Crock Pot Pulled Pork

Oh, the good ol’ days of childhood. The days where you could sleep in, play all day, and come home to a home cooked meal sitting on the table. Do you remember those days? Riding your bike up to your house and already smelling the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen. If only we could turn back the hands of time. It’s hard to believe I have become the person preparing these meals for my own family. I don’t know how this is possible since I’m still just a kid 🙂

All kidding aside, I know I’m not a child anymore but that doesn’t stop me from wanting that feeling of coming home and smelling something amazing lingering from the kitchen. Do you agree? I got it! I could hire a chef! Good idea, but…it’s definitely not in my budget to hire a chef at the moment. That still leaves me with the question: How can I accomplish a home cooked meal ready to eat the minute I walk in the door? I know the magical answer: A CROCK POT! If you don’t have a crock pot you’re missing out. You put everything inside it in the morning and when you come home after a long day of work the house smells fabulous and dinner is cooked. I used the crockpot this week for Crock Pot Pulled Pork and boy was it scrumptious. Yum!

My local supermarket has a kiosk where they make simple and easy recipes. Not only are the recipes easy to make but they have all the ingredients right there for you and usually they’re on sale that week. The idea is that if someone was looking for something quick to make for dinner they could just grab the recipe, collect the ingredients needed to make it right there and be on their way. What a concept! This is how I stumbled across the recipe for Crock Pot Pulled Pork. My grocery store was giving out samples and I fell in love with the pulled pork instantly. Then I found out it was a crock pot recipe and that sealed the deal. I bought all the ingredients and made it for dinner the next day.

So what do you need to make Crock Pot Pulled Pork?

1 medium onion (roughly chopped), 6 cloves garlic, 2 (14-oz) cans reduced-sodium beef broth, 18 oz bottle barbecue sauce, ⅓ cup brown sugar, ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar, ½ teaspoon pepper, 1 boneless Boston butt pork roast (about 3 1/2 lb), 2 tbsp cornstarch, 3 tbsp water

*optional: hamburger buns or rolls if making sandwiches

Roughly chop a medium onion and place it into the crockpot along with 6 cloves of garlic. No need to chop the garlic or worry about the onion because you will be discarding them later.

Pour in 2 cans of reduced-sodium beef broth, bottle of BBQ sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and pepper into the crockpot and stir to combine ingredients.

Place the Boston butt pork roast into the slow cooker and place it on high for 6 to 8 hours. I put mine on 7 hours because the timing worked out well for dinner. Don’t exceed the 8 hours or your pork will dry out. I have a crock pot with a timer that will turn the heating element to warm once the time expires. You can always do this manually if you don’t have a timer on your crock pot.

After the elapsed time, pull out your pork and let it rest.

While the pork rests you will make a slurry by combining 2 tablespoon of cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of water. A slurry is basically just a thickening agent. Pour the slurry into the crock pot. Let the sauce boil for 4 to 5 minutes with the lid on.

Tip: I will warn you that the sauce doesn’t get very thick using this method. If I want a really velvety sauce I will strain the sauce of the onions and garlic and put it into a sauce pan. From there I will add the slurry and let it boil. It’s an extra step but it makes for a thicker, creamier sauce. If you have the time, I would definitely do it. I didn’t do it tonight and you can see the consistency of the sauce is much thinner.

While the sauce is boiling away you can start pulling apart your pork using two forks. The meat literally falls apart because of the slow cooking process in the crock pot.

Mix some of the delicious sauce into the pork. The amount to mix in is up to you. I just do a little bit to get the flavors flowing and then let everyone put more on if they desire.

Place pulled pork on a bun, add additional sauce if you choose, and enjoy!

We had these sandwiches with a side of onion rings that I threw in the oven about 15 minutes before we ate. As always, this Crock Pot Pulled Pork was a hit with “the boys”. I had tons of extras and put some on top of Patrick’s salad for his lunch the next day.

This recipe is a must! With everything else we need to accomplish in a day (here are some tips to helping with these tasks!), it’s nice to come home to a mouthwatering dish just waiting for you. Spoil yourself. You deserve it 🙂