Crock-pot Jamaican Jerk Pork with Grilled Cabbage

We almost ate ourselves into a stupor tonight. The kids did pretty darn good as well. Upon pre-dinner taste test of this Jerk Pork they pretended to faint to the ground moaning “Its so good!” Possibly a slight exaggeration, but truly, I outdid myself tonight. And actually it was pretty darn easy! I marinated the pork a week or two ago when I saw that my Co-op had their pork roasts on sale and froze it. So all I did this morning was dump the frozen roast into my crock-pot and set it to low for 10 hours. Can’t beat that. I do recommend marinating the pork at least the day before so the flavors really have time to take over. The cabbage I served along side the pork was the perfect accompaniment. If you don’t think you like cabbage- you have got to try it grilled. It’ll blow. Your. Mind. And again- even the kids ate theirs with gusto!

Crock-pot Jamaican Jerk Pork (I found the recipe here)- Serves 6-8 people

• 3-4 lb bone in pork roast (shoulder or butt roast)- The bone gives the meat more moisture and flavor.
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons Jerk Seasoning
• ½ tsp coarse salt
• 1 lime, squeezed (I actually used the juice of 1 lemon and a couple drops of my Young Living Lime essential oil here since I was out of limes)
• ½ cup orange juice

Place all ingredients except the pork in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Seal and mix marinade well. Place the pork into the bag, seal and massage the marinade into the meat. Remove as much air as possible and refrigerate over night or freeze if you don’t plan on making it in the next couple days.

To prepare, just put pork and marinade into your crock-pot, cover and cook on low 6-8 hours if meat is thawed or 8-10 hours from frozen. Prior to serving take 2 forks or tongs and a fork (as my husband is doing in the picture) and shred the meat. Discard any fat pieces.

We served ours in gluten-free spinach tortillas with avocado, shredded carrots, spinach, and sliced radishes.

Grilled Cabbage with Cilantro Lime Dressing (Got the recipe here)- serves 8 as a side dish

• Juice of 3 Limes (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus a little extra for rubbing on the cabbage wedges)
• 1 tsp fish sauce (optional- but does really add great flavor!)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 c cilantro leaves
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• dash of cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicy)
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 1 head green cabbage

Put all ingredients except cabbage in a blender and mix until smooth. Dressing will be a bit on the watery side. I like to pour mine into a small glass jar with a lid so its easier to shake and store later in the fridge.

Now preheat a grill or grill pan over medium heat. Remove the loosest, toughest outer leaves from the cabbage, and cut into 8 evenly-sized wedges. Do not remove the stalk or inner core. Lightly rub the wedges with olive oil on either side and sprinkle with a little salt. Place the wedges on the grill/pan and cook for 5-7 minutes. Flip, and cook the other side another 5-7 minutes.

The cilantro lime dressing is so good you’ll want to lick your plate! This meal reminds me of summer and reassures me that winter won’t be here forever. Enjoy!