in GA
Jessica Fisher
Sounds delicious!
Sandi
Yep. I slice 1/3 into chops, leave 1/3 for a roast, and dice the other 1/3. Some of the diced pieces are large chunks, sometimes they are smaller for stir fries and such. One easy way is to season them with Montreal steak seasoning, then cook in olive oil over medium low heat for about 15 minutes or so. Yum! The pimento version sounds quite interesting, though, and I’d like to give that a try. How long do you cook those?
Jessica Fisher
Good to know! I wish my people liked pork chops. I think I overcook them. :/
Sandi
The easiest way to ruin them is getting the temp too hot. You really don’t want the cooking device hotter than about 300/325 or they get tough instead of staying nice and tender. On a skillet with a thermometer, that’s easy. I’ve learned the hard way that means no higher than 4 on my stovetop. I cannot remember the last time I’ve baked them; I just remember they were always dried out and unpleasant so no recommendation there.
It only has to be cooked to an internal temp of 145 (which will rise up to 10 degrees more as it sits for a few minutes when you take it off the heat). It used to have to be cooked longer to make sure to kill certain diseases that are no longer an issue. The old adage about cooking it until it is solid white and you see no pink? That is totally wrong. If you’ve cooked it that much, it is overcooked and going to be dry.
Jessica Fisher
Yes, I’ve been cooking pork tenderloin and other roasts to a lower internal temp with great success, but pork chops are tricky for me because they’re so thin. Plus, they’re often so fatty that my people balk at them.