Bring me your A game pulled pork recipes!

[donrae]

Okay, potluck at church this Sunday. I've got a beautiful home grown pork roast thawing out and a pretty, brand-spanking new slow cooker. So, I'm looking for something different for pulled pork! I usually season with salt/pepper/onion/garlic, and pour bbq sauce over the top....good, but not spectacular. I'm wanting to kick it up with something really good--an A game recipe. I've been looking online and am leaning toward the Poineer Woman's Spicy Dr Pepper pork--tried to copy the recipe and couldn't. It's basically a can chipotle peppers in adobo sacue, 2 cans Dr Pepper, onion, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/03/spicy-dr-pepper-shredded-pork/

Anyone got anything better to tempt me? I'm not really wanting spicy-spicy, if I did the above I'd probably use half a can of peppers and add the others to taste once shredded. Then again, I don't want sickning sweet.....I know, I'm being kinda picky.

So, show me what ya got!

 

[bigmike&nan]

A-Game ??

Well if you are doing pulled pork your A Game recipe should use a pork BUTT, not a pork roast. If you get a pork butt use this recipe: I smoke mine in a Cookshack smoker, either as carnitas for mexican pulled pork, or I used a homemade rub, I call a cowboy rub (think paprika, salt, pepper, a little cumin and coriander, some brown sugar and some FINELY GROUND coffee, like espresso grind. Lay on some spicy mustard and then the rub, ALL OVER, let rest 1/2 hour and then smoke.






https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/663691/carnitas-smoked-pork-butt-mexican-style

If you don't have a smoker and still want to do pulled pork, get a pork butt and use this recipe in your oven, wrote this one long before I bought my first and then second Cookshack smoker:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/165774/bigs-pulled-pork


If you really need to use that pork loin skip making pulled pork, pulled pork in the oven or smoker depends on low and slow and a pork butt has the marbling that will break down over a long period, giving you a moist and tender product. Whereas a pork loin (I believe that is what your pork roast is, a boneless pork loin), I suggest this recipe:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/163226/bigs-roasted-pork-loin

Of course if you want to go all medieval on them serve your pulled pork on these lovely little home made sweet potato rolls:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/165770/bigs-sweet-potato-rolls

 

[donrae]

Sorry, what I have isn't loin, it's labeled "pork roast--fresh leg", so I'm thinking it's the upper hind leg usually made into hams? We didn't have any meat cured from this butcher, so I'm thinking that's what it is. Haven't unwrapped it yet to see. Should have been more specific.

I don't have a smoker, could do low and slow in the oven, but isn't a slow cooker doing the same thing?

 

[bigmike&nan]

Well I always tell people YAHOO IS YOUR FRIEND so I used the term you did describing the meat. Wow there's some really very interesting recipes for this. The first I looked at was a Martha Stewart recipe that sounded really awesome.

http://www.marthastewart.com/330127/leg-of-pork-with-cracklings

I think you would do best doing this in a dutch oven and roasting it. Check out this recipe link I include and take a little time with your morning coffee (or tea) and get on YouTube and look at recipes posted there. I tell ya I see more really tasty looking stuff posted. From amateur to true hard core chef stuff. So look around and enjoy !!

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pork leg roast recipe&sm=3

 

[The Sheriff]

This recipe on my blog has Dr. Pepper and Apple Juice in the crockpot.

http://www.theeggfarm.com/blog/2013/09/20/pulled-pork-with-apple-juice-and-dr-pepper/

 

[donrae]

I wound up basing my recipe on the PWs. I made a rub with salt, pepper, garlic, onion, smoked paprika, chipotle powder. Let that sit in the fridge for a few hours. Then in the crock on top of a rough chopped onion, with Dr Pepper, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and some raspberry topping. Cooked that baby overnight and it fell apart nicely. Pulled the pork, added a little bit of crock liquid and let set overnight. Took to potluck today, warmed in the nuker and set a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's Raspberry Chipotle sauce beside it. Brought home just enough for one sammich for me tomorrow! Also took bacon cheddar corn muffins, coleslaw and a lemon poppy seed cake...I love potluck!

 

[jeepguy982001]

that sounds awesome.

 

[bigmike&nan]

Owning a Cookshack smoker I spend a lot of time on the Cookshack site forums. Some pretty serious competition cooks, restaurant owners and chefs. Guys that do the competition circuits. I think the biggest "trick" besides not putting your rub on early (especially if your rub has SALT in it, which tends to make the pork butt or ribs "hammy" tasting) is to let the pork rest covered about an hour after cooking and then HAND PULL it with your fingers. There's some real fancy accessories for this craft/hobby and claws for pulling pork is one. Me, I learned that you cal FEEL the fat that didn't get rendered out and it's easy to separate it. Nobody likes running into a wad of fat in their pulled pork.

For those that really wanna get their "A GAME" together look over "Smokin's" 101s, true hard core competition cook, restaurant owner and master bbq guy all around. Beware after looking this place over you might find you're drawn to "the dark side" and start smoking. I know I found a used small Cookshack on eBay for $300.00 delivered. These things are built to run 24/7 and are real tanks, you get a Cookshack you are set for life...

http://www.cookshack.com/store/Smokin-Okies-101-Series

By the way that is some contribution to your church pot luck !! I started working with a guy in my church at the monthly pot luck. Being Seventh Day Adventists we weren't technically supposed to work on The Sabbath, BUT the pot luck brought a lot of good people together, a lot of folks would come on PotLuck Sabbath because of the extra fellowship of the food. We did a lot of prep the day before (big pot of marinara, stock for some soup, a couple big salads, pizza dough) and would take in food parishioners brought in and have it warmed by end of church service. We'd also get a lot of bachelor and bachelorette contributions (bags of frozen vegetables, dry pasta, loaves of french bread) and work those into very creative dishes that would feed the masses. We'd make huge sheet pan pizzas, lots of them - and always save one for the Pastor who would invariably counsel a parishioner needing advice and get to the pot luck late. When the downturn of the early 90s hit Silicon Valley a lot of the formerly affluent elders were hit hard and that monthly pot luck became a great way for those looking for any work to network and get moral support. We'd sneak up about 11:30 to find the church packed with people - a lot who would come for the one hearty meal they knew they'd get that week from us. It may have been work, but it was God's Work we were doing. You must be real popular when you come strolling in with all that food !!

Blessings to you

 

[donrae]

I know what you mean about the one good meal....we're working on a ministry to provide dinner a night a week, something like that. Not something huge like potluck, but something filling and good fellowship. Oh, and cookies--always cookies lol.