Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork

 

If you are like me, your days are beyond full!  A typical day for me could include a full day of homeschooling, laundry, a Dr. visit, various emails and phone calls, and to top it all off music lessons for both kids.  On days like this I can't be cooking a three course meal! LOL:)  With multiple food allergies, I just can't run to McD's for dinner either.  Prepacked food?  Nope....nothing there either.  For days like this, I love to use the crock pot.  Easy, nutritious, and satisfying, crockpots save the day!  This is one our families favorites.  I usually keep a pork roast in the freezer as a backup.  This recipe is excellent for the freezer in case you do once a month cooking. 

Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork

1 Pork Roast

 (I normally use a pork shoulder roast.  I have been known to use a Boston Butt Roast.  If you are looking for a leaner pulled pork, you could use a Sirloin Roast.)

1 bottle of GF Beer ( or substitute 12 oz of Beef/Chicken Broth)

Salt to Taste

The extremely "complicated" instructions:)

Place the roast in the crockpot.

Pour beer/broth over the roast. 

 For this batch I used Hard Apple Cider.  I thought the flavor of the apple would taste wonderful with the pork. 

As you can see, the beer/broth does not cover the roast.  The beer is only about 1 inch deep.  This roast is approximately 4lbs.  If I was using a larger roast (i.e. 8 lbs), I would use 2 bottles of beer.  

Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.

After 10 hours, your roast should know look like this:

 

Remove from the crockpot and shred with two forks.  (Take the forks and pull them in opposite directions to "pull" the pork.)

Final Results:

Place the pulled pork back into the crockpot to soak in all of the juicy goodness of the beer.  Salt to taste.  I also add garlic powder too.  Because we drench with BBQ Sauce, I use a light hand with the seasoning.  

Our BBQ Sauce (I only find this at Wal-Mart). 

This sauce does contain High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).  My children are fine with corn syrup - not corn proteins.  I will post a recipe for homemade HFCS-free  BBQ Sauce soon.  

Enjoy!

 

Thanksgiving Yummies......

Yummy Pork Goodness!

The following recipe is an amazing way to eat pork. I found this recipe about 4 years ago trying to find something else (which I can't even remember what that search was for!) This recipe is naturally safe for my kids which is great. We receive rave reviews anytime I make it. In fact, this last Thanksgiving meal was followed by two requests for the recipe.

Pig on Coke

6 liters of cola (not diet cola) - - you can use water if you are not able to use corn syrup

3 c. of kosher salt

2 heads of garlic, pealed and slightly smashed

6 bay leaves

1/2 c. cracked pepercorns

10 lb. bone in pork shoulder roast

Before we go any further.....what is a pork shoulder

roast? You will normally find it in a vacuum sealed bag in the pork section of your market. It needs to have the skin on it. This is important for keeping the meat moist and tender.

The roast will look similar to this. Before you submerge it in the brine, you will want to take a sharp knife (is there any other kind?) and score the skin. Try not to cut through the fat layer to the meat. You can see the scoring on the picture at the top of the post.

Brining: You can brine for as little as few hours or as long as 24. I usually brine for 24 hours.....two reasons: 1, better taste and 2, I can do it way ahead and check it off my list:) You do need to keep it refrigerated while it is brining. I use a large (18 quart) stockpot, but you could use ice packs in a bottom of a cooler and store somewhere cool.

After brining the roast, you will need to rinse it and pat it dry. It will need to sit out for about one hour. After an hour, create a rub (oil, salt, garlic, rosemary, basil, etc. - - whatever sounds good!) and smear it all over the pork.

Place in a 500 oven for 20 mins and then lower the temperature to 350. Glaze every 45 minutes. (Glaze recipe to follow below.) Cook until internal temperature of the ham is around 160-170 degrees. Rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.

Pineapple Ginger Glaze

1. c pineapple juice

2 c. packed brown sugar

1 inch grated fresh ginger

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a small sauce pan over high heat; reduce heat and simmer until syrupy and reduced to about 1 1/3 cups (about 5-7 minutes).

Spaghetti Sauce

After the conference last week and a whirlwind trip to home (my DH is currently in school for 10 months and we made a temporary move), I needed an easy meal last night. DH picked up Tinkyada pasta for the kids and we were set to go.

There are pasta sauces that my kids can eat out of the jar.....but they are spoiled and won't eat them. They prefer my homemade sauce. This recipe is based on how my mom made sauce growing up - tweaked to meet my families tastes.

Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb ground beef - browned

1 med onion - diced

2. c tomato paste

6 c. water

1/4 c. Italian Seasoning

Salt and Sugar to taste.

Saute onion in a little oil until soft. Add browned ground beef, tomato paste, water, and Italian Seasoning and mix. Add salt and sugar to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes.

The sugar amount will depend on how sweet you like your sauce. My mom and I like our sauce to be on the sour side. My DH and kiddo's like it to be on the sweeter side. So I probally use upwards of a 1/4 c. of sugar in this recipe for my family.

Roast Beef - The Easy Way

I love meals that cook themselves! My mom made this meal the entire time I was growing up and still makes it for our family when we come home to visit.

Crock Pot Roast Beef

One Crock pot:)

5-6 lb. Beef Roast - (I normally use the least expensive cut at the store)

1 Large Onion

approx. 1/4 cup Italian Seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste (I usually use a lot but I am heavy handed with these on a regular basis!)

1-2 c. of water depending on size of crock pot.

Place Roast in the crock pot, add all other ingredients, cover and cook until it falls apart. Usually 8-10 hours on low. In terms of the water amount - my mom has a smaller tall round crock pot and she uses only 1 cup of water. I have one of those new larger oval super fancy turns off when it is done cooking crock pots - so I use 2 cups of water.

Ideas for using up the roast beef:

Roast Beef, Baked Potatoes, Veggies and a salad - usually the first meal we eat

Roast Beef Sandwiches for lunch the next day

BBQ Beef and Chips

Any other ideas? I would love to hear about them!