Pulled Pork

A couple of weeks ago I was thinking to myself, there must be a recipe somewhere for cooking pork in the crock pot. I searched on the internet for a while and found a recipe for pulled pork. I took the plunge and purchased the 7.5-pound pork shoulder. Then I felt a bit like a mad scientist as I concocted the spice rub. I decided to halve the spices of the original recipe because I wanted the girls to be able to eat the pork, and because I didn't want to deplete the jars of half of my spices for a recipe that I had never made before and didn't know how it would turn out.

I am happy to say that the pulled pork turned out wonderfully. I didn't take a picture because pulled pork just isn't the most attractive food ever. But what it lacks in appearance, it makes up for in smell and taste. We have been smelling the delicious aromas of pork and spices since 9 o'clock this morning. And dinner was strangely quiet as everyone scarfed down his or her portion of pork. Rarely have I seen Naomi eat anything so quickly. We all went back for seconds.

Here is the original slow-cooker pulled pork recipe, and below is my modified version. Michael thought that we could have had a bit more spice, but the level of spice was just right for the girls and me.

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork
serves 6 to 8 adults

Ingredients:

• 1 6 to 8-pound pork shoulder (also called Boston butt)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 gallon-size Ziploc bag
  
• 1/2 Tbsp. (1 and 1/2 tsp.) ground black pepper
• 1/2 Tbsp. (1 and 1/2 tsp.) ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 2 Tbsp. paprika
• 1/2 Tbsp (1 and 1/2 tsp.) dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. (1 and 1/2 tsp.) granulated white sugar
• 2 Tbsp. kosher salt
• limes for garnish
  

Instructions:

The day or night before you want to serve the pulled pork, follow these instructions: In a small bowl mix together the black pepper, white pepper, Cayenne pepper, cumin, paprika, oregano, brown sugar, white sugar, and salt. Rinse the pork in water, pat it dry with paper towels, and then cut off any excess fat on the outside of the pork. Rub all sides of the pork with the spice rub. Put the pork into a gallon-size Ziploc bag and seal it; or if the pork is too big to fit into the bag, wrap it tightly on all sides with saran wrap. Place the bag of pork or the plastic-wrapped pork on a plate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.

About 9 hours before you would like to serve the pork, pour 1/4 cup of water into the slow cooker. Remove the pork from its bag or plastic wrapping and place it in the slow cooker on low heat. After 1 hour, turn the pork over. After 1 more hour, turn the pork over again. After the pork has been cooking for at least 6 hours, try to pull the pork apart to shred it. If it doesn't shred easily, let it cook another hour and then attempt to shred it again, taking out large pieces of the pork and pulling them apart using two forks to create bite-size pieces. Return all of the pork to the slow cooker and let it cook until it is all tender, about 8 or 9 hours in total.

Serve with a squeeze of lime as a garnish.