[Closed] Give me your best slow cooked pulled pork recipes please.

I dislike the usual sweet bbq type sauce so my last one was:

1 bell pepper and a couple of onions sliced, put in slow cooker, add tin chopped toms, smother meat in dry spices. Chilli, paprika, oregano and whatever else you fancy, chuck in a couple of dried chipotle's.
High for a bit (until I leave for work) then low all day.

Get home, shred it all down, chipotle's and all. Simple, tasty.

I fancy doing pulled pork on Saturday.

It's not pork, but I cooked this on Saturday and it was bloody amazing!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pulled_beef_brisket_in_a_53078

[i]Is that the new trendy version of erm pork ?[/i]

no, its going to be shredded. If I was roasting pork I'd do it in the oven and slice it.

I second the Chipotle's but would also recommend using some liquid smoke.

Having done it in a slow cooker and also a smoker there's no substitute for doing it properly, but that gets close.

[i][s]no, its going to be shredded[/s] yes [/i]

ftfy 😉

sazter did you fry the veg and meat first or just stick them straight in the slow cooker?

Mmmmm, slow cooked pork.

Out of interest, how do you guys thicken your stews? Been using the slow cooker over the last year and always have a watery stew. Follow recipe on liquid quantity etc and tastes great. Just want it thicker.

Well all the pulled pork recipes I've done, have been slow roasted in an oven, 24 hrs for the piece I served up on christmas day (alongside a turkey breast)

[url= http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/652180 ]Hairy bikers 'quick' version[/url]

[url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/3312736/The-River-Cottage-Meat-Book-part-one-roasting.html ]Hughs 'Donnie Brasco' Pulled pork[/url] (half way down the page)

The later being the better but would probably have been fine with around 16 hrs, after 23 it starting to dry out (but still delicious), crackling to die for (though salting it, as per the 1st recipe helps loads IMO)

Nope, straight in. Tried a few stews that involved frying first and it made little difference after it is all cooked for 8 hours. I bought it to make my life easier and save time, chucking raw stuff in does that!

Will try the liquid smoke too 🙂

for thickening I use arrowroot mixed with a little water, but I try and stay off gluten, if you can have it then flour or cornflour to thicken.

[i]Out of interest, how do you guys thicken your stews? Been using the slow cooker over the last year and always have a watery stew. Follow recipe on liquid quantity etc and tastes great. Just want it thicker.[/i]

The recipe I used at the weekend involved adding cornflower near the end of cooking time but it hardly made any difference. I made double the amount needed for one meal so I strained what was left into a pan and added some more cornflower then reduced it on the hob.

Pig Cheeks, use pig cheeks. Amazingly tender and flavourfull. That is all. Waitrose sell them and they're sooo cheap.

cornflour to thicken

...but don't throw it straight in. Make a thick paste in a small cup or something, then add to the sauce and stick on the heat again for a few minutes.

Yes definitely make a paste first, otherwise you'll just end up with lumps.

Just get the one in Aldi. Me and my kid love it. (Smells a bit like dog food though (the pork, not the kid))

Ingredients include vodka, it says.

Score the joint and rub in ground cumin and coriander.
Place the joint in the pot with a chopped large onion, fine chopped ginger and garlic add 1/2 a can of coconut milk.
Cook slow all day, enjoy when you get home.

Score the joint and rub in ground cumin and coriander.
Place the joint in the pot with a chopped large onion, fine chopped ginger and garlic add 1/2 a can of coconut milk.
Cook slow all day, enjoy when you get home.

Now there's a plan for tomorrow! No salt?

The recipe says salt but I haven't noticed any difference as pork usually has enough in it anyway.

OK, thanks!

Well here's something I'd like to weigh in on:

[url= http://amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/meatheads_memphis_dust.html ]Rub[/url]

Score and rub, leave overnight.

Dice an onion and some garlic in the slow cooker pan (if it is ok on the hob). Remove, seal Pork (with excess fat/skin cut off) in the pan, remove and put to one side.

Add
tin of tomato
2 teaspoons of liquid smoke
a re-hydrated dried chipotle
2 table spoons of Molases
4 to 5 table spoons of Cider vinegar
Couple of dashes of Lea and Perins
A dash or 2 of bottle BBQ sauce
The pre cooked onions and garlic and bring to the boil
simmer for a couple of minutes

Add the pork back in a cook for minimum 8 hours, but more if possible.

Pork on the bone tastes best, Bear Paws make for easy shredding.

I'm pretty certain this makes the best pulled pork ever, anyone who thinks it's just a trendy way of cooking pork hasn't tried mine.

For thicker sauces, remove the meat from the slow cooker, remove the lid and stick it on high for 30 mins, it'll reduce down.

Whats the best cut of meat to use - shoulder?

Looking forward to try a few of these. Cheers all for the thickening tips.

I can wholeheartedly recommend ox tail, get on that shizzle, tis the bomb n stuff.

I really like the sound of that one toby1. I think we have a winner.

when you say 'Score and rub', what with toby1?

First of all, you need a shoulder of pork with plenty of fat on it - ask the butcher to slice the fat off the meat but keep it with it.

I did this for Boxing Day... put it on at around 8pm on Christmas Day on low. By the following morning it was still pretty tough in parts (so I turned it over and placed the fat back on top) by the afternoon (served at around 5pm) it was gorgeously soft. So what I am saying is longer is *much* better.

I cooked mine in apple juice, white wine, a chicken stock cube and a load of random herbs along with some other bits I found in the fridge (onion, spring onion, red pepper etc - you don't need to be fussy, it'll all end up tasting about the same).

