Pork Butt/Shoulder: Slow Cooked Pulled BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Source: USA Weekend Edition of the Appleton Post Crescent
Cooks all day in your slow cooker, so easy!
Ingredients
- 5 lbs. boneless shoulder pork butt
- 3 c. thinly sliced onions (about 2 large)
- 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 1 Tbls. crushed garlic
- 3 Tbls. smoked paprika (Penzey's carried this)
- 1/2 t. chili powder
- 1/2 t. dried chipotle or hot pepper
- 1-1/2 Tbls. ground cumin
- 1 c. apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 c. light brown sugar
- 1-1/2 Tbls. kosher salt
- ground black pepper, to taste
- Sandwich buns, split
Instructions
Remove the excess fat from the exterior of the pork. It is fine to leave some on, as you will skim off fat later. If the pork is one large piece, cut it into 2 or 3 pieces.
Place the onions, tomatoes, garlic, paprika, chili powder, chipotle, cumin, vinegar, brown sugar and salt into a slow cooker and toss to combine. Add the pork and mix it with the other ingredients.
Set the slow cooker for 8 hours on low. Although the pork will begin to smell really good in about an hour, leave the lid alone. After 4 hours, turn the meat over once, replace the lid and continue to cook.
When cooking is complete, remove the meat and set aside. Skim any fat along the top of the cooking liquid (use a fat separator) or allow the liquid to cool and then remove the fat.
Puree the remaining liquid to a sauce-like consistency; it should be thick but smooth.
When the meat is cool enough to handle, use 2 forks to pull the pork into shreds. Season with black pepper.
Heat the pureed liquid if needed and add it to the meat as desired, depending on how saucy you like your pork.
To serve, place a portion of the pulled pork onto the bottom half of a bun.
NOTE: Freeze leftovers in small containers if desired.