PORK ROAST THE OLD-FASHION WAY (CAST IRON DUTCH OVEN) And into the Crock Pot

 I love to use my crock pot and my cast iron pots and when you combine the two Magic happens.

so here is my recipe for one of the best pork roast dinners you will ever have!

INGREDIENTS

• 4 -5

  lbs pork roast (butt, loin, etc.) I use Butt, or Shoulder
• 5

  garlic cloves, peeled
• 1

  small onion, thinly sliced
• 2

  cups water
• 1

  tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet if you don't have any on hand mix some beef bouillon into the 2 cups of water.
• 2

  teaspoons black pepper
• 1

  teaspoon salt
• 1

  tablespoon lard
• 2

  tablespoons cornstarch
• 1⁄2

  cup water

• Melt lard in cast iron dutch oven, or very heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat.
• Salt and pepper all sides of pork roast. be very generous this is a big chunk of meat!
• When lard just begins to give off smell of being hot, place roast in pot.
• DO NOT move it for a few minuets  or so, then rotate it to brown all sides.
• When all sides are nice and golden brown, transfer roast into your slow cooker and turn off the heat to your cast iron pan, but leave the pan on the burner
• Lay garlic cloves and onion slices into the cast iron pan  and stir to brown them a bit. Cast iron stays hot for a long time so no heat is needed for this step.
• Mix Kitchen Bouquet into the 2 cups of water (.or your beef bullion)
• Pour in the water mixture.
• Cover tightly and turn on your crock pot to Low
• Cook on Low for 8-10 hours So your going to want to start this EARLY in the morning.
• Half-way through cooking  time turn the roast over.
• Check the roast at 8 hours it should be fork tender if not let it go for 2 more hours on low or you can turn it up to high for the last hour or two.
• Remove roast from crock pot and cover to keep hot.
• Mix 2 Tablespoons cornstarch into 1/2 cup water.
• Using a whisk, stir the cornstarch mixture into the pot drippings, breaking up the garlic cloves as you mix.
• Bring to a boil, taste and season if needed with salt and/or pepper.
• NOTE: Pork roast made this way is ALWAYS tender.
• It makes wonderful hot pork sandwiches!
• The gravy is out of this world!
• Enjoy!
• Allison
• allisonskitchen.blogspot.com
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Cast Iron Skillet- Roasted Lemon Chicken

Ina Garten aka the Barefoot Contessa one of my favorite Food Network shows,  It seems no matter what I have tried of hers it never fails, and this Lemon Chicken is another winner.

Since we are still on a #Saferathome order here in Florida 🌴I have been studying my Herbalist course and trying a lot of new recipes, but sometimes you just don't have all the ingredients you need so you just have to improvise 🤷‍♀️.

So I'm going to list Ina's ingredients and next to it I'll put my adjusted ingredients.

Let me just tell you this was Amazing,  the aroma coming from my oven nearly drove me crazy. I served this over rice and added a little extra sauce in a ramekin for dipping.  Yummy 🥰

I love using my Grandmother's Cast iron Skillet.

• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds.(I did not have fennel seeds, so I substituted 1/2 teaspoon of cumin).
• And I added 1 teaspoon of Herbs de Provence because it contains fennel ♥️
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup good olive oil
• 1 lemon, halved and sliced ¼ inch thick
• 1 yellow onion, halved and sliced ¼ inch thick
• 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced(I used 4 well just because I love Garlic, lol thank goodness hubby does also)
• 1 (4-pound) chicken, backbone removed and butterflied.( Well I had legs and thighs).
• ½ cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio(I had Sun Blush from Lakeridge Winery)🍷
• Juice of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Place the thyme, fennel seeds, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a mini food processor and process until ground. (Or the herbs you have on hand).  Pour the olive oil into a small glass measuring cup, stir in the herb mixture, and set aside.

Distribute the lemon slices in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet and distribute the onion and garlic on top. Place the chicken, skin side down, on top of the onion and brush with about half the oil and herb mixture. Turn the chicken skin side up, pat it dry with paper towels 😉(very important!),😉 and brush it all over with the rest of the oil and herb mixture.

Roast the chicken for 30 minutes. Pour the wine into the pan 🙈(not on the chicken!) 🙈 Again VERY IMPORTANT!   And roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 155 to 160 degrees.

Remove the chicken from the oven, sprinkle it with the lemon juice, cover the skillet tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Cut the chicken into quarters or eighths, sprinkle with salt, and serve hot with the pan juices, cooked lemon, and onion.

The pan juices are amazing!  I had some leftover so tomorrow I'm going to roast some shrimp ( Another one of my favorite Ina Garten recipes) And have the leftover pan juices on the shrimp♥️

Enjoy!

Stay safe at home

Allison 🤗