Crockpot Pulled Pork

Hubby and I have made 3 or 4 pulled pork recipes in the last year or so. Each one was good but nothing amazing - we've had some that are too BBQ-saucey, tried the root beer based recipes, and a couple others. Until now. This pulled pork is going to be our recipe from here on out. It has great flavor and a little kick to it. It's not overly BBQ-saucey either.

As an aside, Happy 250th Post to Me!

I rubbed the meat 2 days prior to cooking it and it cooked on low in the crockpot for about 10 hours. When we took it out to pull apart, it was very tender and flavorful. We were tempted to eat it then, but we stuck to the recipe and added the BBQ sauce and threw it back in for another 45 minutes or so.

Pulled Pork - from The Way The Cookie Crumbles - originally from Cooks Illustrated - serves 6

Printable RecipeSpice Rub:
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons table salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground white pepper - I used black pepper

1 (6-8 pound) bone-in pork shoulder
½ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional) - I omitted
2 cups barbecue sauce

Mix all spice rub ingredients in small bowl.

Massage spice rub into meat (I recommend doing this on a jelly roll pan or large cookie sheet with sides). Wrap tightly in double layer of plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 3 hours. For stronger flavor, the roast can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. (I refrigerated ours for 2 days).

Unwrap roast and place it in slow cooker liner. Add liquid smoke, if using, and 1/4 cup water. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 8-10 hours, until meat is fork-tender.

Transfer roast to cutting board (again, I used a large cookie sheet with sides. This helped to contain the mess); discard liquid in liner. Pull by tearing meat into thin shreds with two forks or your fingers. Discard fat.

Place shredded meat back in slow cooker liner; toss with 1 cup barbecue sauce, and heat on low for 30-60 minutes, until hot. Serve with additional barbecue sauce.