Do you own a crockpot? If the answer is no, you need one. Like, now. They are pretty cheap and once you learn a few recipes and get into the habit of using it, it will be one of your most valuable kitchen items. The 2 recipes I'm going to share today ALONE are reasons enough to get a crockpot. I'm serious. They are THAT good. The pulled pork recipe has a 2 minute prep time..and that includes washing the knife you used to prep. How good does that sound for a busy weeknight???
First things first. Buy a crockpot. They are available in all sizes and price ranges. I suggest getting an oval one. You can cook an entire chicken in that thing! Here's one from Target for $29:
Or go for broke and get this one from Williams Sonoma for $249. Wow, whatever is cooking in there looks AMAZING!! I'd eat that--bones and all.
Ok, so now that you have a crockpot, on to the AMAZING recipe--Soda Pop Pulled Pork. It's fantastic. It's delcious. It's sweet, it's tangy. It's just downright AWESOME! And it's probably the easiest "recipe" in the history of man. Here you go...
Soda Pop Pulled Pork
1 3-5 lb pork shoulder (can also be called a pork roast)
2 cans of soda (I use Dr. Pepper but you can use whatever...Coke, Root Beer, something dark)
1 large onion, chopped into chunks
1 cup (or more) of your favorite BBQ sauce (i love Jack Daniels Original No. 7)
Scallions (optional)
Hamburger Buns (if you are making sandwiches)
1. Trim pork of any excess fat on the outside (optional, but I like mine as lean as possible)
2. Place chopped onions into the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Place pork on top of onions and pour both cans of soda into the slow cooker.
4. Cook on HIGH for 7-8 hours or on LOW for 10-12 hours. Pork should be falling apart when you touch it with a fork.
5. After cooking, carefully remove pork from crockpot. Drain all liquid and onions from the pot; discard.
6. With two forks, shred the pork until it is fine and there are no big "chunks" left.
7. Return shredded pork to the crockpot and stir in the BBQ sauce. **here you can taste and decide whether or not you like more or less sauce. I tend to like it more "pork-y" and less "sauce-y" but that's just me :-).
8. You can stir in your scallions and serve immediately OR set the pot on low or the "keep warm" setting and serve in a hour or so.
It's so.darn.good!!! BUT! Not as good as this next recipe, which is what you can have the next day with your leftover pulled pork. Scott declared it his "new favorite meal" and the best leftovers EVER (and he HATES leftovers!) So here you go....
Pulled Pork Nachos
1-2 cups leftover pulled pork
4-5 large handfuls of good tortilla chips (thick ones!)
1-2 cups of your favorite cheese, shredded (we use sharp cheddar and pepperjack)
Scallions, sour cream and pico de gallo or fresh salsa for topping!
1. In a small saucepan, heat pork until warm.
2. While pork is heating up, spread tortilla chips in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Top chips with pork and shredded cheese
4. Place into a 425 degree oven for about 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted.
5. Top with scallions, sour cream and fresh salsa.
OMG. YUM. YUM. YUM! If you have never tried pulled pork nachos, you need to put it on your bucket list. Seriously. You could even serve this to your friends and they'd never know you were feeding them leftovers! LOL!
Hopefully these two recipes have convinced you to buy a crock pot or at least dust off the one you already have. They were both home runs at my house and I really felt I hardly lifted a finger! :)
Cheers!
XO ~ Casey
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