Crock Pot Pork Adobo

I usually let the slow cooker do most of the work when I make Crock Pot Pork Adobo. I start it in the morning, and by lunch the pork is already tender. The first time I cooked it this way, the pork was so soft that I put some in a French roll instead of eating it with rice. It reminded me of how I serve my crock pot pulled pork, while I kept the hard boiled egg on the side. The seasoning is still the same as my pork adobo on the stove. What changes here is how the pork cooks and how I finish the sauce.

The amount of liquid matters because a slow cooker does not reduce sauce the same way a pot on the stove does. The steam stays inside, so too much broth can leave you with tender pork but a thin sauce. I used to add 1 1/2 cups of beef broth, but 1 cup works better for me now. If the sauce is still thinner than I want after the pork is done, I pour the cooking liquid into a wide saucepan and let it boil for about 10 minutes. This thickens the sauce without cooking the pork any longer.

Cane vinegar goes in near the end instead of cooking with the pork for the full five hours. I pour it in and leave it alone for a short while before stirring. Adding it too early keeps the vinegar smell in the kitchen for most of the cooking time, and the pork can also become softer than I want. Adding it later gives me a chance to taste the sauce first before the vinegar goes in.

What is Crock Pot Pork Adobo?

Crock Pot Pork Adobo is Filipino pork adobo cooked in a slow cooker, where cubed pork shoulder spends about five hours in soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and whole peppercorns before vinegar goes in near the end. Peeled hard boiled eggs are added last so they warm through and take on some of the sauce. The slow cooker gets the pork tender without needing much attention.

This method works especially well with pork shoulder. It has fat and connective tissue that need hours of steady low heat, and the soy sauce keeps seasoning the meat the entire time. Some cooks go the other way and let the liquid cook off completely until the pork starts frying in its own oil, which is what happens in nagmamantikang pork adobo. The slow cooker version keeps much more liquid in the pot, which is why the sauce usually needs reducing at the end.

At home, I usually make enough of this for lunch and leftovers. Four pounds of pork shoulder fills a serving bowl and still leaves enough for the next day, and adobo tastes better after a night in the refrigerator. That is how I plan it: one long cook in the morning, then two meals out of it.

Ingredients for Crock Pot Pork Adobo

• Pork shoulder – Cut it into 2-inch cubes and leave the fat on. Buy a piece with visible marbling rather than the leanest one in the case.
• Soy sauce – I use a Filipino brand like Silver Swan or Datu Puti. It is darker and saltier than most American supermarket soy sauces, which matters here because the sauce gets reduced later.
• Garlic – Minced is fine for this one. There is no need to brown it first the way you would in a pan.
• Low sodium beef broth – One cup is enough. Regular broth is harder to control once the liquid concentrates, since the salt has nowhere to go.
• Dried bay leaves – Keep them whole so you can pull them out at the end instead of hunting for pieces.
• Oyster sauce – One tablespoon is my limit. More than that and it stops tasting like adobo.
• Whole peppercorns – Whole ones survive five hours without spreading pepper through every spoonful. You get bites of heat instead.
• Granulated white sugar – A teaspoon. It rounds off the salt, and the finished dish should not taste sweet.
• Cane vinegar – My first choice for adobo. No cane vinegar? See the substitutions below.
• Hard boiled eggs – Boil and peel these while the pork cooks so they are ready when you need them.
• Salt – Only at the end, and only if needed.

Pork shoulder is the one ingredient I would not swap here. It has the fat and connective tissue that hold up to five hours of cooking, and it comes out tender without going dry. Pork butt comes from the same shoulder and behaves the same way. Loin and tenderloin cook through long before the five hour mark and turn stringy, so this timing does not suit them. Cut the shoulder into 2-inch cubes.

Cane vinegar is milder than plain white vinegar and stays clean tasting once the sauce concentrates. Sourness gets stronger as water cooks away, so taste the finished sauce before you decide it needs more vinegar.

Equipment

• Slow cooker or Crock Pot – A 6 quart size handles 4 pounds of pork comfortably. This recipe is written for the High setting.
• Wide saucepan – Optional, but it is the fastest way to concentrate the sauce once the pork is already tender.

Marinate the pork for 30 minutes, cook it on High for about five hours, then add the vinegar and finish the sauce.

1. Combine the pork shoulder, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, sugar, oyster sauce, and whole peppercorns in a large bowl. Mix until every piece is coated.
2. Cover the bowl and marinate the pork in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Keep all of the liquid that collects, because it goes into the cooker with the meat.

