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Pork Loin Crock Pot Recipe

This Crock Pot Pork Loin will blow your mind! The pork loin is ridiculously melt-in-your-mouth-tender from a simple brine and dripping with flavor from slow cooking directly in the sensational sauce – and the best part is, the slow cooker does most of the heavy lifting! As far as sauces, choose from either buttery honey citrus sauce or buttery berry citrus – both 5-star winners. This crock pot pork loin is company pleasing and holiday worthy but family friendly and everyday easy! As much as you love this slow cooker pork loin recipe the day off, it makes fantastic leftovers as well. I’ve included detailed instructions, tips, tricks and everything you need to know to make the BEST pork loin every time!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 5 hours
Servings 8 -10 servings

Ingredients

  • 3.5-5 pounds pork loin roast trimmed of excess fat (NOT pork tenderloin)
  • 4 tablespoons butter sliced into 4 pads

Brine

  • 6 cups warm water
  • 1/2 cup kosher salt (or 1/4 cup table salt)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup ice cubes

Spice Mix

  • 1 TBS EACH chili powder, garlic powder
  • 1 tsp EACH onion powder, paprika, salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Honey Citrus Sauce (or Berry Citrus in Notes)

Add later

Instructions

  • In an oven roasting bag (or grocery bag, whatever will fit pork) mix salt with warm water until dissolved. Whisk in brown sugar, vinegar, bay leaves and ice, then add pork. Brine pork in the refrigerator for 90 minutes up to 24 hours (90 minutes is long enough to work wonders!). RINSE pork very well and pat very dry.
  • Whisk together all of the Spice Mix ingredients in a small bowl. Evenly rub pork all over with spice mix; set aside.
  • Lightly grease 6 qt. or larger slow cooker. Add all of the sauce ingredients and whisk to combine; set aside.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. When oil is very hot and just smoking, add pork loin (squeeze it in). Sear each side of the pork until golden, then transfer to prepared slow cooker.
  • Spoon sauce over pork then top with pads of butter. Cook on LOW for 2 - 4 hours (check early) until pork registers between 145- and 150-degrees F (63 and 65 degrees C) at the thickest part of the roast. This means the pork will be juicy and slightly pink in the middle. Start checking the pork early, you don’t want to accidently overcook it. Smaller pork loins will take closer to 2 hours, larger pork loins will take closer to 3.5 hours.
  • Transfer cooked pork to a cutting board and tent with foil; let rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, drain all of the liquid into a medium saucepan. Whisk cornstarch with water then whisk into saucepan. Simmer until thickened. Taste and adjust to taste - additional honey for sweeter, orange juice for tangier.
  • Slice pork and serve with sauce and salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

 SAUCE OPTION 2 – BERRY CITRUS

If you want honey and orange to be the dominant flavors, go Honey Citrus, if you want blackberry to be the dominant flavor, go Berry Citrus. Both are wonderful - just different.  You can even try swapping the apricot/blackberry preserves for raspberry, strawberry or apple preserves to mix up the flavor profile (although I have not tried any of these options).  
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (may sub honey)
  • 1/4 cup blackberry preserves
  • 3 tablespoons orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp EACH dried parsley, dried basil,  dried rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp EACH dried oregano, dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional for a kick)
ADD LATER
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
 

Tips and Tricks

  • Use pork loin, not pork tenderloin. Pork loin and pork tenderloin vary in size and cooking method, so they should not be directly substituted for each other.  Pork loin can also be called “pork loin roast” “center cut pork loin roast,” “center-cut pork roast,” “center loin roast,” or “pork loin center.”
  • Please brine! The juiciest pork loin is brined pork loin – it will blow your mind! The brining process increases the moisture capacity of the pork for outrageously juicy pork every time. 
  • Brining salt. Do NOT evenly swap table salt in your brining solution for kosher salt or your pork will be too salty.  You will need half as much table salt as kosher salt. 
  • Submerge pork in brine. The only real trick about brining pork loin roast is that it’s larger than a freezer size bag so you’ll need a bag large enough to enclose it.  You can use an oven/turkey roasting bag or even a plastic grocery bag.  I find it helpful to place the bag in a large bowl to stabilize it and secure the bag by folding the edges around the rim of the bowl (see photo in post). This will prevent the brine contents from pouring out while mixing.
  • Cook on LOW. Pork loin roast is a lean cut of meat so it needs to be cooked low and slow to give the protein time to break down. You don’t want to cook on high because this setting will boil the pork loin instead of braise it.   
  • Don’t overcook. Pork loin is extremely lean so it can dry out very easily when overcooked.  Brined pork also cooks more quickly than non-brined pork (that is why this recipe has shorter cooking times than you might be used to).  Use your meat thermometer and check your pork frequently towards the beginning of the cooking window (2.5 hours) so it doesn’t become dry and chewy.   
  • Use a meat thermometer. The only accurate way to check your pork loin temperature is with an instant read thermometer.  It will save you all the guessing and deliver perfectly juicy pork every time.   

MAKE AHEAD

To make ahead pork loin ahead of time, brine the pork loin, season and sear, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate or refrigerate in the crock pot insert up to one day ahead of time.  You can also whisk the sauce ingredients together and store separately.  When ready to cook, add the sauce to the slow cooker and proceed with the recipe.  Your pork will take an additional 30 minutes or so to cook because it’s starting cold.

How to store and reheat

  • Storage: leftover pork loin should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
  • Freeze:  you can freeze pork loin whole, chopped or in slices.  Frozen pork loin roast should be used within 3-4 months. Thaw before reheating.
  • Stove:  heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat along with a splash of water. Add sliced pork loin in a single layer and heat through, flipping halfway.
  • Microwave: transfer sliced pork loin to a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 1 minutes, then continue to microwave for 20-second intervals, if needed.