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Friday, April 27, 2012

Slow Cooker Whiskey Pulled Pork

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One of my biggest frustrations with slow cooker meals is that many of them require cooking in the slow cooker for somewhere between 4 and 6 hours. This is pretty much impossible when I'm away at work and out of the house for anywhere from 9-10 hours every day. I know I've mentioned this before, because I had a kind reader email me and give me instructions on how to set up a timing device on my crockpot. While I intend to eventually get around to this, in the meantime I've tried to stick to recipes with longer cooking times.


I've also found that making slow cooker meals on the weekend, when I am able to monitor the cooking, has also turned out to be a good option. Just because you're making the meals on the weekend doesn't mean you have to cook the meals on the weekend! A few weeks ago I threw this in the crockpot on a Sunday morning and by lunchtime, my pork was falling off the bone. Rather than eating it that evening, I stuck half in the freezer for a later date and put the other half in a tupperware container in the fridge.
The next day I came home from work and quickly reheated the meat on the stovetop with some BBQ sauce while my kale chips baked away in the oven. The tabbouleh was courtesy of Erin and Justin (thanks guys!). A delicious meal ready in minutes. There are few things better!! As for the pulled pork, we really liked it! It was tender, juicy, and full of flavor, though I definitely recommend serving it with BBQ sauce, the messier the better! My favorite pulled pork is still the balsamic version, but this one is a bit more 'classic' and likely more universally appealing!

One Year Ago: (Almost) No-Bake Nutella Pie with Peanut Butter Crust
Two Years Ago: Oven Baked Potato Chips

Slow Cooker Whiskey Pulled Pork
from What's For Dinner 
Ingredients:
-1 (3-4 lb) pork shoulder
-3 medium onions, chopped
-1 cup ketchup
-1/4 cup white vinegar
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1 tbsp brown sugar
-1 tbsp onion powder
-1 tbsp garlic powder
-1/4 cup soy sauce
-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
-1/3 cup whiskey or bourbon
-2 tbsp molasses
-1/2 cup chicken broth
-1 tbsp kosher salt, for salting the meat

Directions:
1. In the bottom of the slow cooker, place the chopped onions.
2. Salt all sides of the pork shoulder before placing it on top of the onions. In a separate bowl, mix together remaining ingredients, with the exception of the broth (ketchup through molasses). Pour over the pork shoulder.
3. Pour the broth into the slow cooker without pouring it over the pork. Cook on low for 5 hours. Remove the meat from the bone if needed, shredded, and return to the slow cooker to cook for an additional hour, on high.
4. Serve meat on buns with bbq sauce, if desired.