Mexican Pulled Pork

This is a great filling for any type of Mexican food.

Ingredients

• 2 - 2 lb. pork roasts
• 2 c. chicken broth
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 t. cumin
• garlic salt (to taste)
• 1 jar green salsa

Directions

1. Put roasts and chicken broth in slow cooker (4 hrs on high, 8 on low)
2. When roasts are done, pull apart with forks
3. Saute onion in olive oil until transparent
4. Add cumin, garlic salt, and green salsa to onion
5. Pour salsa mixture over pork and mix in
6. Serve as filling for flautas, taquitos, tacos, burritos, etc.

Spicy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

This was surprisingly simple and extremely good.  Just make sure to use the meat listed (not pork loin!) if you want it moist and tasty.

Ingredients

• 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced (1 worked for our 6 qt. crockpot)
• 4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 c. chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 T. packed dark brown sugar
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1 T. kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1/2 t. ground cumin
• 1/4 t.ground cinnamon
• 1 (4-1/2- to 5-pound) boneless or bone-in pork shoulder (also known as pork butt), twine or netting removed
• 2 c. barbecue sauce (optional)

Directions

1. Place the onions and garlic in an even layer in the slow cooker and pour in the stock or broth. 
2. Combine the sugar, chili powder, measured salt, cumin, and cinnamon in a small bowl. 
3. Pat the pork dry with paper towels. 
4. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork and place the meat on top of the onions and garlic. 
5. Cover and cook until the pork is fork tender, about 6 to 8 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low.
6. Turn off the slow cooker and remove the pork to a cutting board. 
7. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the onion mixture from the slow cooker through the strainer and return the solids to the slow cooker. Set the strained liquid aside.
8. If the pork has a bone, remove and discard it. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Return the shredded meat to the slow cooker, add the barbecue sauce, if using, and mix to combine. 
9. If you’re not using barbecue sauce, use a spoon to skim and discard the fat from the surface of the strained cooking liquid, and then add 1/4 cup of the liquid at a time to the slow cooker until the pork is just moistened. Taste and season with salt as needed.

Yields: At least 14 servings

Discovered at - http://www.chow.com/recipes/30356-easy-slow-cooker-pulled-pork

Perfect Pork Chops

We were frustrated with tough pork, so looked for an alternative way of preparing it.  We came across the following recipe and were quite pleased with the results (inspired from thekitchn.com).  This should work for 2-4 < 1 in. pork chops.  We used boneless pork chops and because they were > 1 in. we just cut them in half so they were only about 3/4 in. thick.

Ingredients

• 3 c. cold water
• 3 T. salt
• garlic cloves or powder
• peppercorns (optional)
• bay leaf (optional)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Boil 1 c. of water with 3 T. salt, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaf until salt is dissolved.
2. Add remaining cold water to brine to lower the temperature
3. Place pork chops in baking dish and pour brine over the top (pork chops should be completely submerged).
4. Cover dish and refrigerate for 30 min. to 4 hours (when we let it sit for 2-3 hours the meat was almost too salty; we also tried it for 30 min and it was perfect for our taste)
5. Remove pork chops and pat dry with paper towel/napkin
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit with roasting pan/skillet inside oven (oven rack in the middle)
7. Rub chops with olive oil and add salt and pepper; set on stove to warm up
8. Once stove and skillet are preheated, remove skillet and place on med-high burner and sear first side of chops for about 3 min (turn on oven vent to catch smoke!)
9. Flip chops over and place pan in oven for 6-10 min (until cooked, meat should be about 140 degrees, but we can never get an accurate read)
10. Remove from skillet and tent with foil, let rest for 5 minutes
11. Eat up!  Throw some rice and vegetables in your rice cooker and you'll have a complete meal!

Yields: 2-4 pork chops