Monday, August 2, 2010

Jumping On The Pulled Pork Bandwagon



Hello all! It's August already so I thought it was 'bout time to share the last recipe I made for the 4th of July. It seems everywhere I go someone is posting a recipe for BBQ pulled pork or chicken. Is it just me or are they everywhere?! Normally, I'd hold off and post it at a later date but I'm jumping on the bandwagon and sharing this delicious recipe with you. Why? Why not? Everyone else is doing it!



This really was a good pulled pork recipe. I've tried a couple different versions before- one using a spice packet that turned out too salty, another time using rootbeer and brown sugar which was too sweet for my taste and I've tried pulled chicken which was simple and good albeit a little dry. This time I wanted to use a pork tenderloin because it's what I had in the freezer so I searched around and found one that got great reviews and was cooked in a crock pot. Making it in the crock pot was essential because I also had brownies, a birthday cake and a cheesecake to make all on the same day.



There are a lot of ingredients in this but most of them are spices. You can make the spice blend ahead of time and have it ready for whenever you are. Rub it and let it sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. The longer it sits the stronger the flavors will be. Really it all depends on how much time you have to spend on this. It was slightly spicy, a little salty, and barely sweet. Mixed with your favorite BBQ sauce it's the perfect combination of flavors. I used a 2 1/2 lb. pack of tenderloins and was able to get 8 pulled pork sandwiches from it. It reheated nicely the next day too.




Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
adapted from Cooks Illustrated
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 4 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons table salt
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 (2-3) pork tenderloin
  • 1-2 cups barbecue sauce (use as much as you like)
Mix all spice rub ingredients in small bowl.

Cut each tenderloin (2) into three pieces so it fits easily into your crock pot. Place tenderloins in a 9x13 Pyrex dish. Massage spice rub into meat. Cover tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (For stronger flavor, the pork can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

Unwrap and place pork in slow cooker liner. Add ¼ cup water. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 6-8 hours, until meat is fork-tender.

Transfer meat to cutting board. “Pull” by tearing meat into thin shreds with two forks or your fingers (be careful it's HOT).

Place shredded meat back in slow cooker liner. Stir in 1 cup barbecue sauce. Add more if desired. Heat on low for 30-60 minutes, until hot.

Makes about 8 pulled pork sandwiches.

NOTE: Original recipe calls for triple the amounts of spice and a bone-in pork roast. I also added a couple spices and omitted the liquid smoke. The unadapted recipe from Cook's Illustrated can be found HERE or HERE.
Because the world needs one more pulled pork recipe.

28 comments:

Julie @ Willow Bird Baking said...

Yayyy pulled pork! I'm such a pulled pork fan, especially with a big ol' pile of slaw!

Leslie Harris said...

I love the spice pictures! You have such a great eye when it comes to photography.

The sandwich looks delish! :)

Unknown said...

Yum! I love pulled pork! And I especially love the picture of all the spices!!! Gorgeous and I really would like a bite of that sandwich please!

Julie said...

I say if you're going to jump on any sort of a bandwagon, might as well be a pork one! Yumm!

tamilyn said...

I know I NEED another one! Looks like a great one to try Monica

Memória said...

Well, I'm glad you joined the bandwagon because this recipe looks like a keeper. I trust your tastes, so I'll be bookmarking this recipe. Thanks, Monica!

P.S. I'll be leaving Texas for good in 2 weeks, so we should meet up sometime soon.

From the Kitchen said...

I could eat that right now for breakfast! Pair it up with potato salad and cole slaw--yes, please!

Best,
Bonnie

Joy Tilton said...

Sounds delicious and I don't even have to go outside these hot days to fire up the grill! I shared this on Facebook today, great recipe!

cupcakesandcoffee schwartz said...

It is my hubby's favorite! Yours sounds tastier, but here is another one if you have absolutely no time...

1. Put pork in crock pot with cider vinegar (almost covered) and a big scoop of brown sugar.
2. Cook on low overnight.
3. In morning, dump out all liquid, taking fat with it.
4. Add BBQ and warm through.

It is really good!

Michel-lee said...

YeeHah! Your BBQ looks yummy. I've got a pulled pork recipe I've been wanting to try. I need to purchase some crockpot liners first.

oneordinaryday said...

I swear, I saw someone pork bbq two days ago on someone's blog and have been thinking about it since. I even mentioned it to Jim, which means that I have a pork butt in my future. :)
Wish I had the ingredients on hand - we'd be having this for dinner.

Keeley said...

Monica, I LOVE pulled pork! My favorite recipe is on use real butter. Hers is tangy, spicy and Carolina-style.

I strongly suggest trying to use a pork butt (shoulder). Don't worry about the high fat content, you can pull it off after the pork cooks. I love pork tenderloin, too, but the pork butt is so old school and sooo good! I like serving mine on a nice, soft potato hamburger roll with plenty of spicy hot sauce!

Smitten Sugar said...

This looks delicious! I love recipes in the crock pot. The last pulled pork I made I used just seasoning and rootbeer. And added the bbq sauce about 30 mins to an hour before serving. We loved it! But I will have to get this one a shot! Love the spcies pic!

Lorraine said...

I have never tried pulled pork. Yours sounds wonderful and love, love, love that it is done in the crockpot:) Definitely will try.

Nonna said...

Men in my family go crazy for pulled pork and it is so easy to make. I use pork tenderloin. I love it that you can crockpot it too !

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Whew, when this first opened up I saw only your photo and though burgers....much happier to read and see that it's pulled pork! We love it and what I love more is when it's made in the slow cooker! Yay! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Btw, love the two spice photos...very nice! :)
~ingrid

Lissaloo said...

Yum, that looks and sounds wonderful! I love the pictures with spices in a bowl, they look so neat :)

jane said...

I love a good pulled pork sandwich. I cant wait to try out this reciepe

Sue said...

I love a good pulled pork sandwich and this is a great combination of spices...yummy!

Unknown said...

Love pulled pork!
Look at you all fancy with the tenderloin...lol.
I use huge pork shoulders and am usually making it for parties and getaways for crowds. I love it sweet and spicy.
I love your picture of the spices...beautiful!

Healthy and Homemade said...

I have been craving this for weeks and still haven't made it. I should try this recipe because it's not ridiculous, and I love crock pot meals! YUM!

Kerstin said...

I need to jump on this bandwagon! We're actually going out for BBQ today but I really should learn how to make it at home! Love that pic of all the spices!

Jessie said...

I made this recipe last night for my family and it was awesome! My husband said it was his favorite recipe for pulled pork yet! :)

Jana said...

Thank you SO much. I made this for dinner last week. Everyone loved it. It's going in the "Oh, yeah!" recipes file.

Unknown said...

Monica I tried this receipe minus the pork, adding chicken breast and it was soooooo good!! Thank you for sharing another great receipe!! I will be posting about this recipe and your wonderful blog once again on my blog!!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Got it! I'm prepping this tonight for tomorrow's dinner!

Btw, I love those shots of the spices..yum, yum!
~ingrid

Sweet Baker Babes said...

Yum! This was delicious! Thanks for sharing.

Michelle said...

Thank you thank you thank you for posting this!

I have tried the "pour the bbq sauce over pork shoulder or chicken breast" and my bf and I HATE it. It make the bbq taste disgusting. But when I saw your recipe I thought I would give it one more try because you put the sauce at the very end. OMG it was simple and delish! My bf didn't want to taste test at first because he remembered what the last couple batches tasted like, he raised a brow taking a bite and said it was tasty.

Thanks again and keep up the good work!

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