Pork On My Mind – Bon Appetit Hon

I’ve had pork on my mind. Which is really something I never anticipated coming from an anti-barbecue background. It took baby steps to get me here. Some Andy Nelsons pulled pork love here. Some Urban BBQ deep fried brisket in an eggroll happiness there. I have come to appreciate the simple beauty of a meat and two sides platter…not to mention a lemonade perfumed with some of Kentucky’s finest distilled spirits.

Just recently The Mistah and I paid a call to Mr. Andy Nelson where we commented that the old auto shop that serves as overflow seating is absolutely perfect. We speculated that down south, where barbecue is a noun instead of a verb, the best eating would likely be found someplace like that…a little forgotten structure on the side of the road with sauce stained wooden tables and sticky floors. I hope to test this theory extensively in the future.

Until then, I will have to be content to either make a run for carry out when the pork invades my thoughts or work some pulled pork magic in my own kitchen. Thanks to the folks at Fine Cooking, I can do that. And so can you.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Adapted from Fine Cooking

4 pounds pork shoulder, bone in or boneless, trimmed
1 large onion, sliced
1/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 or 4 dashes hot sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons kosher salt

Combine the sliced onion, 1/3 cup vinegar, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder and 1 teaspoon salt in the insert of a slow cooker. Add the pork and coat it completely with the mixture. Cover and cook on low 7 to 8 hours or 5 to 6 hours on high until the pork is tender and falling apart.

Carefully transfer the pork to a cutting board. Shred the pork, discarding the bone (if applicable) and fat. Whisk the tomato paste, hot sauce, remaining vinegar and salt into the juices. Add the shredded pork and any accumulated juices back to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt, vinegar, and hot sauce as desired.

{printable recipe}