Sweet and spicy Jamaican Jerk Pork is incredibly easy to make thanks to the trusty slow cooker or crockpot! This tender, juicy pork is bursting with piquant Caribbean flavor and finished with a simple tropical pineapple salsa! Extremely flavorful and mostly hands off to prepare, this recipe will become a highly requested family favorite!Recipe can be scaled up or down by using the slider if you hover your mouse over the number of Servings.
ServingSuggestions: Lime Wedges, Sliced Avocado, Rice or Slaw
Instructions
Season pork: On a clean work surface, pat cubes of pork dry with paper towels. Transfer pork to a large bowl and drizzle with oil (SEE NOTES). Toss to coat. Sprinkle the pork with jerk seasoning. Season with salt to taste. Use your hands or tongs to mix and toss the pork until thoroughly coated. (NOTE: You may want to wear gloves as the mixture will be spicy. Don’t touch your face or eyes until after you wash your hands!)
Marinate: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or transfer to a large zip-closure bag and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or preferably overnight.
Add to slow cooker: Remove the pork from the refrigerator and allow the meat to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while you prep the other ingredients. Transfer pork to the bowl of a 5-6 quart slow cooker. Add the onions, garlic, peppers, ginger, orange juice, lime juice, sugar and soy sauce.
Cook: Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours, or until the pork is fork tender and falls apart easily.
While the pork is cooking, make the salsa: Combine all the ingredients for the salsa in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Skim fat & strain liquid: Skim and discard the fat from the top of the cooking liquid in the slow cooker. Strain the cooking liquid into a measuring cup or bowl.
OPTIONAL to Crisp Pork: Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pork to a large rimmed sheet pan lined with aluminum foil. Arrange oven rack to the upper-middle third of the oven. Preheat the oven to BROIL.OPTIONAL - Broil: Add ¼ to ½ cup of the strained cooking liquid to the pork and gently toss to coat. Broil 3-5 minutes or until crisp. Remove from the oven, flip the pork and toss with another ¼ to ½ cup cooking liquid. Broil and additional 3-5 minutes. NOTE: Watch the oven carefully as pork can go from golden brown and crispy to burned very quickly!
Serve: Transfer pork to a serving bowl and drizzle a bit of cooking liquid over the top. Serve hot with salsa in your favorite tacos or over rice! Enjoy!
Notes
While I prefer to make my own seasoning, you can use prepackaged. If using store-bought recommend either the brands Walkerswood or Grace wet Jerk Seasoning which has a paste-like consistency. If using a paste or marinade jerk seasoning, omit using the neutral oil. For recipe to homemade jerk seasoning click HERE.
If you don’t like a lot of heat, use 1 jalapeno pepper. Make sure you remove the seeds and ribs from the pepper before proceeding with the recipe instructions. If you like mild heat, use 2 jalapenos and leave the seeds in the pepper. If you like medium heat, try using a habanero pepper, you can either discard the seeds for a mild to medium heat or leave the seeds for a spicier medium heat. If you like things spicy, use 2 habanero peppers.
Nutritional information is an estimate based upon 6 servings and does not include salsa.