Slow-Cooker Citrus Carrots

Memorial Day. Year four of the cookout tradition. This year: the biggest yet. Oliver and Danielle, Wanda, Brian and his wife, Diego's family (the fire truck coalition extends to all holiday functions), Mama, and — for the first time — a Sarah's Table client who has become a friend. Jessica, the baptism woman, the first DM, the woman who trusted Sarah's Table with her daughter's entry into faith. She brought her daughter (Lily, now one, walking, with the same cake-smashing energy as Elijah at one). The cookout has expanded beyond family and coworkers into the Sarah's Table orbit. The business is creating community. The table is building a neighborhood.

The grill (still uneven — it will be uneven until it dies, which may be soon because the rust situation is developing a personality) produced: burgers, hot dogs, Mama's potato salad, my baked beans, Wanda's coleslaw (she's taken over coleslaw at Sarah's Table and her version is better than mine and I'm fine with it because her version uses apple cider vinegar instead of white and the difference is the difference between good coleslaw and revelatory coleslaw). Chloe made lemon bars. The eternal lemon bars. The lemon bars that have been to more Mitchell events than Kevin.

Kevin wasn't there. He's at Fort Campbell, working. But he called. He sounded... different. Not the flat Kevin, not the divorce Kevin. A different Kevin. He said: "I met someone." He MET someone. A woman named Donna. She works on base. She's a civilian contractor. She's "nice, steady, funny in a way that surprises you." Kevin, describing a woman with adjectives. Kevin, who has communicated exclusively in military brevity for twenty years, is using ADJECTIVES. The adjectives are the tell. The adjectives mean: this is real. When a Mitchell man uses adjectives, it's serious.

I said: "Bring her to Nashville." He said: "It's early." I said: "It's early until it's not. Bring her." He laughed. The Kevin laugh that I've been listening for since the divorce — the laugh that says: I'm okay. Not performing okay. ACTUALLY okay. The laugh is real. Donna is real. Kevin is rebuilding. With adjectives.

I made pulled pork — the Memorial Day constant, Dr Pepper, slow cooker. The pork that's been at every Memorial Day since Terrence. The pork that's survived the leaving and the pandemic and the business and now exists at a cookout that has twenty people instead of five. The pork scales. The love scales. Everything that matters scales.

The pulled pork is the Memorial Day constant — it always will be — but what I’ve learned from four years of this cookout is that the sides are where you either sink or swim when the headcount doubles. Wanda taught me that with her coleslaw: a small swap, apple cider vinegar instead of white, and suddenly everything is brighter. These Slow-Cooker Citrus Carrots work the same way — the slow cooker does the work while you’re outside with the people who matter, and the citrus does what acid always does, which is make everything taste more like itself. They scaled from five people to twenty without me touching a thing except the bag size. That’s the whole point.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 4 hours | Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 lbs baby carrots (or whole carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (about 1 large orange)
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Instructions

Layer the carrots. Place carrots in the bottom of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker in an even layer.
Make the citrus glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, lemon juice, honey, orange zest, salt, pepper, and ground ginger until combined.
Add butter and sauce. Pour the citrus glaze over the carrots and dot the butter pieces evenly across the top.
Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours, or on HIGH for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until carrots are fork-tender but not mushy.
Finish and glaze. Once done, gently stir the carrots to coat them in the thickened glaze that has pooled at the bottom. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
Garnish and serve. Transfer to a serving dish, spoon any remaining glaze from the slow cooker over the top, and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow-Cooker Citrus Carrots — The Side Dish That Scales as Big as the Table Does