Matt Swaim on the Sonrise Morning Show/Sacred Heart Radio and I chat each Thursday morning about Bible foods and herbs and how to use them today in every day meals. Well, a listener shared this recipe for pulled pork (remember the passage in Leviticus about “unclean” meat?) and it’s perfect for these chilly autumn evenings and for Halloween. Just put everything in the crockpot and forget about it until later in the day. Growing up in Cincinnati, my mom always used Frank’s chili powder blend. They got bought out by another company a long while back and it’s now called Buena Vista chili powder and guess what? It’s the same, delicious blend.Yum!

Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork

Recipe adapted only slightly from Chef Dennis. Check out his photo of the pulled pork above – are you ready to make it now?!

Ingredients

• 4 lb boneless pork butt roast (if bone in, just get a bit larger piece if possible; if not, no worries)
• 1 ½ to 2 cups barbeque sauce 
• ½ cup  cider vinegar
• ½ cup chicken broth – can use bouillon in water or just water 
• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed 
• Squirt of mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder blend – I like Buena Vista brand
• Pepper to taste
• 1 large onion, diced – 2 cups
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped – 2 teaspoons

Instructions

• Spray a slow cooker. Add the barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, chicken broth, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire, garlic, onion, pepper and chili powder into the slow cooker and mix them together.
• Add the pork roast and roll in the mixture to coat.
• Cover and cook on High until the roast shreds easily with a fork, 5 to 6 hours. Or on low 8-10 or so.\
• Allow the pork to cool for a few minutes so it’s easier to handle
• While the pork is cooling, transfer the cooking liquids to a small saucepan. Remove excess fat from on top of  sauce.
• Reduce over medium heat until it thickens and re-season as needed.
• Using two forks, pull pork into small shreds. Don’t let cool too much or it won’t shred as easily
• There is a fine line between allowing the pork to rest and pulling the pork. You want to give the pork roast 20-30 minutes to rest so the juices flow back into the meat. But waiting too long will make it more difficult to shred.
• Add the barbecue sauce to the pork and serve it topped with cole slaw and pickle chips on a toasted bun.
• Adapted slightly from a Chef Dennis recipe. Photo from Chef Dennis.