Pork Loin with Cranberries and Orange

Pork loins are typically roasted, but we wanted to find a way to prepare this cut in a slow cooker. To ensure that it would even fit in our slow cooker, we found it important to shop carefully—only a boneless pork loin that was wide and short (rather than long and narrow) would do. Browning the roast prior to placing it in the slow cooker was essential for flavor, as this step allowed the fat cap to melt and flavor the roast throughout. It was also important to cook our pork loin on the low setting; a high setting resulted in dry, leathery meat. The tart flavor of cranberries was the ideal complement to our mild pork loin, which we added to our dish in the form of a whole cranberry sauce accented with a little orange and cinnamon. Simmering the sauce on the stovetop created a clingy glaze that perfectly coated our pork.