Pork with Vinegar & Bay Leaves

Sometimes you just want dinner to be as simple as possible. For me, ‘simple as possible’ means little to no preparation, quick to put together and the use of average pantry ingredients. With a pork roast, you can do some pretty wonderful thing to make a simple dish. I’m still amazed how little preparation is involved with making this Pork with Vinegar & Bay Leaves. Juicy, flavorful and ridiculously easy, your guests will taste the love and labored effort you put into making this meal… even though a slow cooker did all the work for you!


With summer heat making me feel extremely lazy with cooking and baking, I’ve been resorting to my slow cooker quite a bit. Plugging it in and walking away really feels good. Even better is sitting down to a meal where I didn’t slave away in the kitchen. This dish is simple and I’m willing to bet you have a majority, if not all, the ingredients on hand (well, except maybe for the pork.) But even the pork cut – a loin roast or Boston Butt – is fairly inexpensive compared to other pork cuts, making it a meal that’s budget friendly too. The pork is browned on all sides before being placed in a slow cooker. Then salt, crushed peppercorns, bay leaves and red wine vinegar get added in. Let the pork cook away while you enjoy doing something else for a few hours. Before you know it, the meal is done and you can serve it with your favorite side dish.  That’s it… simple, right?

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds pork loin roast, boneless, or Boston butt, in one piece
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns, crushed
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup good red wine vinegar