Pork Shoulder with Apple Rhubarb Sauce

So after giving it some thought, I knew that there had to be a tasty way to use rhubarb in something other than a strawberry dessert and came across a recipe where it had been used with apples to make a glaze for pork. Now, I altered my recipe quite a bit from the one that I found online, however the idea is the same.

I took a 3 pound boneless pork shoulder and placed it into a slow cooker. I rubbed all sides with salt, black pepper and finely chopped fresh sage, then poured one box of chicken stock over top and one 12 oz bottle of apple juice. This was then set to low and allowed to cook for 5 1/2 hours.

When the pork was done, I spooned out the liquid into a large sauce pan, leaving the pork fat on the bottom of the pan as well as a couple spoonfuls of the liquid (this I used to baste the pork while it stayed in the slow cooker to keep warm).  To the cooking liquid I added 2 peeled, finely chopped apples and 2 large stalks of rhubarb, finely chopped, as well as half of an onion, chopped, 3 cloves of garlic, minced, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup of unsalted butter.  This was brought to a boil, then the heat was reduced to medium for 40 minutes until the liquid was reduced by half.  I then mixed together 1/4 cup of cornstarch and 1/2 cup of water and slowly poured this into the sauce while stirring, I only ended up using about half of the cornstarch mixture because the sauce became thick as I was stirring which was my indication that I had added enough, but depending upon how much liquid you have you might end up using all of it.

I pulled off a few chunks of the pork, which was so juicy and tender I couldn't wait to eat it, and poured a spoonful of the sauce on top.

For the sides I made a really quick coleslaw.  All that it consisted of was a dressing made from 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, one tablespoon of sugar, one tablespoon of olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper to taste. I whisked the dressing until combined and added about two cups of shredded cabbage, tossing to coat.  I allowed this to sit while I made the sauce for the pork and every 5 minutes or so, I stirred the cabbage around so that the flavors would incorporate evenly.  I also made up some quick smashed new potatoes, mixed with a little butter and milk.

If I could eat meat covered in this sauce every day I would be one happy girl, I even put it all over my potatoes!  Even my boyfriend loved it! In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he took the rest with him on his trip out of town to the cabin. He has never taken food with him before, so I took this as a really good sign that I had fully redeemed myself when it comes to cooking meat.