This recipe is simple, although it does take some time to accomplish the perfectly seasoned and falling apart pork shoulder. Good things come to those with patience.
Ingredients:
pork shoulder/'Boston butt' (approximately 3lbs)
not-beef bouillon, 4 cubes
water, 6 cups
garlic, 3 crushed cloves
molasses, 1-2 tbsp
cider vinegar, 1/4 cup
to taste:
celery salt
paprika
cumin
mustard powder
garlic salt
dried sage
cayenne
salt
blk pepper
optional:
coleslaw
Start stock by adding the water, bouillon, and garlic to the crockpot and setting it to low. This will allow the flavors to combine while you prepare your meat. Mix the spices in a small bowl; add more or less to your specific taste. You are going to use some of the spice mixture as a rub, and then will add the remaining to your stock.
Rub the spice mixture all over your pork, making sure to get every crevice. Wrap the pork tightly in plastic wrap and set in the fridge for at least two hours. After marinating, allow your pork about thirty minutes to come to room temperature. If you have time, allowing your meat to sit overnight, and then preparing your stock the following morning while you meat comes to room temperature is preferred. Fry a strip of bacon in some olive oil to render the fat. This will just add more love to your pork. Also, if you are a flavor saver like myself, you can use some of that bacon grease you have jarred in your fridge. Once the bacon fat is ready, add the pork to the cast iron skillet and sear on all sides.
Searing will cause a Maillard Reaction, which adds a wonderful flavor to your pork as well as creating those crispy end pieces everyone loves. Add the remaining spice mixture to your crockpot stock and then add your pork. The stock should cover the pork shoulder.Cook the pork in the crockpot for an hour on high, then turn the crockpot to low and cook for another four to five hours or until it is falling apart (for a 3lb shoulder).
Make your own barbeque sauce: Take the leftover stock and cool it in the fridge so that the fat separates. Skim the fat from the stock and carefully dump the top half of the sauce down the drain. You want the bottom half which has all the spices and pork bits in it. Pour the remaining stock and all it's goodness into a sauce pan. Add approximately a 1/4 cup each of ketchup and mustard. I used a balsamic/honey mustard that I found at Datz. Also add a few dashes of cider vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil while watching to prevent boil-over. Then lower temperature to a simmer and allow the sauce to reduce by half its weight.
Hand shred the pork and cover in sauce. You can also serve the pork naked along side a bowl of your homemade barbeque sauce. You can also top your sandwich with coleslaw for a Southern treat.
