One of my favourite things in life, is to walk through the front door and be welcomed by the smell of dinner. The smell of a chicken roasting in the oven or a bolognese sauce simmering on the stovetop, for example, are smells that envelope and comfort me. Sadly since both Nathan and I work and are sans a live in chef so this is not something I am greeted with on a regular basis. Unless I use my slow cooker.
I adore my slow cooker, it is a trusty piece of kitchen equipment that I call upon most often in the colder months as by the time I get home it is pitch black outside and I want to put minimal effort into dinner preparation.
Apart from some chopping and dry rubbing the meat the night before, this slow cooker pulled pork is great set and forget recipe. I simmer the liquid down to make a sauce when I get home, but again this is not something that is going to require a great amount of energy. Indeed, if you wanted to, you can omit this step altogether – it is completely up to you.
I serve this Mexican style in soft tacos (we used the new Old El Paso stand and stuff tacos), with lettuce, cheese, salsa and sour cream but it would also work with mashed potatoes and some vegetables or even as a lunch option in soft bread rolls.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
An original recipe from Eating With Katie
1.75 – 2kg pork shoulder
2 carrots
1 onion
2 celery sticks
1 bottle apple cider
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon corn flour
Dry Rub
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon dark sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
Method
1. The night before, chop the onion, carrots and celery. Put in an air tight container and store in the fridge for use the next morning.
2. Rinse the pork shoulder under cold running water and pat dry using kitchen paper.
3. Mix the all the dry rub ingredients together and rub all over the pork shoulder. Place in a non reactive bowl and cover tightly with cling film. Place in the fridge.
4. The next morning, place the onion, carrot, and celery in your slow cooker. At this stage I use the saute setting on my slow cooker to soften slightly but don’t worry if you are unable to do this.
5. Place the pork shoulder, fat facing up, on top of the vegetables.
6. Mix BBQ sauce and tomato paste with the chicken stock and pour over the vegetables and pork along with the bottle of cider.
7. Set the slow cooker setting to low. Cover.
8. Leave to cook for 8 – 10 hours.
9. The meat should be tender and fall apart. Remove the shoulder from the slow cooker and allow to cool slightly before pulling apart with two forks.
10. To thicken the sauce, remove about a cup of liquid and mix with corn flour. Pour this back into the liquid and simmer, either on the slow cooker on a higher heat setting or on the stovetop.
12. Once the sauce is thickened to your liking, add the pulled pork back into the pot and stir until everything is coated in sauce.
No Comments