Texas Pulled Pork (For Crock Pots)

Cooking in crock pots is coming back into style in a big way. How much easier can it get to throw meat, liquid, seasonings and vegetables into a pot, turn on the heat, put on the lid and come back hours later to a hot and tasty meal? Pulled pork is a favorite of mine and here is a great recipe I use. Feel free to use whatever barbecue sauce you like; I prefer plain barbecue sauce. This recipe is written to use a pork shoulder roast, but these can be difficult to get. You could probably use an equivalent weight of pork tenderloins but you will most likely have to adjust the cooking times so the pork does not dry out. Serve the pulled pork on buttered, toasted hard rolls (optional - I like plain old untoasted rolls).

Texas Pulled Pork (For Crock Pots)

1 (4 lb.) pork shoulder roast

1 cup barbecue sauce

½ cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup fat free, reduced sodium chicken broth

¼ cup light brown sugar

1 tbsp. yellow mustard (I like French's Yellow)

1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp. chili powder

1 large onion, chopped

2 large cloves garlic, crushed

1½ tsp. dried thyme (optional)

8 hard rolls, split

In the bottom of a large crock pot (at least 4 quarts), pour in the barbecue sauce, vinegar and chicken broth. Stir in the sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, garlic and thyme, if using. Place the pork shoulder in the crock pot and spoon the sauce over the roast. Cover and cook on High for 5 - 6 hours or on Low for 10 - 12 hours. The roast should easily shred with a fork.

Remove the roast from the crock pot and shred the meat with two forks. At this point you can remove a lot of the fat and the bone from the roast. Return the shredded pork to the crock pot and stir the meat into the sauce, coating everything thoroughly. If not serving immediately, leave the crock pot on the Low setting.

If serving with buttered, toasted rolls, spread both halves of the rolls with butter. Toast the buns butter side down over medium heat until golden brown.  Spoon the pork into the rolls and eat immediately.

Serves 8