Homemade Slow-cooked Pulled Pork

I’m trying to shake up our evening meals. You know when you get stuck in a rut, having similar things week in, week out – breaded fish with potatoes and veg, seasoned chicken with sweet potato fries, chicken pesto pasta –  it gets so boring!

And I do LOVE my food. So in a bid to make dinner time more interesting, even when the evenings are so short after work, I’m trying out a number of slow cooker meals so I can leave my dishes cooking all day, and come home to that delicious mouth-watering smell.

First up, pulled pork.

Ok, I did cheat a little with this, using a Schwartz sachet for slow cooker pulled pork – But it’s so good, and reasonably cheap so why not?

This is all you need:First things first, you need to trim the fat off the pork. A fiddly job, so if you get your meat from the butcher, perhaps see if you can get a shoulder already trimmed. If you’re like me, in search of a bargain and getting your pork shoulder for £3.50 from Morrisons, then carefully ease the fat (the bit ready to become crackling) away with a knife – please watch your fingers!

Place the pork (trimmed of fat) in the slow cooker.

In a separate bowl, mix 125g of tomato ketchup, 3 tablespoons of cider vinegar (Morrison’s label is only about 80p and will last for many pulled pork dishes to come!) and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar with the contents of the Schwartz sachet. Once combined, pour over the pork in the slow cooker.Cook on a high heat for 4 hours, or on a low heat for 8 hours. I did mine on low for 8 hours, so I could go out and leave it to do its thing. If there’s going to be longer than 8 hours before eating it, once you get back you can always switch the slow cooker to warm.

Once cooked through, remove the pork, get two forks and shred the joint.At intervals to make room on your plate/board, pop the shredded pork back into the slow cooker.

Once all the pork is shredded mix with the sauce in the slow cooker.

I’d then transfer enough pulled pork for that evening (obviously amount depends on what meal you’re having and number of portions) into a saucepan to reheat  – I found mine cooled down quite quickly whilst shredding, so reheating was necessary.

On the first evening we enjoyed our pulled pork in brioche buns, served with a side of sweet potato fries – a delicious treat! On the second evening, to shake things up, we had pulled pork over some home made roasties, topped with jalapeños and cheese – such a fab combination!The pulled pork was tender and juicy, smothered in a rich BBQ sauce- absolutely delicious.

Pulled pork was so simple, obviously helped by the Schwartz sachet, it was really cheap giving enough meat for at least four meals, and extremely tasty! We’ll definitely be doing this again.

What’s your favorite slow cooker meal?

Chloe xx