Crockpot Pulled Pork

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

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.

Family Favorites, Main Meal

33 comments »

10 Responses to “Panzanella – Barefoot Bloggers”

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Prudy — August 14, 2008 at 1:13 pm

Beautiful photos. We loved it too.
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2

Joelen — August 14, 2008 at 1:33 pm

This is such a great dish and so colorful too!
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3

Veronica — August 14, 2008 at 1:39 pm

Looks beautiful! I agree it comes together pretty fast.
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4

Cat's — August 14, 2008 at 4:21 pm

Glad you loved it!
~The Cat’s Pajamas
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5

Kirsten — August 14, 2008 at 4:25 pm

Your salad looks great! Glad to see a fellow Boston girl (well, we left the city 2 years ago but still work here) on the Bloggers!
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6

Melissa — August 14, 2008 at 5:19 pm

Looks great!
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Courtney — August 14, 2008 at 6:12 pm

Wow your salad looks so good. I think I am going to try making this again after a trip to the market this weekend.
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webbie — August 14, 2008 at 6:17 pm

Great picture! I’ve been thinking that this would be great for Shakespear in the Park. Cool and refreshing!
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Cate — August 15, 2008 at 2:16 am

I love Panzanella, but haven’t had Ina’s version yet (Tyler’s is delish!) – perfect recipe for summertime.
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giz — August 17, 2008 at 7:29 pm

Good tip on the croutons – this one looks like a total winner.