1. Transfer the pork and all of the marinade to the slow cooker, then pour in the beef broth.
2. Cover and cook on High for about 5 hours. The pork is ready when a fork slides in with no resistance and the cubes still hold their shape.

Slow cookers vary, so check the pork itself instead of relying only on the cooking time. If the pork still feels firm at five hours, give it another 30 minutes before moving on. Watch the size of the pork cubes here. Pieces cut too small can start shredding before the sauce is ready.

1. Pour in the cane vinegar and do not stir right away.
2. Keep the cooker on High for another 30 minutes, with the lid slightly ajar for the last 15 minutes. The gap lets steam escape instead of dripping back into the sauce.
3. Check the sauce before you cook the pork any longer. If it is still thin, move the pork to a serving bowl and ladle the cooking liquid into a wide saucepan.
4. Boil the liquid for 8 to 12 minutes, until it coats the back of a spoon, then pour it back over the pork. Skim the fat off the top first if there is a thick layer of it.

You can keep this entirely in the Crock Pot if you prefer. After the vinegar goes in, continue on High for 30 to 45 minutes with the lid slightly ajar. The sauce will stay looser than it would in a saucepan, but you will not need another pot. Once the pork is tender, I would rather move the liquid to the stove than keep cooking the meat.

1. Add the peeled hard boiled eggs and turn them gently in the sauce. Leave everything on High for about 10 minutes, then taste the sauce before you reach for the salt.
2. Transfer the pork and eggs to a serving bowl and spoon the sauce over the top. Serve warm. Share and enjoy!

What to Serve with Crock Pot Pork Adobo

• Steamed white rice – The sauce is salty and a little sour, and plain hot rice is what balances it. Spoon some of the sauce over the rice as well.
• Sinangag – Garlic fried rice turns the leftovers into a silog plate the next morning.
• Atchara – Cold, sweet, and sharp against rich pork shoulder. A jar in the refrigerator lasts weeks.
• Bok choy with garlic and oyster sauce – A quick green side to go with the rich pork.
• Sliced tomatoes – Two or three slices on the side of the plate. They cut through the fat without needing any cooking.

Storing Crock Pot Pork Adobo

Crock Pot Pork Adobo keeps well as long as the pork sits in its sauce. Cool the leftovers and get them into the refrigerator within 2 hours.

• Refrigerator: Store the pork, sauce, and eggs together in a covered container for 3 to 4 days. The sauce will look thicker when cold, and that is normal.
• Freezer: Freeze the pork with some of its sauce for up to 2 months. Take the eggs out first, since boiled egg whites turn rubbery after freezing.
• Reheating: Warm only the portion you plan to eat, over low to medium heat, until it is steaming hot at 165°F. Add a splash of water if the sauce has tightened too much. Leftover pork can also be shredded and crisped into crispy adobo flakes instead of being reheated the same way twice.

More Pork Adobo Recipes

• Chicken and Pork Adobo – Both meats in one pot, with the chicken pulled out early so it does not overcook.
• Pork Adobo Paksiw – What I do with leftover adobo when I want it sharper and more sour.
• Spicy Pork Adobo – The same base with dried red chilies for heat.
• Pork Adobo with Potato – The potatoes soak up the seasoned sauce and stretch the dish further.
• Adobong Baboy sa Gata – Coconut milk makes the sauce creamy and rounds off the vinegar.
• Pork Adobo with Boiled Eggs – The stovetop take on this same pairing, with a 40 minute simmer and the eggs going in for the last few minutes.
• 31 Adobo Recipes – Every adobo on the site in one place, grouped by what you are cooking.

• Pork shoulder – Pork butt is the closest swap and needs no change in timing. I would not put pork tenderloin through five hours on High.
• Low sodium beef broth – Chicken broth works, and readers have used it here for years. Use the same one cup.
• Cane vinegar – Coconut vinegar is the closest Filipino alternative, same amount. Plain white vinegar also works, though it tastes sharper, so start with a little less and taste after the sauce reduces.
• Oyster sauce – Leave it out and add one more tablespoon of soy sauce. The sauce will be a bit thinner.
• Whole peppercorns – Coarsely cracked black pepper is fine, but use less. Cracked pepper spreads through the sauce far more evenly than whole ones do.
• Hard boiled eggs – Leave them out if you would rather not have them. Nothing else in the recipe changes.

Cut the eggs in half before they go to the table so the sauce gets inside them, and spoon plenty of it over hot rice while everything is still warm. Keep whatever is left