Slow-cooker Q

Here's a holiday bonus: I'm making this for our pot luck at work tomorrow. But I'm making it tonight. That's the beauty.

I love barbecue pork sandwiches. And I'm sure that some day when I have 12 consecutive hours of nothing-better-to-do, I'll set up a low, smoky fire on the grill and babysit a pork shoulder all day while all   the fat melts and it gets all tender and delicious. It hasn't happened yet, though, and my slow cooker is the reason.

The barbecue pork I make in the slow cooker is not the same. I understand that and accept it. And for fear of heresy, I'm not going to compare the two. That I like the slow cooker version a lot can just stand as testament to how much I also like the real thing.

If you don't have a slow cooker (crock pot, whatever), well, I'm not going to tell you what to buy, but you're missing out on a great tool. I'm sure this recipe could translate to stove top or oven somehow, but I don't know the answer to that.

The sauce is also totally to the cook's discretion. I start here with bottled chili sauce and BBQ sauce, but try all of one or the other, or get crazy and try some teriyaki or hoisin. Or ketchup and mustard.

Slow-cooker Q

4-5 lbs pork roast, shoulder or butt
1 med onion, chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated (optional)
1 cup chili sauce
1 cup bbq sauce
1 green bell pepper, chopped

on the stove top heat the crock pot insert (if yours is stovetop safe) or a skillet and brown each side of the pork. this step is optional.

with the crock pot insert in the heating element, turn the crock pot on to low. add the rest of the ingredients. cover. walk away. you're good for the next 8-12 hours, or whenever you're ready to eat.

just before you're ready to eat, lift the roast out of the crock pot on to a large cutting board or platter. be careful, it will fall apart. that's ok.

skim the fat off the top of the sauce in the crock pot. if the sauce seems soupy, put the insert on the stovetop over low to medium heat until it begins boiling, and allow to reduce.

meanwhile, get two forks and attack the pork, shredding it into strands of meat. discard any large chunks of fat and any bone.

when the pork is shredded and sauce ready, put the pork back in the cooker and toss to coat with the sauce.

serve on buns with bread&butter pickles and thinly sliced onion.

Comments

[Shirley J. Buttacavoli]

The holiday might be over for some, but I had to work. So I might just make this for my "holiday" week.

I'll crank up the bread machine and will be good to go.

Sounds like the perfect recipe for a hot summer day. Thanks Jim.