Sometimes when I’m looking around my kitchen deciding what to have for dinner, I’ll open a cabinet, and staring back at me is my Crock-pot. It’s as if it’s screaming, “pick me”. I was looking in my pantry and refrigerator and saw a few items like apricot preserves, blood orange juice, and chicken broth. Set it and forget it, I’m talking about my Slow Cooker Pulled Pork.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours on high
Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes
Yields: 4 to 6 servings
Equipment: 7-quart Crock-pot, 2 large mixing bowls, 1 pair of tongs
Ingredients:
1 (3-pound) boneless pork butt (pork shoulder)
1 red onion, sliced into half-moons
1 cup of Blood orange juice
1/2 cup of chicken broth, unsalted
1 (18-ounce) bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue sauce, Sweet and Spicy variety
1/2 cup of apricot preserves
Spice Rub:
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons of chili powder
3 tablespoons of smoked paprika
3 tablespoons of garlic powder
3 tablespoons of onion powder
3 tablespoon of ground cumin
3 tablespoons of mustard powder
3 tablespoons of Kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons of freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Start by adding all the spices, the brown sugar, Kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper to a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine. Place the pork butt (pork shoulder) into the spice bowl and massage the spices all over the pork. Really get into the crevasses so the spices work their way all through the meat.
Add the onions to the Crock-pot and, in the bottom, so the pork would have something to rest on. Add the blood orange juice and chicken broth. Put the lid on and set the Crock-pot to cook (on high) for 4 hours.
After 4 hours of cooking, using a pair of tongs, turn the pork butt over, continue to for another 2 hours.
At this point, remove the pork, transferring it to a cutting board. The pork is so tender it just falls apart. Using two forks shred the meat into smaller pieces.
If you don’t want to make your own barbecue sauce it’s no big deal, there are so many great ones out there. In a large mixing bowl, add the bottle of barbecue sauce and 1/2 a cup of apricot preserves, stir to combine. Add the sauce into the Crock-pot, toss through to combine so the pork is thoroughly coated.
Serve my Pulled Pork on a buttered toasted Kaiser Roll. Top with my quick Fast Homemade Garlic Dill Pickles and Fennel Slaw With Fresh Dill.
There you have it, my Slow Cooker Pulled Pork.
https://lindalouhamel.com/2014/04/01/my-recipe-for-fast-homemade-pickles/
https://lindalouhamel.com/2014/04/14/my-fennel-slaw-with-fresh-dill/
