Oh gosh. Ok. Make this.
Don’t ask questions. Don’t second guess yourself, and do NOT tell me you don’t eat pork.
Just get it in the crock pot ASAP.
Now, to my Dad, making pulled pork in the crock pot is sacrilegious so I am sure I will be getting some kind of horrified comment from him once I post this, my Dad is a big time smoker, griller, bbq’er guy and does weddings and events and stuff so he knows what’s, what’s.
However, I know people want this recipe! It’s crazy good (and easy, ding ding ding! We have a winner!)
I am sure you could totally do this smoked long and slow, like Dad does, and it would be amazing and now that I’m thinking that… I may try it. I love an authentic, smoked pulled pork and actually really enjoy doing it, but sometimes I just don’t have 8-10 hours to sit by the smoker shoveling charcoal and wood chips.
Insert: crock pot.
This is ever so slightly more labor intensive than my typical crock pot meals – my general rule of thumb is: I refuse to do any work when it comes to a crock pot meal. It must be dump and cook – I will chop things but that’s it. This one you gotta make the rub AND the sauce. Seriously. It’s annoying.
But you gotta make the sauce.
Do not skip the sauce.
It’s the most amazing thing ever!
That’s where the labor comes it – you gotta make the sauce at the end before you serve.
Ya, so not so bad. Have I said it enough? You get it?
DO NOT use a store bought bottled sauce on this.
Make it! I have made this, ummmm, a lot of times now and the only reason I had leftovers to photograph was because, as soon as I pulled the pork, I snuck some into a container and hid it from my husband and children.
That’s dedication to blogging right there.
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 (4-6 pound) pork shoulder or pork butt
- ¼ cup liquid smoke
- 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup apple cider
FOR THE APPLE CIDER SAUCE - 1 cup pan broth
- 1½ cups apple cider
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce (such as tabasco)
- 1 teaspoon hickory liquid smoke
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, chili powder, salt, cumin, paprika and dry mustard.
- Sprinkle the liquid smoke all over the pork butt, I know it sounds like a lot but do it anyway, then rub the spice mixture all over.
- Place the sliced onions in the bottom of the crockpot and then pour in the apple cider. Place the pork on top, put the lid on and cook 10 hours on low. To be able to pull the pork, you really need to cook on the longest, slowest setting. In my experience, meat won't pull unless cooked this way.
- About 45 minutes before you want to serve it up, place 1 cup of the cooking liquid from the crock pot into a saucepan, add the rest of the sauce ingredients, stir to combine and then bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and keep it at a fairly hard simmer until it thickens, about 30 minutes (keep a close eye on it).
- While the sauce is simmering, use a couple forks to shred, or pull, the pork. Add it back into the crockpot with the onions and some of the cooking liquid as you work.
- Once the meat is all pulled and the sauce will coat the back of a spoon, slowly pour some of the sauce over the meat and toss as you go, just put enough sauce on to coat it and make it nice and moist.
- Serve the pulled pork with the extra sauce.
Thanks for the AWESOME and AMAZING recipe: Caramel Potatoes
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