Crockpot Pulled Pork

Each week I attempt to try at least one new recipe. Thanks to the Internet, my vast selection of cookbooks, magazines, and the newspaper, I have more recipes than I will be able to prepare in a lifetime if I made something different every day. Last night I decided to try one for pork tenderloin. I had thought ahead to thaw the vacuum-sealed tenderloin in the fridge the night before, but was dismayed when I opened the package to find not one, but two of them inside. I'm not sure why they're packaged this way, but, well, they ARE.

This ended up playing into my hands as I used one for the new recipe I'd been wanting to try (Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Apples and Onions) that I found forgettable despite the excellent reviews. The other I threw into the Crockpot to make use of yet another recipe I wanted to try for pulled pork.

Go figure, the easier of the two was the best. It just goes to show you that you can make really delicious food with relatively few ingredients and virtually no effort. Working girls (and guys)? Do you hear me? Easy and good!

 

I found the recipe for the pulled pork here, at Allrecipes, but for the sake of convenience will reproduce it below.

SLOW COOKER PORK TENDERLOIN

Makes 8 servings

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin

1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer

1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce

8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted

Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over hamburger buns.

Okay, confession time. I used 1 1-lb. pork tenderloin and part of a bottle of Coke, because we didn't have any root beer in the house. I just poured the Coke over the meat until it came a little more than halfway up the side and then poured the rest over a glass of ice and drank it myself!

Once the meat was cooked (and I checked it periodically, pulling at it with a fork until it began to shred), I drained the pork, put it into a mixing bowl,and shredded it with two forks.  Then I added the seasonings I use when I bake a brisket: a few shakes of garlic salt, a few shakes of celery salt, a few shakes of Liquid Smoke -- I LOVE Liquid Smoke! --, and some (but not too much, maybe 1-1/2 teaspoons) Worcestershire Sauce. On top of this I poured about half a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce and kept mixing until I liked the consistency.

Add additional barbecue sauce to your own taste.

This recipe is a keeper!

This post is linked to Foodie Friday,  Family Friendly Fridays, and Crockpot Wednesdays.