Saucy Pulled Pork

There is nothing like the idea of perfectly seasoned strands of pork dredged in barbecue sauce to get me excited. Like REALLY excited! Maybe giddy is a better description. I just know that life in general is pretty awesome when I'm about to take a bite of a pulled pork sandwich. Or when I stand over the slow cooker and shovel forkfuls into my mouth.

When my friend Lindsey sent me a link to some cupcakes at the AmyBites blog, I naturally perused the website for other recipes. Why wouldn't I, right? Then the heavens opened and people started singing when I alighted upon a recipe for pulled pork. I've made pulled pork before, but the results were OK. The pork was pretty good, but I later realized that I hadn't allowed the meat to get to the "falling apart" stage before attempting to shred it. So although it was fully cooked, I had to exert excessive energy into shredding. At any rate, I was also interested in trying out another pulled pork recipe. You really can't have too many, you know.

Saucy Pulled Pork
recipe slightly adapted from the amybites blog

Print Recipe

• 2lbs pork butt
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 30 oz barbecue sauce (I used ~3/4 of a 40oz bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's, my favorite)

1) Combine the salt, ground mustard, and cayenne pepper. Rub the mixture all over the pork.

2) Add a drizzle of olive oil to a pan, over medium to high heat.

3) Brown the pork butt on all sides. Do not attempt to cook the pork all the way through.

4) Place the pork in a crock pot, along with the onions and barbecue sauce.

5) Turn the crock pot on high and cook for 6-8 hours. The pork is done if the meat falls apart when shredded with a fork.

6) Remove the pork from the crock pot and shred in a bowl. Place the shredded meat back in the crock pot and mix with the sauce. Serve as you wish.

This pulled pork would be a part of my last meal. I swear it. The pork is tender and melts in your mouth. Every few bites, you also get a taste of the crust which was seared into the pork. The sweet and spicy barbecue sauce was the perfect accompaniment to the meat. I think it tastes best on a roll with some cheese, but if you don't have a roll handy, try it tossed with some pasta!