Party time-Pulled Pork

McKenna's baptism was Saturday and I made pulled pork for dinner. It's a great party dish because you can cook it the day before and then just warm up in the crockpot. Pork shoulder is the best cut of meat to use for pulled pork. It's a cheap and fatty cut of meat. You can easily remove the fat from the pork as you are shredding it.

I'm sharing a few pulled pork recipes that I have tried. The easiest is coca-cola pulled pork. Open a 1-2 cans of coca-cola, pour it in the slow cooker and add a few pounds of pork shoulder. Cook on low for 8 hours. The cola creates a nice glaze as it cooks. Remove the pork, shred and add back to the slow cooker. Mix the pork with the glaze and let the pork warm a bit. Serve with hamburger buns.

My next favorite is a Tyler Florence recipe for pulled pork. It's designed for cooking in the oven but I made it in the slow cooker and it was excellent. It has a rub for the pork that gives it a great flavor. When the pork is done cooking, you make a bbq sauce with the pork drippings. It's a vinegar based sauce which is a southern thing but it's delicious.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/pulled-pork-barbecue-recipe/index.html

The last recipe is my own creation. It's a combination of the coca-cola recipe, a bbq rub and Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce. You can use the rub in the Tyler Florence recipe or a store bought bbq rub such as Mccormick's http://http//www.mccormick.com/Products/GrillMates/Dry-Rubs/Grill-Mates-Pork-Rub.aspx. Rub the pork, wrap in plastic wrap and marinade overnight if possible. Then add 1-2 cans of coke, the pork and cook for 8 hours on low. Shred the pork and reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Turn the crockpot on low or warm, return the pork to the crockpot and add as much Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce as you desire. You can also add a bit of the cooking liquid. Serve with hamburger buns.

If you are making pulled pork for a party and trying to figure out how much to make, you can estimate 1/4-1/2lb. of pork per person. You can freeze leftovers or make pulled pork nachos. Enjoy!