Sage Pulled Pork in Coconut Milk, the AIP Way

This is the recipe that does the work while you are busy doing everything else. A few minutes of layering in the morning, then about 10 hours of the slow cooker tending it without you, and by evening you have tender, shredded pork, enough to carry several meals ahead. A hands-off staple like this is exactly how a full, home-cooked week stays realistic.

Pork shoulder is rich, sustaining protein and a source of B vitamins and zinc, both involved in energy metabolism and immune function as the body rebuilds. The coconut milk it cooks in adds a gentle fat and keeps the meat moist, and despite the can it goes in with, the finished dish does not taste of coconut. Sage carries the whole dish, and there is no rush anywhere in the method.

An animal was raised for this food, and a humble, economical cut like shoulder deserves the same gratitude as any celebration roast. Cook a big batch on purpose, shred it, share it, and freeze what is left. A full container in the freezer is its own quiet form of care for the weeks ahead.

Ingredients

• 1 pork shoulder, about 4 lbs
• 1 can (13.5 oz) unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
• 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup dried crushed sage (or about 1 cup fresh, triple the dried amount)
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt

Swaps made: none beyond the source's own AIP adaptation. The recipe is already nightshade-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, and seed-free. For the sage, the source offers herbes de Provence, oregano, parsley, or rosemary as alternatives.

Method

• Pour the coconut milk into the slow cooker first. Set the pork shoulder on top, then add the onion, sage, and salt.
• Cover and cook on low until the meat shreds easily with a fork, about 10 hours for a 4 lb shoulder. Adjust the time for a larger or smaller roast.
• Shred the pork with two forks and serve it hot with the sauce from the pot. It pairs with cauliflower rice or a salad, or topped with shredded red cabbage, avocado, scallions, and cilantro.
• For batch cooking, let extra portions cool and freeze them.

Instant Pot variation

This dish works in an Instant Pot as well as a slow cooker. If you like, brown the pork and soften the onion right in the pot first using the saute function, then switch to pressure or slow cooking in the same pot for less cleanup. To slow-cook in the Instant Pot, use the slow-cook setting on low and follow the same roughly 10-hour window, cooking until the meat shreds. For a faster high-pressure conversion, the source reports a reader-tested approach using a smaller roast with half a can of coconut milk: 60 minutes at high pressure followed by about 30 minutes of natural release. That high-pressure timing is not ARM-tested, so verify doneness and scale it to your roast size before relying on it.

*Adapted from a-squirrel-in-the-kitchen*