There is something mighty comforting about a slow cooker roast that asks so little of you and gives back so much by suppertime. This vintage-style July roast leans on the kind of practical pantry cooking so many Midwestern home cooks have always known by heart: a good cut of pork, a handful of basics from the cupboard, and a long, gentle cook that turns everything tender and savory. It is the sort of meal made for hot summer days when you do not want the oven going, but you still want the house to smell like somebody cared enough to make a real dinner.
This roast is especially good with buttery mashed potatoes, boiled new potatoes, or a scoop of simple rice to catch the juices. On the side, I like green beans, buttered corn, or a cucumber-onion salad if the garden is going strong. Leftovers also tuck beautifully into sandwich buns with a spoonful of the cooking juices, and a little coleslaw on the side makes it feel like a Sunday spread.
5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Vintage July Roast
Servings: 8
Ingredients
1 frozen pork shoulder butt, about 4 to 5 pounds
1 packet dry onion soup mix, about 1 ounce
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Directions
1. Place the frozen pork shoulder butt directly into the bottom of a slow cooker, fat side up if you can tell which side it is.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the dry onion soup mix, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, and brown sugar until well combined.
3. Pour the sauce over the frozen roast, spreading it as evenly as you can over the top and sides.
4. Cover and cook on low for 9 to 11 hours, or until the pork is very tender and easy to pull apart with a fork. If you are home, you can spoon some of the juices over the top once or twice during cooking, but it is not necessary.
5. Transfer the pork to a platter, rest for 10 minutes, then slice or shred and spoon some of the cooking juices over the top before serving.
Variations & Tips
For a sweeter old-fashioned glaze: Add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of brown sugar if your family likes that classic sweet-and-tangy roast flavor. It gives the sauce a stickier finish that is lovely over potatoes.
For easier shredding: If you want sandwich-style pork, let the roast cook until it reaches the longer end of the time range. A pork shoulder is at its best when it is soft enough to fall into tender strands with very little effort.
For extra sauce: This roast makes flavorful juices, but if you know your crowd likes plenty for serving, stir together an extra half batch of the sauce and add it during the last 2 hours of cooking.
For food safety: A frozen roast in the slow cooker is convenient, but for best results use a modern slow cooker that heats steadily and cook until the pork is completely tender and thoroughly hot all the way through. If your slow cooker runs cool, thawing the roast in the refrigerator first is the safer route.
For leftovers: Store cooled pork and juices together in the refrigerator and reheat gently. The meat is excellent piled onto buns, tucked into baked potatoes, or folded into a skillet of fried onions and cabbage the next day.