Pulled Pork: Three Ways

By Krista, Contributor

I don’t care if you’re a working mom, a hot single lady or a self-proclaimed life-long bachelor; there is no better feeling in the world than coming home and not having to cook dinner.  Before I got married and had kids, I ate Ramen noodles or Cap’n Crunch way more than I would like to admit.  Now that I am responsible for feeding other mouths, crock pot meals are my safety net.  I’m always on the lookout for new recipes, so if you have some, please share links or recipes in the comments (pretty please with a cherry on top).

Here’s one of my favorites.  It makes an appearance on our menu at least once a month:

Ingredients:

• 3 – 5lb pork roast – shoulder or butt roast (these may or may not be the same thing.  I’m bad at identifying cuts of meat.)
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup of coffee
• 15oz can of beef broth
• Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the pork, sear the outside until golden brown.
2. Place in crock pot.
3. Pour enough beef broth and coffee so that it’s about half the depth of the pork roast.
4. Set it on low for 6-8 hours.
5. Walk away.
6. When the pork is done (ie. it starts falling apart when you stick it with a fork) use two forks to shred it.
7. Put the shredded pork back in the crock pot with the juice and let it warm back up.

Night One:  Serve with BBQ sauce for pulled pork sandwiches.

Night Two:  Add taco seasoning, brown it a little in a frying pan and use for tacos or quesadillas

Night Three:  Freeze the rest and pull it out the next time you have nothing for dinner!

Enjoy!

PS: If the original pork recipe is too bland for your tastes, spice it up with hot pepper flakes, cumin and/or garlic salt.

(Image Source)

PPS:  Sometimes I don’t have time to sear the roast before I leave for work, I don’t really notice much of a difference in the final product.