How To Make Pulled Pork
I like pulled pork. One of the reasons I like it, beyond the fantastic taste, is the idea of taking a really tough piece of meat and making it into a thing of beauty. Braising tough meats and turning them into tender, succulent eats, is in my mind, the height of culinary art. These tough cuts are usually cheaper, but they can be made into a lux meal. The trick to this is slow cooking. Sure, I would like to cook it slow in a smoker for hours, but where I live that is tough to do. Plus, I like it as a week night meal so I rely on my slow cooker to get the job done.
How To Make Pulled Pork – The Pork
When it come to pulled pork, I go for a pork shoulder. This cut is usually pretty marbled up with fat and is also pretty cheap. For the money, I don’t think you will find a better cut of meat. When braised, it falls apart into deliciousness. The pork shoulder should be used beyond pulled pork, too. You can slow roast the meat and slice it up then slather with a non barbecue type sauce. There is much you can do with it! I am always more likely to braise it. Even braised with something simple like apple cider and apples is delicious!
How To Make Pulled Pork – The Saucy Goodness
Undoubtedly, you could cook the pork in the slow cooker on its own and then make barbecue sauce on the stove or purchase it. The sauce and meat could be brought together later. This misses a big opportunity though for the sauce to take on a lot of porky goodness, which makes all the flavors come together for big taste! When making pulled pork in the slow cooker, I cook the pork shoulder in classic barbecue type ingredients starting with ketchup. From there it is onion, garlic, molasses (love molasses in BBQ sauce), apple cider and, of course, chili powder. My first choice in chili powder is ancho chili powder. It has all the taste and very little heat. Folks around my table have a bit of an issue with spiciness so I go with ancho. Yes, chipotle chili powder would be fantastic, too, but my oh my, it is spicy!
How To Make Pulled Pork – The Reduction
No matter what kind of magic the slow cooker brings to the pork in the 7 hours of slow cooking, the sauce will still be runny. The slow cooker just won’t reduce stuff. That makes sense as it is a closed, wet cooking technique. I don’t like to add more work than needed, but after cooking the pork, that sauce needs to be reduced. When that pot liquor is reduced on the stove, a tantalising, thick, rich barbecue sauce is created that just does wonders when it is added back to the pork, however I don’t add it all back. I don’t want my pork drowning. I moisten the pork after pulling it apart with a fork or two. I then serve the rest of the sauce on the side. That sauce is exactly what biscuits were made for. Oh I do so love to dunk!
How To Make Pulled Pork – The Sandwich
More often than not, my pulled pork ends up atop a sesame seed bun slathered in more sauce and topped with slaw. A cabbage slaw is nice, but a kohlrabi slaw works wonders, too! Don’t forget the pickles, too! YUM!
The ‘How To Make Pulled Pork In The Slow Cooker’ video is below. The full recipe follows.
- 1 medium sweet onion
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1 cup of your favorite ketchup
- 1 cup of apple cider
- 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup of molasses
- 2 tbsp of grainy mustard
- 3 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tbsp of Ancho chili powder
- 1 - 4 lb pork shoulder
- salt and pepper
- Chop the sweet onion into a large dice.
- Peel the cloves of garlic.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the ketchup, apple cider, apple cider vinegar, molasses, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and ancho chili powder.
- Season the pork shoulder with salt and pepper.
- In the bowl of a slow cooker, add the onion and garlic.
- Place the seasoned pork shoulder over the onion and garlic.
- Pour the sauce mixture over the pork shoulder.
- Place the cover on the bowl of the slow cooker.
- Cook on low heat for 7-8 hours until the pork shoulder is tender and falling apart.
- When the pork shoulder is fully cooked, remove it from the slow cooker.
- Strain and degrease (optional) the liquid left in the slow cooker.
- Place the liquid in a medium pot and reduce it on the stove by about half. The sauce should thicken and coat in the back of a spoon.
- While the liquid is reducing, pull the pork apart with forks.
- Place the pulled pork back into the bowl of the slow cooker. Add some of the reduced sauce to taste.
- Serve hot with extra sauce
- A pork shoulder is your best bet for meat choice. It really braises well! The leftovers freeze well. Wrap the leftover meat in an airtight container and freeze. It will be ok frozen for a few months.
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