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

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Spice Rub:

• 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.