Kids & Family

Queens Eats: Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork

Get your barbecue fix without a grill.

This article was written by Erin Walsh.

Happy belated July 4th.

I hope that you had a wonderful Independence Day and celebrated by doing something fun in the sun.

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I always equate the summer holidays (Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day) with backyard barbecues and for those of you blessed enough to have your own backyard, I hope that you grilled to your heart’s content.

But for those apartment-dwellers like me, who — sniff, sniff — don’t have access to an outdoor grill, finding appropriate picnic-type grub can be a bit of a challenge. And there’s nothing to get my mind racing like a challenge.

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So, I took to Google to find a fitting recipe, which inevitably led me to, you guessed it, my beloved Crock Pot and I share with you today a recipe for Slow Cooker Pulled Pork.

This dish delivers on all fronts and smells heavenly while it’s cooking for hours in your apartment. Serve on hamburger or brioche buns. Enjoy this tasty treat and make your grill-owning neighbors jealous.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork (Source: CHOW.com)

Ingredients

· 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
· 4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
· 1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
· 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
· 1 tablespoon chili powder
· 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
· 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
· 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1 (4-1/2- to 5-pound) boneless or bone-in pork shoulder (also known as pork butt), twine or netting removed
· 2 cups barbecue sauce (optional)

Instructions

1. Place the onions and garlic in an even layer in the slow cooker and pour in the stock or broth. Combine the sugar, chili powder, measured salt, cumin and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pat the pork dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork and place the meat on top of the onions and garlic. Cover and cook until the pork is fork tender, about six to eight hours on high or eight to 10 hours on low.

2. Turn off the slow cooker and remove the pork to a cutting board. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the onion mixture from the slow cooker through the strainer and return the solids to the slow cooker. Set the strained liquid aside.

3. If the pork has a bone, remove and discard it. Using two forks, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Return the shredded meat to the slow cooker, add the barbecue sauce, if using, and mix to combine. If you’re not using barbecue sauce, use a spoon to skim and discard the fat from the surface of the strained cooking liquid and then add 1/4 cup of the liquid at a time to the slow cooker until the pork is just moistened. Taste and season with salt as needed.


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