Crock Pot Mojo Pork Loin

   This is a recipe I utilize on a monthly basis. It makes your house smell so amazing with scents of roasted spices, peppers, citrus nodes, and garlic. Kind of like when you go to a Latino restaurant and you walk in and can smell it's going be a great meal. It's very magical! Plus, I usually get about 3 meals, for my family of four, out of it. It's a great stretch meal or great for a get together with lots of guests (think taco party!). I will even freeze half of it for a rainy day to later crisp up for taco bowls. So basically, you should try it, like now. I like to marinate the pork loin the night before and then sear it in the morning before putting it into the crock pot. It's not an absolute must to do either of the steps mentioned above, but it helps enrich the meat with way more flavor. 

Tips before putting roast into the crock pot:

-The night before I'll *score the meat (criss-cross slicing the raw meat about 1/4 inch deep into the skin). Then I'll rub it down with olive or coconut oil and sprinkle the spices evenly all over the meat. Then I'll sprinkle with raw chopped garlic and rub into the oil and seasonings all over. It sounds laborious but it doesn't really take that long. 
-The day I plan on cooking the pork loin roast, I'll let it come to room temp if I have time, then sear the roast on a medium/high heat for about 1 minute on each side (carefully, watch for spitting). Make sure the pan and the oil in it are hot and you allow the meat to get a good color on the outside. 

Ingredients:

Spice Rub: 

(You can just use a packet of taco seasoning and add the lime zest and chipotle to it, but that's if you don't want to worry about the seasonings below. I just prefer all the fresh ground herbs with less salt, mixing it myself tastes so much better. This is basically my homemade taco seasoning mix.)

• 1 T fine sea salt
• 1 T ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground jalapeno
• 1 T dried oregano
• 1 T lime zest
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 tsp chipotle powder  
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 T sweet or smokey paprika
• 2 T cumin 
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1 T garlic powder 
• 1 T onion powder 

Other Ingredients:

• 1 2-3 lb. Pork Loin Roast (I buy mine at Aldi for about $9-$11 which is pretty cheap if you think about all the meals you'll have from it, or all the people you're feeding from it.)
• 1/4 cup of olive oil or room temp melted coconut oil
•  1 lime zested for the rub and then quartered
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
•  1/2 of a grapefruit or navel orange
• 1 sweet onion thinly sliced 
• 2 de-seeded and chopped jalapenos 
• 1/2 cup chopped pineapple fresh or canned is fine. 
• 1 cup of orange or pineapple juice
• 2-3 T chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

*Skip the first two steps and move on to step 3 if you don't want to pre-marinate rub your pork or sear it before placing inside the crock pot. 

1. (The day before or a couple hours before if possible) Go ahead and season that pork loin with all the spices if you have the time. I drizzle it with some of the oil first, then sprinkle it with the spice mix and fresh chopped garlic, and then lastly rub it all into the grooves of the meat.  I'll allow that to rest in the fridge, covered overnight. 
2. Another step that you don't necessarily have to do, but I highly recommended is to sear the roast before putting it into the crock pot. It only takes a few minutes. Take a frying pan and get it nice and hot (like a medium/high heat) Your goal is to give it a good crisp coat plus to lock in those spices that you rubbed in. Once the pan is warmed up (you should feel a rising heat above the pan if you hover your hand over it carefully), add in a T or two of oil, and allow it to heat up for 1-2 minutes. Using tongs or a large fork set the pork roast into the pan. Watch out for spats and sizzle spits (laugh it up fuzz ball) you don't want to get burned. Allow the meat to sear on each side for a minute or two checking the bottom sides for color change before flipping. Once you have the roast all seared, it's time for the crock pot. 
3. Crock pot time! If you didn't do the searing or dry rub process, now is the time to rub down that pork before the crock pot. If you did both of the steps above, then it's time to prep your crock pot. Spray with non-stick spray inside the crock, or use a crock pot liner, or sprinkle oil on the bottom. All work fine. 
4. Place the sliced onion, chopped jalapenos, and pineapple in the bottom of crock pot. 
5. Place seared pork loin roast on top of the onion mix. 
6. Sprinkle with a little more oil.
7. Squeeze the half grapefruit and the quartered lime over top of roast and put the squeezed citrus into the crock with the roast. 
8. Pour the orange juice over top.
9. Lastly, sprinkle the fresh cilantro and maybe a little extra salt over top.
10. Place the lid on tight and seal. 
11. Cook for 8-10 hours on low heat I usually veer towards the 10 but you can check yours at 8 and see. It should just fall apart.
12. You'll then use two forks to pull all the meat apart and mix into the juice in the crock pot. 

Have over rice and beans ( https://www.rosemaryandgrace.co/2019/02/your-favorite-black-beans.html ) in tacos, in quesadillas, tostadas, pizza, taco salads, or whatever you can think of. I will even use the leftovers for my BBQ pork stuffed sweet potatoes (https://www.rosemaryandgrace.co/2019/01/bbq-pulled-pork-stuffed-sweet-potatoes.html).