I know that making pulled pork with Dr. Pepper is a big thing on Instagram, on the internet, and in various other social media. I wondered whether so many people could be wrong. So, this past weekend I tried using a Dr. Pepper recipe to make my pulled pork. My opinion--biased, perhaps, because I have a good pulled pork recipe--is YES. A lot of people on social media are wrong, in my view. If you like Dr. P. in your pulled pork, then fine. More power to you. I don't. If the Dr. P lends "complexity" to the pork, apparently I don't care for "complexity." Dr. Pepper in pulled pork just tasted weird to me. Why mess up a good thing? If you pop a big piece of pork in your slow cooker with a few more ingredients, you've got the makings of an incredible dinner and many more inexpensive meals.
Making pulled pork in the slow cooker is about as easy as it gets in terms of cooking. A pork shoulder roast or "butt roast" is the best cut to use as they turn out the juiciest and most tender. You can use a boneless pork loin, but it will be drier. That said, I sometimes use pork loins when they're cheap and the pork butts have too much fat on them to suit me. The fat on the butt roasts keeps the pulled pork tender. The fat also adds to my butt, which I'd like to avoid. So, after you let your pork roast cook all day, making you extremely hungry while you're working from home, you'll have dinner for the night. Serve the pork topped with the barbecue sauce of your choice. You can serve the pork "as is," on a bun, or on top of polenta (or grits!). Then, unless you have a very large, very, very hungry family, you'll have plenty of extra shredded pork left for tacos, burritos, sandwiches, and, my favorite, a shredded pork and corn casserole with a cheesy topping. Check the site for the casserole! Yum! Cheap and fast! Low hassle! Tastes great! NO DR. PEPPER NEEDED!
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork -- Makes a LOT
3-5 pound pork shoulder or butt roast or pork loin, cut up to fit inside slow cooker crock
3/4 cup of dark brown sugar
3/4 cup of water
3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons of liquid smoke
1 onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of molasses
Spray the crock/insert with non-stick cooking spray, set the heat to high, and put the pork into the slow cooker crock/insert. Combine the remaining ingredients and mix them well. Pour them over the pork. Let the pork cook at high for an hour, then turn down the temperature to low and let the pork cook all day or until it's tender enough to shred with a fork. Shred the pork into the juices (removing the large pieces of fat, if any remain) and use the pork as you like.
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