Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
While the barbeque purists of the world will point out that this is not real barbeque (and they are right), this is still a wonderful recipe. Tender, spicy, delicious, low calorie, and easy, easy, easy…. For this list of attributes, I am willing to forgo the black roasted bits of real barbeque!
1 – 6 to 8 lb. pork shoulder (I used a pork sirloin roast, much leaner @ 120 calories per 4 ounces)
1/4 cup water
Spice Rub (from Cook’s Illustrated)
1 Tbsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. ground white pepper
1 1/2 tsps. cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 Tbsp. chili powder
4 Tbsp. paprika ( I used half Hungarian paprika, and half smoked paprika)
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp. white sugar
2 Tbsp. salt
In a large Ziploc bag, shake the spices and sugar until well blended. Add the pork roast, and shake until the meat is well covered. Refrigerate at least 8 hours for the flavours to penetrate the meat.
Remove the meat from the bag and place it in the slow cooker. Add the water to the bag, swirl around to get the rest of the spice rub, and pour over the meat. Cover and cook on low for an hour. Turn the meat over and continue cooking for another hour. Turn again and let cook for 4 hours. Check the meat at the end of the 4 hours. If it is not tender (mine was not), continue cooking for another hour and check again. Once the meat is tender, shred it with a fork. Stir the shredded meat back into the sauce that was created during the cooking process and cook for another 30 minutes to an hour.
Serve as is or with barbeque sauce if desired. Makes really good sandwiches…
Notes: If your roast is on the large end of the scale, it helps to cut it into 4 or 5 pieces to let it cook faster. Maybe I just have an exceptionally slow cooker, but I needed to add an hour and a half to the cooking time even with the meat cut up. And I really don’t think it is necessary to turn the meat more than once; every time you remove the lid, you slow the cooking time.
Nutritional Info: For a 4 ounce serving, without barbeque sauce or bread.
Calories: 132
Protein: 25 grams
Carbs: 3 grams
Fat: 2.2 grams
