Pioneer Woman’s Spicy Pulled Pork

Ok.  I’m one of those people who roll out of bed late most mornings. My kids and I are always running out the door, breakfast to eat, shoes to put on, hair to be brushed (or not), all in the car on the way to wherever we are going. Picture Hugh grant and “Scarlett” (I don’t know the actress’ name) in Four Weddings and a Funeral…late to every wedding and cursing all the way (well, I may do a little less cursing than that when the kids are in the car).

Well, don’t ask me how it happened, but this morning I was up early enough to consider the fact that we would have NOTHING to eat when we got home from the soccer field. (5 games in one morning!)  And there would be no stopping for something on the way home. (You don’t stop for convenience food when you have to make it four more days without spending even one more dollar. Yep, It’s one of those times.) The kids would be hungry, Vince would be hungry, I would be angry AND hungry…it wasn’t going to be pretty.

I’d been planning on making Pioneer Woman‘s Spicy Pulled Pork sometime soon, b/c pork shoulder was on sale when I went to the store this week. I decided the 30 minutes I had before we left for the field should be spent getting the pork into the oven and starting it’s 5 hour cooking session. (Crockpot people, you know how this goes…so satisfying to leave something behind working while you are gone!) So, I slathered on the marinade/wet rub, put it in a pot, put the pot in the oven, and left for soccer (We still didn’t do much hair-brushing, but we did brush our teeth! And I got to take the picture of the meat!)

We got home,  I  shredded the meat (like it was nothing! so tender!), and oh my goodness…yum.  Now, I did serve it with some of the extra “sauce” you rub on it before it cooks. The recipe made more than I needed for the rub, so I just used it on the cooked meat. It was dee-licious. Seriously. It’s a great flavor: sweet and smoky with a little garlic. mmmm.

All I can say is, This may be life changing. Yes, life changing.  My attitude about being at the soccer field every saturday morning could drastically improve thanks to this recipe. My husband will be so pleased. At the very least, I know I’ll be making it again, and that will please him, even if I have a bad attitude (well, maybe). A cheap cut of meat, a long, slow braise, ingredients I always have around the house? This one is going on the regular “meat meal” schedule. (Thank you Sarah for lending me this book!)

Spicy Pulled Pork From The Pioneer Woman Cooks

One 5-7-pound pork shoulder (mine was about 4 lbs)

1 whole onion, quartered

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 garlic cloves

1 tsp dried oregano (I used “Italian Seasoning” b/c I couldn’t find my oregano.)

2 tsps ground cumin

1-2 Tablespoons salt

freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

lime wedges

flour tortillas (we just ate it without the tortillas, but either way…)

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.

In a food processor, combine the onion, chili powder, brown sugar, garlic cloves, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar.  Puree until smooth (mine wasn’t super smooth, but it didn’t bother me).

Rub the mixture all over the pork, getting in all the cracks and crevices.

Place the pork in a dutch oven with 2 cups of water.

Cover tightly, and cook in the oven for 6-7 hours (mine only took 5 b/c of it’s smaller size).

If the pork is easy to pierce with a fork, turn the oven up to 425 degrees F and roast, uncovered for 15 minutes, until crispy (ish) on top.

Shred the pork with two forks, pour the pan juices over the meat, and serve with tortillas and lime wedges. (Beer would be good, too.)