When it comes to pulled pork, I’m a full blown snob! I love it so much, that my bucket list includes a trip through the small towns of the south, sampling pulled pork and ribs from the well kept secret spots and smoky hole-in-the-wall kinds of joints, where the craft of bar-b-que is practiced from ancient family recipes.
Now, while I’d love to slow cook my own pork over a sampling of hardwoods, and allow the natural flavors to develop over hours of heat, the reality is that I’m a mom of three busy kids, who works full time. Carpools, laundry, bickering daughters, and work would not wait for me to monitor a roasting hunk of meat and the demands of an open flame in my small, suburban back yard.
So, I do what any other sensible cook would do, I pull out my slow cooker. I know it is not comparable to an open flame, but, oh well!
Here is my recipe. It is an awesome blend of a Carolina style vinegar pulled pork, and its bar-b-que based counterpart. I think of it as the best of both worlds. Smoky and savory, tangy and sweet all collide in this recipe that will leave you craving more!
Ingredients:
- 1 large (8-10 lb.) pork shoulder/picnic or Boston Butt roast
- 1 head of garlic peeled
- 1 med. Yellow onion
- 1 of each—Red pepper, yellow pepper, & orange pepper
- ½ to 1 cup of ketchup
- 4 cups of apple cider vinegar
- 3-4 tbsp. of brown sugar
- Bar-b-Que seasoning
- Salt and pepper
Preparation:
- Sprinkle roast with seasoning.
- Chop peppers and onions into large chunks
- Place roast, peppers, onions, and garlic into a slow cooker.
- Pour in vinegar
- Cook 8-10 hours on medium to high until the meat is tender and falls apart easily.
- Remove meat and set aside to cool.
- Strain juice from the slow cooker into a medium sauce pan on the stove.
- Boil liquid until reduced to half
- Add ½ cup of ketchup and 3 tbsp of brown sugar and continue to boil until you have a thin sauce. You may need to add small amounts of brown sugar or ketchup to adjust taste.
- Use two forks or your stand mixer to shred meat and add it to the sauce.
Serve on a roll of your choice, or open faced on a slab of Texas Toast garlic bread!
Tips:
- The longer the meat sits in the sauce, the better it tastes
- This can be frozen in smaller amounts and used as needed.
- Make it at least one day in advance to allow the meat to soak up the sauce.
