Recipe: Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

I have fallen in love with my slow cooker. It was a gift from a co-worker for my wedding shower, and I've probably used it a handful of times over the last 8 years. Then, a few months ago I chose a Slow Cooker cookbook as my cookbook of the month and had to dust it off.

And I fell in love.

I'll admit, I'm one of those people who always wondered why I would spend 4 hours cooking a soup I could make in a pot on the stove in 30 minutes. Turns out I was missing the point. The slow cooker allows flavours to meld together. I frees up space on the stove top or in the oven for other items, which is important for me since I cook for the week all at once. It makes meat fall off the bone like butter. And it is a one pot wonder, with a removable inner bowl that allows me to cook and store the meal in the same container.

What more could I ask for from an appliance?

Not much.

Which is why it now has a permanent spot on my already cluttered counter.

I put it to good use this weekend cooking pulled pork. Actually, I bought a huge 4kg pork shoulder (bone in), cut it in half, and made one with a pulled pork sauce, and the other with a BBQ sauce. Absolutely divine, and so easy. The recipe below is for one recipe, which serves 6-8. If you want to do what I did, I recommend cooking it in two batches as well for even cooking, even if you're using the same sauce for all of it.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Ingredients

1 pork roast (about 2kg or approx. 4lbs.) or 1/2 pork shoulder of same weight
1 jar your favourite gluten free pulled pork sauce (approx. 500ml)
If you don't have a favourite, why not try my GF Strawberry BBQ Sauce Recipe?

Directions

1- Trim the pork of any large chunks of fat. If it is tied up, untie it. Place it in the slow cooker. Cover pork with sauce and add 1/4 cup of water to thin sauce a bit to start. Turn on slow cooker to cook for 6 or 8 hours. If you are cooking this overnight and won't have your eye on it occasionally, I would choose 8.

2-  If cooking at a higher heat, check on meat every hour and baste with sauce.  When cooked, remove meat and allow to sit a few minutes until it's cool enough to handle. Flake the pork with a fork and place in serving dish. In the meantime, pour sauce into a saucepan and simmer until it reduces to about 1/2 the amount. Pour over pulled pork and serve.



My Strawberry BBQ Sauce