{Recipe} Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork and Cole Slaw

Happy February!

One of my goals for January was to use my slow cooker more. I've been using my slow cooker a lot this week and I've been loving it! This will probably be a goal for 2014 as a whole since I'm planning on using it a lot this year! I'm learning so much! 

I have an easy and super simple pulled pork recipe for you guys today. It literally takes 20 minutes to prep, 6-8 hours of uninterrupted cook time in the slow cooker and you have yourself some juicy, tasty, melt-in-your-mouth, fall-off-the-bones pulled pork! 

The first thing to do is chop your onion/garlic and make your rub. My rub had cinnamon in it and it smells so good! 

Here's my pork shoulder looking all pretty and stuff. Here's how you start: wash it, pat it dry and cut off any huge chunks of fat. I left a few slithers of fat in the meat for flavor. Season the shoulder with your rub! 

Lay your chopped onion/garlic in the slow cooker. Pour some chicken stock in. I hear a can of beer or coke works well too! (Gotta try that one day.) Gently lay your pork shoulder on top of it all and close the lid. The cooking begins!

For your coleslaw - gather up your ingredients. I chose to use Greek yogurt instead of Mayo again (tryna be healthy, y'all) and though it did it's job - I think my cole slaw would have appreciated a little bit of mayo. It ended up being a little too bitter and not creamy enough.   Next time! This is Eugene's request, too. 

The veggies get mixed together first with some lemon juice. The dressing gets whipped up all on its own. Then they marry and make a beautiful little salad. 

This gets covered and goes into the fridge to set in. 

Here is what 8 hours did for me and my pork shoulder. It was so exciting seeing it shred so easily. I drained the excess broth into a bowl and left the onions and garlic in the crockpot.  I shred this thing like crazy then put it back in my crockpot. Add juice back into the slowcooker, one spoonful at a time until it's at your desired level of juiciness.

We used Hawaiian rolls and made our sandwiches! Eugene are so many, I don't think I'm allowed to tell you just how much he ate. Let's just say these little guys didn't have to sit in Tupperware for long. 

Add a few drizzles of sriracha if that's your thing. Or Dijon mustard. You just can't go wrong!

Xoxo

SLOW COOKER PULLED PORK RECIPEAdapted from 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. 

2) 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 6 to 8 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low. 

3) Turn off slow cooker, remove the pork to a cutting board. Pour the onion mixture and leftover juice from the slow cooker through the strainer and return the solids to the slow cooker. Set the strained liquid aside.

4) Remove pork from slow cooker and shred. Return back to slow cooker and add the juice until desired tenderness.