Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork

Ah, so this was my first time every making pulled pork. There was a sale this week on Pork Shoulder Roast, so we went all out and bought a 9 lb. roast! Well, let me tell you that when cooking for 2 people, 9 lbs of meet is significant, even if the total 9 lbs is not all due to edible meat. So, we used a third of it and have ample frozen for future endeavors. This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe from Everyday Food, a bimonthly magazine with great food recipes and cooking tips. I highly recommend the subscription and have heard wonderful things about the cookbook. This recipe is a slow-cooker recipe, ideal for when you're having guests or for when you feel lazy and just don't wanna really cook anything crazy.

I used a few alterations to the spices, simply because of preference (and availability). I found that adding Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce to the finished product really enhanced the flavor and worked nicely with my first batch of homebrew! Even Katie will agree with me on that! The end of the recipe resulted in a wonderfully juicy piece of pork shoulder, which we then "pulled" with two forks so it appeared in shredded format. Overall, delicious, but a bit on the fatty side, so beware!

Here is the recipe!

3 lbs. of Pork Shoulder Roast, cleaned of any excess fat
1/2 c. Ketchup
1 tbsp. Light Brown Sugar
1 tbsp. Dried Basil
Lots of Finely Chopped Garlic
Ground Pepper
1 tsp. Oregano

Firstly, you'll want to clean up the Pork Shoulder Roast so that any major excess fat is removed. You'll want to leave some fat on the meat, so that it cooks up nice and moist and retains a great flavor. This recipe is not for the faint of heart. Dispose of the fat or use it for making suet!

Next, combine the other ingredients in the bottom of a slow cooker pot. I know, this part sounds strange, as I was very concerned about the pork sticking to the bottom of the slow cooker. But trust me, it works. Place the pork in the mixture and roll it around a few times to completely coat the meat. Then, turn on the slow cooker on low for about 8 hours and you're done!

Once the pork is tender enough (some would say "shreddable"), remove the meat from the pot and place in a bowl. At this point, you have a choice. The Everyday Food recipe says to pour over the contents from the pot. This thought repulsed me a bit, as most of the contents were actually rendered fat. So, to stay on the "leaner" side of this recipe, we simply shred the pork in the bowl and served it. The meat turns out so juicy and delicious. We served this meat with homemade french fries and cauliflower, which was a great pairing. Enjoy!