This dish is a perfect busy-person-with-family-to-feed solution: it takes about five minutes to prepare in the morning, then you just leave the thing all day long, and return home to all sorts of deliciousness. Magic. And then after ten more minutes of dicing up vegetables and such to pile inside the tortillas, dinner is served.
First, the pork. The fun part here is deciding what to use for the liquid – you can throw in anything from beer to water to (diluted) tomato paste, but I like soda. And I like a lot of it, but if you prefer your pork a little less saucy (hee), just reduce the amount of liquid below by about half.
DR. PEPPER PULLED PORK
What you need:
1 bone-in pork shoulder (you can also use pork butt, but this is cheaper, and since you’re cooking it more or less forever it’ll be plenty tender)
Seasonings for pork (I used season salt and garlic powder, but you can be a bit improvisational here – try things like mustard powder, cayenne pepper, BBQ seasoning…whatever you like, really).
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 can Dr. Pepper
What you do:
Season the pork generously and place it in the slow-cooker on high for an hour or so, while you shower and get ready to head out for the day. Then add the BBQ sauce and soda, and turn the heat to low. Let it be for about eight hours, or until you return home. The meat should fall right off the bone, if it hasn’t already fallen off on its own. Shred it with two forks, remove any skin/bone/gross bits, and let the remaining meat soak up all the sauce.
Alternatively, if you’re puttering around the house while the slow-cooker clicks away, put the meat on high for about three hours before adding the sauces and turning the heat to low; this will reduce the total cooking time a bit.
Serve the pork alongside little bowls filled with your favorite accoutrements: I like sliced avocado with some lemon squeezed over the top, onions and green peppers sauteed with a little garlic, and tomatoes and green onions tossed with a little olive oil and sea salt.
Pile everything onto warm tortillas along with a sprinkling of shredded cheese…
And go to town.
More Slow-Cooker Recipes:
