Pulled Pork
Last updated
Last updated
Easy ·6-8 Hours · American
2kg pork shoulder
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
125ml Cherry Coke
125ml apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
4cl bourbon
250ml ketchup
1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1 Tbsp. whole grain mustard
4 Tbsp. honey
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Mix all the dry ingredients together to make a rub. Trim excess fat off the pork, then thoroughly coat all sides of the pork shoulder with the rub.
Add a bit of oil to the slow cooker, then add the pork and any leftover rub. Mix the vinegar, bourbon, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and mustard together and pour them over the pork. Dice the onion and garlic and toss them in, then drizzle the honey over everything (you could have mixed the honey in with the other wet ingredients, but drizzling is way more fun!).
Pour the cherry coke over everything, trying not to let it foam too much.
Cook on low for about six hours, then on high for another hour or so until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 95C / 200F (that's the temperature at which the intramuscular fat renders, allowing the meat to fall apart). Rotate the meat every hour or two to make sure all side get a chance to soak up as much flavor as possible.
Once the meat has reached temperature, use non-pokey utensils (grill tongs, spatulas, etc.) to move it to a large bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes.
While the meat is resting, use a large spoon to skim off the fat, then pour the remaining sauce through a strainer into a sauce pan, then simmer to thicken.
You can use 1 tsp. of corn starch mixed with a bit of cold water as a thickener to speed things up with the sauce.
Just make sure to stir it in a bit at a time and wait for it to heat up before adding more - it takes a minute to work!
Now that the sauce is thickening, shred the pork. If it got up to temperature, you should be able to shred it by simply grabbing it with tongs and giving it a shake while squeezing. Use forks to deal with any larger, unshredded chunks.
Put the pork back into the slow cooker and add the sauce once it's thickened, then give it a stir and serve.
As a sandwich on a toasted bun with mayo and pickles
As nachos - spread pork over a pile of tortilla chips then top with dollops of sour cream and/or extra barbeque sauce and freshly grated cheddar cheese, then bake until the cheese has melted