Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Slow Cooker Hickory Pulled Pork


We love pulled pork. Love it. But I have to confess that I have been on a hunt for a good home recipe. My attempts seem to be hit and miss with more misses than hits. The pork often turns out less than tender or overly dry. All the recipes I have tried have been dutch oven baked varieties until today. I came across Fuji Mama's recipe for slow cooker pulled pork and thought I would try it as it had only 3 ingredients...of course by the time I added my own touch it had a few more but still more than manageable.

I used a 6 lb pork shoulder, pink Himalayan salt from Trader Joe's, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika and liquid smoke. It was my first experience with smoke in a bottle and while I wouldn't use it everyday it did add a distinct flavour to the meat which I really enjoy.

The pork was fall apart done in 12 hours - the first 3 on high and the rest on low. It was juicy, tender and flavourful. I used my Chipotle barbeque sauce which you can find here.

Ingredients:
6 lb pork shoulder
2 tbsp hickory liquid smoke
1 tbsp pink Himalayan salt
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1.5 tsp onion powder
4 cloves garlic, crushed

Method:
  • Cut pork into 3 chunks.
  • Rub salt into pork.
  • Place in slow cooker.
  • Sprinkle paprika and onion powder over pork.
  • Add liquid smoke and garlic.
  • Cover and put on high for three hours. After three hours turn to low and cook for another 9 hours until pork is cooked through and easily comes apart with fork.
  • Remove from slow cooker and place in large bowl. Using 2 forks shred pork. If desired add 1/2 c -  1 cup BBQ sauce.
Pork is great on it's own or grilled pita as shown. Also great on nachos! Enjoy.

8 comments:

  1. That looks so delicious. I can't even contain myself.

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  2. I will have to try this one. I have a pretty good recipe for pulled pork in the crockpot, so I will have to compare them. Thanks for the recipe.

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  3. I am going to try this soon! Thanks for posting

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  4. I've always made pulled pork in the slow cooker cuz I feel like it's the only way to keep the meat juicy and tender. Mine usually only involves some type of BBQ sauce and vinegar but I'm definitely gonna try adding liquid smoke as soon as I find it!

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  5. I've always wanted to make pulled pork in a slow cooker - but I thought slow cookers were supposed to be at least 1/2 full of liquid? Or else... I'm not sure what happens, actually, but I hear it's bad! I'd love to know what size slow cooker you use, and if you had any problems not adding any liquid?

    Looks fantastic though, can't wait to try it!

    ~Little Scarlet, http://littlescarlet.blogspot.com

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  6. Portia, that's what I thought too but this worked out perfectly. By the time the pork is cooked there is quite a bit of fat due to the pork shoulder cut. I'm almost positive I have a 5 qt slow cooker. I';ll double check and post if I am wrong. Thanks for the comments!

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  7. I'll have to try this. My slow cooker is having too long a break and it is time to set it to work.

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