This Slow Cooked BBQ Pulled Pork dish is perfect for parties, just don’t expect to have any left overs.  It is flavorful, moist and did I say “perfect”?

Last year my husband did a job with an amazing cast.  They had so much fun working with each other that they decided to organize a get together after they wrapped.  Guess who was hosting?  We were.  “That’s awesome!”  I said.  “But let me make sure: this will be Potluck, right?”  And oh my goodness, was I happy that the answer was “YES!”

One of the cast members, Shaun, brought this dish over.  The only problem: it was so good that no matter how much he would have made, it would still not have been enough.  The boys (then 1 and 3 years old) dove in and devoured the pork.  That was the final verdict.

The only disadvantage: it’s “Slow Cooked Pork”. Your house will smell delicious for the majority of the day, so good that you wish you could fast-forward the clock to the evening.

Slow Cooked BBQ Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

• 5-7 lb. pork shoulder (Boston Butt), bone in
• 1/8 cup salt
• 1/8 cup seasoning salt
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. garlic powder
• 2 tbsp. Spanish paprika (this is the same as smoked paprika.  Do NOT substitute with the “normal” paprika!  The smokey flavor is important to the flavor)
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tbsp. celery salt
• 1 tbsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. ground white pepper
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 1/2 cup BBQ sauce

Directions:

• Remove excess fat from the shoulder.  Don’t worry about getting all of it.  Just the top layer is fine.  You want some fat to render down for the flavor.
• Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
• Coat the shoulder thoroughly: all sides, all around, rub it in.  Put seasoning in the little slits and grooves on the shoulder.  It’ll start to look dark and caramelize as you coat.
• When you think you’ve got enough, cover and keep in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.  (Depending on the size of the shoulder you may have seasoning left over.  Put it in an airtight container and use it for ribs in the future.)
• Put the shoulder and the apple juice in the crock pot and cook on LOW for 10-12 hours.
• After 10 hours check to see how loose the meat is.  Depending on the size of the shoulder, usually 10 hours is good for the bone to fall out.
• Lift the meat out into a cooking pan.
• Pull on the bone.  If the meat falls off of it and the bone comes out, it’s ready to be shredded.
• Take a fork and knife and shred the pork to where it looks like pulled pork.
• Drain and reserve the juices from the crock pot.
• Return the shredded pork to the crock pot, add 1 cup of BBQ sauce and mix together so it looks nice and dark.  If it looks like it needs more BBQ sauce, add more.  You’ll have to judge how the color looks.  Don’t put TOO much in as that will make things soggy.
• Cook on LOW for another 1 1/2 hours, checking occasionally.  If it looks like it’s getting too dry, either add BBQ sauce, or a little of the reserve juices.
• Take out, throw on a cookie sheet and crisp in the oven at 400 F for 10-15 minutes.
• You can keep looking in to see how crispy it’s getting and depending on your preference it may need less or more time in the oven.
• Serve!

Serves: approx. 6-8 for sit down dinner, more with a buffet.

Enjoy!

(Recipe by: Shaun Broyls, Burbank, CA)

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