Pulled pork is delicious, but making it in a smoker takes hours of careful tending. A slow cooker, like a smoker, uses slow, gentle heat to produce juicy meat but requires only a few minutes of prep. Serve this pork with fluffy potato buns and crunchy slaw for an authentic Southern barbecue experience. Expect lots of compliments.
In Mexican cooking, cola is often added to barbecued and stewed meats. It may sound strange, but the high acidity of soda tenderizes the meat, and the sweetness is much more flavorful that plain sugar or honey; root beer contains hints of cinnamon, cherry wood, vanilla and sassafras.
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Cooktop Cove
Slow Cooker Root Beer Pulled Barbecue Pork
4-6
15 minutes
6 hours, 30 minutes
6 hours, 45 minutes
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon salt
1 12-ounce bottle of root beer
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup steak sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 cup barbecue sauce
8 hamburger buns or potato rolls
In a small bowl, mix garlic, ginger and salt. Rub onto dry pork.
In a 6-quart slow cooker, mix root beer, ketchup, steak sauce, lime juice and Worcestershire sauce. Add the pork.
Cover and cook on low 6 to 7 hours.
Remove pork to a cutting board and allow to cool slightly. Shred with two forks, removing any bone or fat chunks.
Return meat to the slow cooker, add barbecue sauce, stir and cook for another 30 min.
Serve on buns.
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Pro tip: If you can find it, a teaspoon of liquid smoke adds a perfect hint of char.
