Every February, when my mother’s birthday rolls around I get nostalgic for her delicious Bavarian pork roast; Schweinebraten. Growing up I remember she always cooked it on the stovetop in a Dutch oven. The house always smelled so good all afternoon long as it simmered away. By the time dinner was on the table, my sister and I were more than ready to scarf down a great big portion! This was, hands down, our favorite meal!
When I was newly married my husband and I would often have Sunday dinner with my folks and my mom would serve this meal for us. Schweinebraten was actually the first German word my husband learned…LOL!
There are probably as many variations of Bayrischer Schweinebraten (Bavarian Roast Pork) as there are Germans; everyone has their own family favorite version. This is the recipe my mother learned while she attended a cooking school in Nuremberg as a young woman. It’s one recipe I’m so glad I learned from her. Looking back, I regret not spending more time in the kitchen with her learning more of her recipes. She was such a superb cook!
This recipe uses the simplest of ingredients and produces the most tender and juicy pork you will ever eat. Being a working mom I converted the recipe years ago for the slow cooker so that I could make it more often. Life is busy and most of us just don’t have the time to slow simmer a roast for 2-3 hours on the stovetop.
Start by rinsing pork roast under cold water, and pat it dry with paper towels.
Season roast generously with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Brown roast on all sides, until golden brown.
We are not cooking the roast all the way, at this point, we are just getting a nice browned crust on it. Browning the roast adds to the overall flavor profile.
Remove roast from the pot and transfer to a slow cooker.
Add whole cloves, and bay leaves to the slow cooker.
Cook diced onions in the same pan until translucent, scraping up all the browned bits in the pan.
Transfer the onions to the slow cooker.
Add chicken broth to the pot to deglaze.
Pour chicken broth over browned roast in slow cooker. If needed, add water to make sure the roast is covered at least ⅔.
Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 5-6 hours; until the meat is tender and easily comes off the bone.
When meat easily comes off the bone, remove roast from slow cooker and discard bone. Keep roast warm.
Fish out and remove bay leaves and cloves from the juices in the slow cooker. Discard.
In a small bowl mix together cornstarch and water. Add cornstarch slurry to the juices in the slow cooker.
Place sour cream in a small mixing bowl. Add about a ½ cup of the juices from the slow cooker to temper the sour cream. Whisk until sour cream is well combined with the juices and no lumps remain.
Add sour cream mixture to the slow cooker.
Use an immersion blender to purée sauce in the slow cooker until smooth, well combined, and creamy.
Return pork to the slow cooker, cover and cook on high until sauce thickens, 20-30 minutes.
To serve place pork on a bed of mashed potatoes and top with gravy.
Serve this pork roast with either potato dumplings, mashed potatoes, or noodles. We love this meal best served over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes with a side of buttery sweet corn.
Learn How to Make the World’s Creamiest, Fluffiest Mashed Potatoes.
The next time pork shoulder is on sale, give this recipe a try. I think you will love it as much as we do. It uses the simplest of ingredients and produces the most tender and juicy pork you will ever enjoy.
Happy Birthday to my dear Mother! I miss you and your wonderful cooking ❤️
Slow Cooker Bayrischer Schweinebraten; Nuschi’s Bavarian Pork Roast
Equipment
- Slow cooker
- immersion blender
Ingredients
- 3 lb bone-in pork shoulder
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- salt & pepper,
- 1 large onion, diced
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 3 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
- 8 oz sour cream
Instructions
- Rinse pork roast under cold water, pat dry with paper towels.
- Heat oil in a large pan. Brown roast on all sides, until golden brown. Remove roast from the pot and transfer to a slow cooker.
- Cook diced onions in the same pan until translucent, scraping up all the browned bits in the pan.
- Transfer the onions to the slow cooker.
- Add chicken broth to pot to deglaze. Pour broth over browned roast in slow cooker. Add water to make sure the roast is covered at least ⅔ if needed.
- Add whole cloves, bay leaves to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 5-6 hours; until the meat is tender and easily comes off the bone.
- Remove roast from slow cooker and discard bone. Keep roast warm.
- Fish out and remove bay leaves and cloves from the juices in the slow cooker. Discard.
- In a small bowl mix together cornstarch and water. Add cornstarch slurry to the juices in the slow cooker.
- Place sour cream in a small mixing bowl. Add about a ½ cup of the juices from the slow cooker to temper the sour cream. Whisk until sour cream is well combined with the juices and no lumps remain.
- Add sour cream mixture to the slow cooker.
- Use an immersion blender to purée sauce in the slow cooker until smooth, well combined, and creamy.
- Return pork to the slow cooker, cover and cook on high until sauce thickens, 20-30 minutes.
- To serve place pork on a bed of mashed potatoes and top with gravy.
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