A 3-hour pulled pork that is tender and juicy and tastes like it simmered in the crockpot all day - no kidding.
The Easiest (Cheater) Pulled Pork Ever, No Kidding
This cheater pulled pork recipe kind of came on a flashback. No, not that kind y'all. But... years ago I really got into frugality, and one of the many places I frequented back then included the Dollar Stretcher website. Now I admit, I had kind of forgotten about Gary until I found him on Twitter and rediscovered him again.
Well one day, Gary tweeted an article called The Pork Barbecue Secret from his site, so of course I checked it out. (Update: Sadly the article is nowhere to be found now.)
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The article is written by Dave Kessler, author of Skinny Cooks Can't Be Trusted, a collection of his recipes and articles from a column by the same name. Now. I don't know how valid the article is, I'm just sayin'... but with a title like that, I already liked the guy, because this is one of my most popular things to say when I watch these super skinny cooks on television.
No offense to anybody who happens to be a skinny cook.
I actually used to be one of those. Until my metabolism went south about the same time that I started blogging about food! Just sayin'...
Anyway, I was intrigued to say the least, so I marched off to the store, picked up a pork shoulder butt - isn't that such a funny contradiction in terms? First thing we all think, hey, how can a shoulder be a butt....
Well, I gave this method a try and my skepticism was doused with the first bite.
Despite no seasonings, that's right, NONE, this was the most flavorful, tender, juicy pork, perfect for dousing with barbecue sauce for pulled pork sandwiches.
There is something to be said about the natural fats in meats y'all and this is a winner, believe it or not.
The bonus is that you get a wonderful broth leftover that is just perfect for a pot of soup like bean with bacon, or for a mess 'o greens.
Of course, many of us do a great pulled pork in our slow cookers, but the beauty of this is that it is done to perfection for pulling in much less time.
And to think all these years I've been paying high dollar for a pulled pork sandwich because I was intimidated by all those hours of smoking that you had to do in order to get a juicy, tender and flavorful pulled pork. Well, guess what? It's not true!
I know the die-hard smokers out there are flipping out and will argue this point, and yes, a good smoked pork butt is awesome indeed, but... this is the easiest way to get pulled pork without all that smoking and waiting and honestly, the taste is so good, nobody but you has to know how easy it was.
Here's how to make it!
Place the pork shoulder/butt into a large stockpot and cover it completely with water.
Add onion, put a lid on the pot and bring the water up to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours.
Remove from heat and take off the lid. Let the pork rest in the water for about 30 minutes. Remove to a tray.
Use a fork and some tongs, begin to pull the pork into bite sized shreds.
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Season the meat. I'm using a barbecue seasoning from Badia (#ad), one of my favorite seasoning brands.
Sprinkle the meat with the barbecue seasoning to taste and toss until pork is well coated.
Today I'm using a Texas Spicy version of sauce from Red State BBQ, from Lexington, Kentucky. I enjoy trying sauces from around the country, and I love their sauces! Use whatever your favorite is, of course!
For a little smoke flavor, add some liquid smoke to the meat or the sauce and drizzle sauce all over the meat.
Place into a storage container if not using right away or transfer to a serving platter. May also sauce the meat on individual buns, if preferred, but either way, offer some additional sauce at the table.
Spread butter on the buns and toast them in a skillet. Pile the pork onto the buns and spread a generous amount of additional sauce over it. Serve immediately.
Update!
On doing this in the crockpot: I do love this method for cheater pull pork, slow cookers have found their way into the pulled pork market since posting the back in 2009. I have done a Carolina style cheater pulled pork and a Spicy Crockpot version in the slow cooker now too. Cook overnight, for anywhere between 8 to 12 hours on low (depending on size of the butt), shred, return to the crockpot and add barbecue sauce, or leave plain, and sauce individual sandwiches, which is the way that I prefer to do it.
On doing this is a pressure cooker: Pressure cookers used to scare me to death ... until I got me one of the new-fangled electronic ones here recently. Well, I have to tell you that is a pretty cool method for making a pulled pork that's even faster than this! You can check it out here - just remember that it is written for the new, electronic kind of pressure cooker since I'm not about to try those old-fashioned ones!
Heck, there's even a great oven roasting method too, though that is more of a fall or winter method. So good too though!
So you see, you have all sorts of methods besides babysitting a smoker for hours, that will still give you a nice, tender pork for pulling!
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