PW's Spicy Pulled Pork, Crockpot-Style

A year or so a great friend of mine had us over for dinner and made PW's Spicy Pulled Pork. It was absolutely delicious, and I've made it a handful of times since. But, the whole having two little kids thing makes it difficult to tend to a hunk of meat once an hour for 6-7 hours. I had to come up with an easier version. Once again, I turned to my trusted crockpot, and it was a success. I'm not sure I'll make this in the oven again. [Note: The oven variety calls for cranking the heat at the end of the cooking time to make a really crispy crust on the meat. I'm not a crispy meat fan. If you are, you can just transfer this to a roasting pan just before serving to crisp it up.]

The Pioneer Woman's Spicy Pulled Pork, Crockpot-Style

(almost fully copied from The Pioneer Woman's recipe found here)

7-lb pork shoulder (I usually use a bone-in pork butt shoulder because they tend to be less expensive)

1 whole onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tablespoons salt

sprinkle of black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (PW calls for white wine vinegar, but I never seem to have any)

1/4 cup brown sugar

Place the pork shoulder in the crockpot. Throw the rest of the ingredients into a blender, and pulse until smooth and well-combined. Pour over the pork shoulder. Then, using your hands, rub the mixture into all of the nooks and crannies of the pork turning to coat. Add about 1/2 cup of water, and set to cook on low for 10 hours.

Just before serving, remove the pork to a large platter or 9x13 baking dish, and shred with two forks. Pour the juices over the top. Serve on your favorite tortillas with plenty of fresh limes, sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo, fresh cilantro, beans and rice. Yum!