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Having an entrée gently cooking its way into culinary bliss in the slow cooker is especially appealing on New Year’s Day. A boneless pork butt, often labeled a Boston butt, is a delicious choice. The meat is beautifully marbled, which makes it tender, and adds appealing flavor to the sauce.

Pork teamed with apples is a winning combination. Apple cider adds a spark of sweetness to the sauce, as does a generous addition of apple butter. And a final burst of acidity is perfect, with a tablespoon of cider vinegar added to the mix. I like to serve it over rice — sliced and slathered with sauce.

Slow Cooker Apple Cider Pork

Yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 (5-pound) boneless pork butt, trimmed

3 tablespoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 cup apple cider

1 cup apple butter, divided use

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 onion, peeled, halved through root end

4 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1/4 cup minced fresh chives

DIRECTIONS

1. Pat pork dry with paper towels and sprinkle all over with salt, sugar, and pepper.

2. Whisk apple cider, 1/2 cup apple butter, and flour together in slow cooker. Add onion, garlic and thyme sprigs. Place pork fat side down in slow cooker. Cover and cook until fork slips easily into and out of pork, 6 to 7 hours on high, or 8 to 9 hours on low.

3. Transfer pork to carving board, fat side up; tent with aluminum foil; let it rest for 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, using a wide spoon, skim fat from the surface of sauce and discard. Discard onion and thyme sprigs. Stir in vinegar and remaining 1/2 cup of apple butter into sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Slice pork crosswise 1/2-inch thick and arrange on serving platter. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over pork. Sprinkle with chives. Serve, passing the remaining sauce separately.

Source: America’s Test Kitchen

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her @CathyThomas Cooks.com.