About four hours before it was cooked I removed the fat, sliced it up and seasoned it then bunged it in the oven to crisp it up. I also removed some of the plentiful juices and set aside, skimming off the fat when cooled and made into a thick and tasty apple gravy (by adding cornflour and simmering on the hob for 5 minutes) to go with the sandwiches.

It was demolished - so much so I barely got a look in as I was busy cooking other bits!

Small update: tried craigxxl's recipe, the pork is great but a little dry - 5 hours in the slow cooker on high, 4.5 might have been enough.

I'm doing toby1's recipe on Saturday. Made the rub last night, bought the meat today and I'll give my pork a good rub tonight 🙂

I would have thought 4.5-5 hours on high would be too hot and too fast for a big piece of meat.

I would have thought 4.5-5 hours on high would be too hot and too fast for a big piece of meat.

Yeah, although my book said that was about right for pork. It's the first time I've cooked it, and as I prepared it at 11 last night for taking to work this morning I didn't have enough time to cook it slowly. It's not bad, just needs a bit of gravy or similar. Or maybe a satay sauce, bit of rice... mmm.

As I said in my post, low and slow is far better. And make sure there is plenty of juice in there to steam/boil it with too.

As I said in my post, low and slow is far better. And make sure there is plenty of juice in there to steam/boil it with too.

Loads of juice in there, it's amazing how much ends up in the pot when you use a slow cooker! Definitely will go low and slow the next time, ideally will be a bit more prepared but I ran out of time last night 🙂

I turned my meat over halfway through too - I am sure that helped ensure all of it absorbed the juices.

I also rest my meat on small balls of rolled up tin foil so the whole of the meat isn't in contact with the relatively hot base of the pan.

I cook whole chicken, gammon and beef in mine too - only the beef was a disappointment - that's best cooked as a stew/casserole.

Hopefully you spotted the rub link Gary 🙂

Also, tend to go for shoulder on the bone if possible, but I've used what looked like the cut of back bacon before and that was good too. Only problem can be bone scoring the sides of the pot. Essentially cheap fatty pieces of meat work really well for this sort of cook.

mogrim, yep, it really is best slow. I've previously got up at 4am to put it on when I needed it to be ready for a lunch.

One day I'll buy a Weber smoky mountain and try a real slow cook over coals, but in the meantime I'll keep using the slow cooker.

I did when I looked at home toby1. Was having a quick look at work and missed the link.

Cool, it produces way too much rub, but you can produce it in bulk and store it for the next time.

Despite being slightly dry (though it wasn't actually that bad!) the pork was a big hit with the rest of the family - cheap and popular, will definitely repeat 🙂

I love my slow cooker and use it at least twice a week. It's a winner for all sorts of stuff. Invest in some good books or time on the internet to get the best recipes. A particular fave is Cashew Chicken which is yum.

My pulled pork goes thus:

Slice onions and fennel and place in base of slow cooker.

Rub dry mix of cumin, chilli, paprika, plus any other spices you particularly like, and brown sugar on to pork. Place pork on to onions and cook on low for 8 or so hours.

Take pork out and shred.

Drain onion and fennel mix and put liquid into pan on stove to reduce down.

Mix shredded pork with onions and fennel in cooker, add reduced liquid, mix again.

Eat in brioche buns with whatever sides you like.

Nom, nom, nom, nom, noooooooooommmmmmmmmm!

As for thickening, I tend to add flour and mix it in with meat and veg before adding any liquid.

Bolognese works a treat but you do need to pre fry the beef so it breaks up and mixes into everything if you're going to leave it to cook all day.

Got addicted to Cuban roast pork with rice and black beans from a little old family restaurant in Key West. Spent ages trying to copy it and [url= http://icuban.com/food/lechon_asado.html ]this recipe [/url] is the the nearest I found. The sour orange juice (or equivalent) really gives it some depth. Never did it in a slow cooker though, but once marinaded can't see why not. If cooked properly it takes a couple of rakes with dinner forks and the whole thing goes 'ploomph' into lovely shredded juicy garlicky goodness. 20 cloves of garlic!

I'm thinking of sticking this on tonight for dinner tomorrow. That would give it roughly 18 hours in the slow cooker. Other option is to put it on in the morning which would give it around 11 hours.

Whats the best option?

Depends how big the cut is - the one I did at Christmas was huge - about 6lbs for 14 people.

its pretty small, probably about 3lb.

I'd say in the morning otherwise there will be nothing left of it.

If I do a family size chicken or a cut of gammon it always goes on in the morning.

Okay, thanks. I'll prepare everything tonight so its just a matter of sticking it in the slow cooker first thing in the morning.

Okay, thanks. I'll prepare everything tonight so its just a matter of sticking it in the slow cooker first thing in the morning.

From my limited experience, a 1.5kg (so similar weight) joint of pork, bone in, is very slightly overdone after 5 hours on high. So 8-10 on low sounds about right.

That's what I do - or more accurately, I leave my wife in bed with the kids and get up at 7am on a Sunday morning and do the prep and bung it in before they emerge at about 9am.

Used toby1's recipe on Saturday and the pulled pork was absolutely amazing. Put the rub on Thursday night, did all the prep on Friday then cooked it for around 8 hours. It was perfect, very moist.

Will a bunch of pork shoulder steaks work well rather than a joint? Still looks to be a fair bit of fat on them.

Kip, just whacked your recipe in the slow cooker overnight. Completely made up rub with yours as a base - will report back results!