Pulled Pork

Who doesn't love pulled pork?

I found a 3lb pork shoulder roast on sale for $7.99,

and had one can of Coke in the fridge dying to be used up in some application.

How do these 2 unlikely items relate, you ask?

Read on...

I remembered that Kelsey Nixon made a delicious looking southern pulled pork dish with cola on the Cooking Channel,

but could not come across the recipe in the Kelsey's Essentials archives.

Thus, I used the base of another one of her pulled pork recipes

and made some of my own adaptations.

Enter:  Yum.

Ingredients:

~3 lb pork shoulder or butt

14.5 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes, crushed or sauce

3/4 can of Coke (drink the rest yourself or use to dislodge a ball of hair from the shower drain - shit is seriously powerful stuff!)

1 sweet onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp brown sugar

3 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

1 lime

Directions:

1.

Pour tomatoes, spices, vegetables and cola into your crock pot.

Stir to combine.

2.

Rinse your piece of meat.  Liberally salt and pepper all sides.

Add to the crock pot and stir/flip to coat in the sauce.

3.

Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours, 

or on HIGH for 4-6 hours.

Periodically baste meat and enjoy the free smells.

4.

During the last hour of cooking,

add the juice of one freshly squeezed lime.

5.

Shred meat with 2 forks on a cutting board and return to sauce.

(I dare you to resist sampling your meat treat at this time.)

(Note:  You will likely need to drain extra liquid/sauce...you can do this now or wait until prior to serving to ensure moistness.)

6.

Place slow-cooker to "warm" setting and it's ready to serve when you are!

7.

I served the pulled pork on whole wheat kaiser rolls with BBQ sauce,

alongside baked beans, coleslaw, and Bubbies kosher pickles.

(More on Bubbies pickles later...they are a pregnant woman's DREAM.)

Wash it all down with a cold brewskie!

(N/A for me, of course.)

8.

Bask in all the compliments you're sure to receive!

Summary:

I love this recipe for many reasons,

other than the obvious -  "this shit is tasty."

For one, it feeds 10-12 people, easily.  And costs next to nothing.

Also, because it is a simple, delicious recipe that highlights the porkiness...a.k.a it can be used in different ways for leftovers.
Example:  Instead of BBQ sauce tomorrow, this shredded pork would be kick-ass in a tortilla with black beans and salsa - Carnitas! YUM!

Not to mention,
such a recipe is PERFECT for all the holiday parties,
college football bowl games, and NFL playoff games
looming on the horizon.

P.S.  Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics...sometimes I get too excited while cooking to grab an actual camera.

Enjoy!

~Photos by b~