This slow cooker 4-ingredient honey garlic pork is the kind of weeknight dinner that makes people think you fussed all afternoon, when in reality you let the appliance do the work. A simple mix of pantry staples—honey, soy sauce, and fresh garlic—melts into a glossy, sticky glaze that clings to tender, pull-apart pork shoulder. Versions of honey-garlic sauces show up in many Asian-inspired home recipes, but here we streamline it to just the essentials so you can get everything into the slow cooker in under 10 minutes and come back to a melt-in-your-mouth, deeply flavored dinner.
Serve the honey garlic pork spooned over steamed white rice or jasmine rice to soak up the sauce, with a side of quickly sautéed green beans, broccoli, or snap peas for freshness and crunch. It’s also excellent tucked into soft slider buns or folded into warm tortillas with a simple cabbage slaw. For a lighter option, pile the shredded pork over mixed greens or cabbage and drizzle with a bit of the cooking juices as a warm, sweet-savory dressing.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic PorkServings: 6
Ingredients
3 to 3 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder (pork butt), trimmed of excess hard fat
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
6 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
Directions
Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels and place it in the bottom of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, and minced garlic until the honey is fully dissolved and the mixture looks smooth and glossy.
Pour the honey-garlic mixture evenly over the pork shoulder, turning the meat once or twice with tongs so it’s well coated on all sides and some of the garlic clings to the surface.
Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 8 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the pork is very tender and easily pulls apart with a fork.
Once the pork is cooked, use two forks to gently shred it directly in the slow cooker, breaking it into large, rustic pieces. Toss the shredded pork in the surrounding sauce so every piece is coated in the dark amber glaze.
If you’d like the sauce a bit thicker and stickier, uncover the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the liquid reduces slightly and clings to the pork.
Taste and adjust if needed by adding a small drizzle of honey for more sweetness or a splash of soy sauce for extra savoriness, then serve the pork hot with plenty of the glossy sauce spooned over the top.
Variations & Tips
For a touch of heat without adding extra ingredients, use a few cloves of extra-strong, sharp garlic and let it brown slightly on the surface of the pork as it cooks; the natural bite of the garlic will mimic a mild chili kick. If you prefer a richer, more caramelized flavor, choose a darker, robust honey such as buckwheat or wildflower, which will deepen both color and taste of the glaze. To keep this very lean, trim the pork shoulder more aggressively before cooking and, once it’s done, skim off any fat that rises to the top of the sauce before tossing the meat back in. If your slow cooker runs hot and the edges brown too quickly, rotate the pork halfway through so the top and bottom cook evenly and the glaze doesn’t scorch. Leftovers reheat beautifully; store them with all the extra sauce so the pork stays moist, and use it later in rice bowls, stuffed into baked potatoes, or layered into grilled cheese sandwiches for a sweet-savory twist.
