Slow Cooker Cranberry Orange Pork Loin - Holiday Pork Loin - a great alternative to turkey at the holidays! SO tender and delicious! Everyone cleaned their plates and went back for seconds!!! Pork loin rubbed in brown sugar, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper then wrapped in bacon and topped with cranberry sauce, orange juice, orange zest and dijon mustard. This is seriously delicious!!! Grab an Iowa Pork produced pork loin and give this a try for your holiday meal! #slowcooker #crockpot #pork
Combine brown sugar, garlic powder, rosemary, salt and pepper.
Season pork loin with brown sugar mixture on all sides.
Wrap bacon around pork loin and place in slow cooker.
Mix together cranberry sauce, dijon mustard, orange juice and orange zest. Pour over pork loin.
Cover and cook on LOW 2½ to 3 hours, until the internal temperature is 145ºF.
Remove pork from slow cooker and place on an oven-safe baking sheet. Place under the oven broiler for 2 to 3 minutes to crisp up the bacon.
Notes:
What is pork loin? Well, it is basically a giant boneless pork chop. It can be called by several names: Center-cut pork loin roast, center-cut pork roast, pork center loin roast, pork center cut rib roast, pork loin center cut, pork loin center rib roast, pork loin roast center cut, and pork loin rib half.
Please note that a pork loin and pork tenderloin are NOT the same cut of meat. Tenderloins are thin and small. Pork loins are wide enough to cut steaks pieces from it.
The safe internal pork cooking temperature for fresh pork cuts is 145ºF.
To check doneness properly, use a digital cooking thermometer to measure the temperature at the thickest part of the cut without touching any bone. Once you have reached the desired internal temperature, remove from heat, and let it rest for three minutes.
Don't overcook your pork! It only took about 3 hours for my pork loin to get to temperature. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature after about 2-1/2 hours.