Food for a Crowd

Me again, twice in one week! Here's a pulled pork recipe (yet another winner from Budget Bytes!) that I've made a bunch of times. I consider it both cold-weather fare since it's hearty, and warm-weather fare since it uses the slow cooker rather than heat up the whole kitchen. Anyhow, it is soooo easy and soooo good. You can make it into burritos or tacos or bowls or whatever you like. I serve it with tortillas, Goya yellow rice, salsa, guac, pickled red onion (quick and easy recipe also below), and sour cream, but you can go hog-wild (see what I did there?) with beans, lettuce, jalapeños, shredded cheese, you name it. I don't have a photo of the pork because it just looks like glop, but you can see one at the link. 

Chili-Rubbed Pulled Pork

 

2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder 
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (I omit this and just double up on the black pepper.)
1 (3-pound) boneless pork butt/shoulder, trimmed of really big chunks of fat and then cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces

 

Measure all the spices into the slow cooker and stir to combine. Add the pork cubes and toss well to coat the meat thoroughly in the spices. (The recipe has you mixing the spices in a little bowl, then coating the meat in a large bowl, but I do it all in the slow cooker so there's no bowls to wash!)

 

Cover and cook on high for 4–5 hours or on low for 8–9 hours.

 

Stir the meat with a fork to shred it. (It says if it's not tender enough to fall apart when stirred, put the lid back on and cook for an additional 30 minutes—I've never needed to do this.) To serve, you want some of the juices but not too much, so I use tongs. If you have leftovers, skim off any fat at the top but leave the meat in the remaining juices to store in the fridge.

 

Pickled Red Onions

 

These go great with the pulled pork, offering a refreshing, crisp counterpoint, and leftovers are delish on all manner of salads and sandwiches.  They turn the most magnificent shade of fuchsia, look:

1 large red onion, sliced about ⅛ inch thick (you want about 1½ cups)
1 garlic clove, peeled and lightly smashed
3 tablespoons sugar 
1½ tablespoons salt 
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns 
1 cup white vinegar

Put the onion and garlic in a large glass or ceramic bowl. (I find it works well to use something sort of tall and narrow, so I use my big 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup.)

 

Combine the sugar, salt, and peppercorns in a small saucepan. Pour in the vinegar and stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Cover the pan and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. As soon as it reaches a boil, pour the mixture over the onion and garlic. Press the onions down so all the pieces are submerged. The recipe recommends placing a piece of plastic wrap over the onions to help hold them below the surface of the brine, but instead I put a little ramekin on top to weight them down:

 

 

Let the onions cool to room temperature, then transfer the onions and all the brine to a glass or plastic container, cover, and store in the fridge for up to a month. 

Comments

[BuzzTowns]

The awesome words of teaching the faboulus recipe.