George's Pulled Pork Recipe


Pulled Pork is easy to make and relatively cheap at about $2/lb. The basis for the recipe is a pork shoulder roast that is cooked until it simply falls apart. The key is cooking it slowly at low heat until the meat reaches about 200°F and not letting it dry out. One way is to roast it in an oven set to 225°F, preferably in a closed roasting bag. I prefer a slow cooker or dutch oven where it can be submerged so that it's temperature can be controlled and yet it can not dry out.

It takes a while to prepare this recipe, 2 or 3 days, but most of the time, the roast is either marinating in a brine solution or slowly cooking. In a slow cooker, I actually cook it in the brine.

Ingredients

Mix all the dry ingredients in a 4 qt (or larger) slow cooker pot, or some other kind of covered pot, then pour in the beer and mix some more. Plop in the roast, fat side up, and insert a meat thermometer deeply into the center of the roast. Put the pot in your refrigerator and let it sit for a day or two.

Put the pot in your slow cooker on low. A dutch oven can go on a stove top at very low heat or into an oven set to 225°F and let it slowly reach temperature. You don't want the brine to boil but instead to stabilize at about 190 to 200°F;. This prevents the meat from being overheated and the brine prevents it from drying out. When the roast itself reaches 190 to 200°F;, let it sit there for about an hour. It might take all day to get that far, be patient. Then remove the heat and let it slow cool to about 160 to 170°F. At that point, it's done. You can stick a fork in it, but don't expect it to come out in one piece. Fish all the chunks it splits into out of the brine and then shred it some and serve.

Pulled pork can be enjoyed straight up, in sandwiches, or slathered in barbecue sauce. That part is completely up to you.

Whatever doesn't get eaten can go into a sealed refrigerator container to live again another day.


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© 2013 George Schreyer
Created 14 Mar 13
Last Updated Mar 14, 2013