Dump Meals

Pork Freezer bag

Hawaiian Pork with Pineapple

dumpmeals.com/recipes/hawaiian-pork/

Pork shoulder pieces cooked in pineapple juice, soy sauce and ginger, shredded and served over rice.

Serves
8
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
Low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours
Slow cooker
4-quart

Hawaiian-style pork pairs the savory pull of soy sauce with the sweetness of pineapple. The canned pineapple chunks and their juice give the sauce its sweetness. Brown sugar, garlic and ginger round it out. The pork cooks until it shreds, and the juices stay in the pot as a sauce.

Serve over hot rice with steamed green beans or a simple cabbage salad. The pineapple chunks soften in the sauce and can be spooned over the top. Choose pineapple packed in juice rather than syrup so the sauce does not turn too sweet.

A cabbage slaw with a little vinegar is a good cool contrast beside the sweet pork. The pineapple softens a great deal during the long cook, so it makes a loose, saucy topping for the rice.

Ingredients

Into the slow cooker

  • 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1 (20-ounce) can pineapple chunks in juice
  • ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

To serve

  • hot cooked rice, for serving

Directions

  1. If your meat is frozen, thaw it completely in the refrigerator first. Never put frozen meat in the slow cooker.
  2. Cut the pork into 2-inch chunks. Lay them in a 4-quart slow cooker.
  3. Stir the pineapple with its juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic and ginger. Pour over the pork.
  4. Cover. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours or on high 4 to 5 hours.
  5. Check the pork. It must read at least 145°F and be fork-tender. Rest 3 minutes.
  6. Shred the pork in the juices.
  7. Serve over hot rice.

It's done when every piece of pork reads at least 145°F in the center, and it is fork-tender and shreds easily. Let it rest 3 minutes first. Check with a food thermometer.

Leftovers go in the refrigerator within two hours. Reheat them on the stove or in the microwave until hot all the way through (165°F), not in the slow cooker. Slow cooker safety

Make it a freezer dump bag

Put the pork, pineapple with its juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic and ginger in one gallon freezer bag. Press out the air, seal, label and freeze flat.

Bag: gallon freezer bag. Keeps: 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F in the freezer.

Hawaiian Pork with Pineapple

Frozen on:

Thaw in the refrigerator 24 to 36 hours, until no ice is left in the middle. Never cook it from frozen, and cook it within 2 days of thawing. Dump into a 4-quart slow cooker. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours. Check with a food thermometer that the pork reads at least 145°F and is fork-tender, then let it rest 3 minutes. Shred the pork in the juices.

Best within 3 months of the date above.

Plan several bags at once with one shopping list and printable labels.

The planner prints this label free. A designed set for all 17 freezer recipes, plus blanks, is in the Freezer Bag Labels pack ($7).

Cooking for two

Use 1.5 lb pork in 2-inch chunks, half the pineapple can, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp brown sugar and half the garlic and ginger. Use a 2-quart slow cooker, so the food still fills it about halfway. Check at 6 hours.

More in Cooking for two in a slow cooker.

Tips

  • Pineapple packed in syrup makes the sauce very sweet. Choose juice.
  • Add a splash of water if the sauce reduces too much.
  • Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, in shallow covered containers. Reheat them on the stove or in the microwave until they reach 165°F. Do not reheat them in the slow cooker.

Food-safety sources

More pork

  • Pulled Pork Low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours Freezer bag Pork shoulder cut into pieces, rubbed with paprika and brown sugar, cooked until it shreds. Serve on buns.
  • Carnitas Low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours Freezer bag Pork shoulder cooked with orange, lime, cumin and oregano, shredded, and crisped under the broiler.
  • Sausage with Peppers and Onions Low 4 to 6 hours, or high 2 to 3 hours Browned Italian sausage links with bell peppers, onions and marinara, ready for rolls or pasta.
  • Split Pea Soup with Ham Low 7 to 9 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours Dried green split peas, diced ham, carrots and celery slow-cooked into a thick soup. No soaking needed.