If you have seen my Vlogmas Day 4, you saw that Tim and I made pulled pork for when my family visited. Every time we serve it to someone, they absolutely love it! So even though it is a simple recipe, I thought I would share it here on my blog.
Pulled Pork – Simple & Easy!
Ingredients
- Pork Butt or Pork Shoulder
- Kosher Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic
- Dark Brown Sugar
- Liquid Smoke
- IBC Rootbeer
First, you will need a crockpot and ensure that your pork fits appropriately (don’t want to end up buying one that is too big!!)
Typically, Tim and I buy a 5 to 6 pound pork butt and place it in a 6 quart slow cooker.
You can do this next step before or after placing the meat into the slow cooker; however, it should be well tenderized. Use a fork or a bladed tenderizing tool (not tenderizing mallet) to do this step.
Next, use all the listed seasonings (Kosher Salt, Pepper, Garlic, and Dark Brown Sugar) to well-coat the pork as evenly as possible. Tim and I rarely ever measure, but it is important to ensure all surfaces of the pork should have a nice coating of the seasoning.
If you are looking to have a sweeter pulled pork, then you can use extra brown sugar, which is what we did this past time. It was delicious!
Carefully pour the liquid smoke on to the pork and rub it into the seasoning. Liquid smoke can be extremely strong, so you should only be using just enough to coat the surface of the pork. The total amount would be up to you, (i.e. how smokey you prefer your barbeque to be, and how many pounds of pork you are cooking).
You can choose to either let the pork sit overnight in the fridge to absorb more flavor, or place directly into the slow cooker.
Once the pork is in your crockpot, slowly pour the IBC rootbeer over the pork. You want to carefully and slowly pour across the pork and around the sides so that the seasoning is not knocked off.
Allow the pork to cook on high for one hour, before letting it cook for a minimum of seven hours on low. We normally have it sit for 12+ hours on low. It will not overcook in the slow cooker on low, but can overcook on high so don’t forget to turn it down! Do not remove the lid while the pork is cooking (even if you just want to take a peek) as this causes the heat to escape.
Once the pork has finished cooking, shred the pork in the crockpot. It should pull apart extremely easily with two forks, or other cooking tools. Following this, allow the shredded pork to sit for an additional 15 to 20 minutes on low in the slow cooker.
Separate the pork from the liquid (Set the liquid aside for later).
The easiest way we found to do this was to use a colander and tongs. Strain the liquid into another bowl and set aside. The pork can be put back into the crockpot on the warm setting.
The liquid from the crockpot will be used to make a delicious, homemade sauce for the pork.
Pour the liquid into a large saucepan. (The wider the pan the better, as more surface area will speed up the reduction process.)
Bring the liquid in the pan to a boil, and then slightly turn down the heat. It should still be bubbling, but not vigorously boiling.
Stir frequently. You will know the sauce is ready when it is very dark in color. The sauce will thicken and coat the back of the spoon when it is done.
Add the sauce back into the crockpot. Mix the sauce and pork together.
If you want to heat your pulled pork up prior to serving, then turn the crockpot back to low approximately 15 minutes prior to serving your guests.
Prepare however you’d like and enjoy!!
Please let me know if you try our recipe! If you would like to see some of the process, then check out our Vlogmas Day 4 video on my YouTube Channel!
