As we come into fall when the days and nights are cooler, I recommend you make this dish that I found last year at the Tasty Kitchen. Not only will it warm your house up, but it also tastes delicious. Beyond the rave reviews it’s received at various parties I’ve made it for, when I made it for the first time earlier this summer, Gavin loved it so much that he saved the juice that the pork was sitting in, in hopes that I could turn around and use that same juice the next day.
Apple Cider Pulled Pork
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
- 1 quart Apple Cider
- 1 cup Ketchup
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup BBQ Sauce (optional)
- 1 TBSP Cumin
- 1 TBSP Paprika
- 1 TBSP Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tsp Ground black pepper
- 2 Onions, medium (cut into 8ths)
- 5 lbs Pork Shoulder/Pork Butt/Pork Roast (ties removed)
- 12 Sandwich Buns
Preparation
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. If you\'re like me, you\'ll also need to remove your center rack.
- In a large bowl, combine the apple cider, ketchup, brown sugar, bbq sauce and spices. Set aside.
- Place half of the sliced onions into the bottom of a 4-6 quart Dutch oven. Place the pork shoulder on top of the onions. Top the pork shoulder with the remaining onions and then pour sauce over everything. The pork shoulder need not be completely submerged to reach perfect pulled pork perfection, but you can add a little more apple cider if you\'d like at this point.
- Cover and place in the oven for 2-1/2 to 3 hours, depending on the size of your pork shoulder. (My discovery is that longer is better -- the pork falls apart easier).
- Begin checking for doneness after about 2 hours. When done, the pork will easily pull apart from itself with a fork. Remove the meat and place onto a flat surface.
- Place the Dutch oven on the stove (or move contents to a large pan) over medium heat and heat up the remaining sauce/juices to boiling to thicken. While the sauce boils, pull the pork into shreds using two forks. (I use a fork and some tongs.) Take care to remove the pieces of fat.
- Return the shredded pork to the sauce and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
- Serve pulled pork piled high on a sandwich bun or just by itself.
