Nothing says taste of summer in the south like a pulled pork sandwich. Unfortunately, pulled pork is something that people frequently don’t make right. They grab a bottle of BBQ sauce and a pork shoulder, toss everything in the crock pot together, and they get discouraged because the end result is bitter and… well, gross.
Well, my friends, the secret to an amazing, properly-done pulled pork is also the reason why I can feature it here. You need to make the sauce you cook in. This sounds a like a lot of extra work, but it’s really not.
Now, I call this sauce for lack of a better term, but if you’re a big fan of piquant BBQ sauce, you probably wouldn’t want to use this on the grill. This “red sauce” is sweeter and more tomatoey, and there’s no hint of liquid smoke. All of those things are the reason why trying to make a pulled pork boiled/baked for hours in hardcore BBQ sauce fail hardcore.
Sauce:
- 1 cup ketchup (I’ll forgive you if you don’t have yours already made;)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 1/2 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. yellow mustard
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
Pulled Pork:
- Sauce (above)
- 3-4 lb. Pork butt (this is the shoulder cut) roast
- Your preferred brand of store-bought or piquant home-made BBQ sauce
In a bowl, combine all the home-made sauce ingredients and mix well. Place the pork butt in a crock pot, and pour the home-made sauce over the roast. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours, or until fork-tender and shreddable.
Remove the roast and shred with a fork, disposing of the bone and large pieces of fat. Drain the home-made sauce and spoon off grease.
Return the shredded meat to the slowcooker and mix it up well with about half of the degreased sauce. Add your own brand of store-bought or home-made BBQ sauce to taste.
Serve over rice or on buns.
Feeds 8-10
