Pulled Pork Recipe (For Slow Cooker or Oven)

The cold weather down under here in Australia reminds me to draw out my slow cooker to make some comfort and flavoursome dishes. Well, if you're living in a warmer area, this dish is also a good choice for you to put on your menu. Nothing can beat the tender and succulent meat that has taken up all the fragrance and flavours of the spices and seasonings after the long hours of cooking at lower temperature in my slow cooker. We used the shredded pork to make sandwiches, burgers, sometimes simply put on rice or combine with noodles with loads of yummy sauce. All the dishes tasted wonderfully.

You won’t go wrong with this no-brainer dish. All you need to do is to put the pork with all other ingredients in a slow cooker. There you go. Enjoy a really tasty meal after a few hours of sit-back-and-relax time. If a slow cooker is not handy to you, you can still make this dish with an oven. Please check out the notes below the recipe.

Pulled Pork Recipe (Printable recipe)
By Christine’s Recipes
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 6 hrs
Yield: 5 to 6 serves

Pulled Pork Burger. Tasty and healthy.

Pulled Pork Rice with edamame beans and corn kernels.

Ingredients:

• 1.4 kg pork shoulder
• 2 tsp sea salt
• black pepper, to taste
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 ½ tsp cayenne powder

Sauce:

• 20 ml (2 Tbsp) tomato paste
• 200 ml chicken stock (homemade or store-bought)
• 3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 10 gm (1 Tbsp) brown sugar

Method:

1. Rinse the pork shoulder and wipe dry. Generously season with salt and black pepper.
2. Use a large mixing bowl, combine the garlic powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, smoked paprika, cayenne powder. Roll the pork in the bowl and get it evenly coated with the mixture.
3. Select the “sauté” function of a slow cooker on high with some heated oil. It helps bring up the flavours and fragrance of the spices. (If no sauté function can be selected, you can sauté the pork in a frying pan over medium-high heat on stove.) Pour in the sauce. Slow-cook on high for 6 hours. The meat will be very tender. (If using a frying pan, transfer the pork into your slow cooker, then follow the remaining steps.)
4. Drain out the pork from the slow cooker. Use two forks to shred the meat. If the sauce in the slow cooker is more than 2 cups (oh yes, the pork will release juice while being cooked), turn on the sauté function and cook until it’s reduced to about 2 cups. Test the taste. Season with salt if needed. Serve on bread rolls or rice, drizzling sauce on top.

Notes：

• You may use collar butt, instead of pork shoulder, that’s for making Chinese BBQ pork. It’s best to get the lean part though, as you’re not going to roast or grill it. The lean meat will turn very tender and moist. That’s the magic of slow cooking.
• All the spices are available at Asian grocers or supermarkets.
• Keep the leftover pork and sauce separately in a freezer, up to 3 weeks or so. When needed, simply reheat the pork and drizzle heated sauce on it.
• If a slow cooker is not at hand, you can use a conventional oven instead. After searing the pork in a frying pan, transfer it into a Dutch oven or cast-iron container, or a casserole pot. Pour in the sauce, plus one cup of water. Bake in a preheated oven at 160C / 320F for 4 to 4 ½ hours, or until the pork turns tender and can be easily shredded. Along the way of cooking, turn the pork every hour, and replenish some boiling water if needed.