Pulled Pork on Buns
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As I was cooking the Pulled Pork on Buns, my son said, “Stop opening the lid. If you keep peeking into the pot, you lower the temperature and it will take longer to cook,”. I continued to stir the simmering pork shoulder.
My son, Tim was home visiting. He cooked for me, redesigned this blog, and gave me sound advice on cooking, technology, social networking and life. What parent can ask for more?
Like all parents, I’m delighted when my grown sons come home to visit. But when they help cook in the kitchen, it is sheer joy. I had a large slab of pork shoulder in my hands, when Tim started to enumerate ingredients for marinating it.
“Start with a dry rub. Brown sugar – put lots of it. Chili powder, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, salt, pepper must cover the pork. Marinate it a few hours. Then put it in the slow cooker.”
I mixed all the dry rub ingredients together, placed them all over the large pork shoulder cut, added the broth and let the slow cooker do what it does best. For several hours, the sweet spicy broth smelled marvelously. It was worth the wait. Once ready, the pork was so fork-tender, it practically fell off from the large Kaiser bun with a melted cheese slice on it. What a magnificent barbecue-flavored sweet-spicy pork meal it was!
Pulled Pork on Buns
Equipment
- Slow cooker
- Large stock pot or Dutch oven: 8 quarts or 10 quarts (for stove-top cooking)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork shoulder no bones, fat trimmed
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cinnamon powder
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 2 Tablespoons red pepper flakes
- 2 Tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoons onion powder
- 1 Tablespoon black pepper powder
- 2 cloves garlic minced fine
- 2 cans (7.5 fl. oz. each) ginger ale
- 1 piece beef bouillon cube
- 1 teaspoon salt
- for serving with melted cheese slices on buns bread buns
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Marinate the pork: In a small bowl, mix the marinade ingredients : brown sugar, red pepper flakes, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper powder, minced garlic. Cover the entire slab of pork shoulder with this marinade. Place the pork in a non reactive bowl, cover with plastic, for 6 hours or overnight.
- To cook in a slow cooker: In a crock pot or slow cooker, set the temperature to high. Place the marinated pork, ginger ale, barbecue sauce, salt and bouillon cube. Cover and simmer for 8 hours till fork tender. When done, allow the pork to rest till it cools down a little. The pork will be soft enough to flake. Serve on toasted bread buns with melted cheese, or serve as an entrée with boiled jasmine white rice.
- Cook's Comments : How to cook stove-top - If a slow cooker is not available, boil the marinated pork shoulder in the ginger ale or broth stove top, covered, for 6 to 8 hours, over medium low heat or till tender. Tim advised: “Resist the urge to open the lid to inspect the pork. If you keep opening the lid, it will take longer to cook.”
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Nutrition
Notes on Nutrition: The nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.
Did you like this recipe?I have more Filipino Instant Pot recipes in my newest cookbook Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother’s Traditional Philippine Cooking in A Multicooker Pot by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino. I also have more classic recipes inspired by my mother’s cooking in my popular cookbook: My Mother’s Philippine Recipes. If you’re learning how to cook Filipino food or a fan of Philippine cuisine, buy my cookbooks and books on Amazon.com sold worldwide in paperback and Kindle format.
Copyright Notice: Hello, Friends! Please DO NOT LIFT OR PLAGIARIZE my original recipe, stories, photos or videos. All the images and content on this blog are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED and owned by my media company Besa-Quirino LLC. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to copy, scrape, lift, frame, plagiarize or use my photos, essays, stories and recipe content on your websites, books, films, television shows, videos, without my permission. If you wish to republish this recipe or content on media outlets mentioned above, please ASK MY PERMISSION, or re-write it in your own words and link back to my blog AsianInAmericaMag.com to give proper attribution. It is the legal thing to do. Thank you. Email me at [email protected]
This looks fab. Can’t wait to try it it slowcooker. I’d love to try it with “regular” onions & garlic instead of powder. Any idea of proportions for those? What is black pepper powder – is it ground pepper?
Hi Laura! Yes, black pepper powder is also ground pepper. I used fresh minced garlic and I’m sure if you use regular chopped onions it will fantastic. Do try this and let me know how yours turns out. It’s so easy to do. Thanks for the blog-visit.
Hey, Laura. You can use 1 whole onion, chopped fine if you prefer. I included in the ingredient list 2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic, too. Let me know how yours turns out. Thanks & happy Sunday!
This looks SO GOOD. And I know exactly how you feel. As a matter of fact, as I type, I am waiting for the kids to come home from a movie with their dad. Then Alex and I are making cookies, after which Sammy and I are making muffins. 🙂
Hi,Laura! What a wonderful experience it is to cook with your kids – yes, please do nurture that! I’m sure you’ll have a great time. This pulled pork recipe was terrific. I hope you get to try it. Thanks for the blog visit. Happy Sunday!
Another delicious sounding meal Elizabeth! My husband loves pulled BBQ pork… quick question though since my younger boys aren’t fans of (too) spicy. Can you tell me how spicy the pork is or how (if at all possible) to keep it flavorful without too much kick? Thank you 😉
Hi Catherine! Thanks for the blog-visit & kind comments. Here’s the reply from my son Tim, who taught me the recipe: “Substitute chili powder and red pepper flakes with other things that fit your flavor spectrum. That’s the beauty of pulled pork. You could also use beer.” I personally would substitute a whole chopped onion, and star anise to the broth in place of chili powder and red pepper flakes. I understand the need to mute the spice for younger kids. Hope this helps. Let us know if you have more questions & if we can help you! Enjoy:-)
Thank you so much your response and suggestions. I’ll use less spices and more onions… can’t wait to make it!
Hi Catherine, another substitution to consider is 4 to 6 tablespoons of barbecue sauce (bottled, any brand). This will give it a robust flavor, but less spicy. Hope this helps, too. Try it and let me know how it turned out. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Sweet and spicy pulled pork? Just by looking at your zoomed in image of pork make me drool. I haven’t made pulled pork for a long time. It’s probably about time to make. Putting in a bun is a great idea, especially for the kids!
Hi Nami. Yes, you MUST try this. You can downgrade the spicy flavors if you want, esp. for the kids. Try omitting the chili powder and red pepper flakes – substitute for other flavors you prefer. Add an extra onion or star anise, too. Thanks for the kind comments and faithfully visiting my blog 🙂
My kind of dish! I seriously need more pork shoulder in my life! 🙂
Thanks, Joey! This pulled pork recipe is so easy. Do it in the slow cooker or stove top. Either way, it’s terrific. Glad you came by !
Love this pork, it looks delicious! I’ve just picked some fresh and spicy red pepper!
Thanks, Elena! Enjoy your spicy pulled pork. Let me know how it turns out. Glad you came by!