Hope someone can help a novice…never had done this before. I put a picnic cut roast (butcher said that was a shoulder roast) in the slow cooker with a temperature probe set a 145degrees. The 4.5 lb roast was done at about 4 hours and was as tough as a hockey puck. Help, what went wrong??? There’s no pulling on this pork
Pork shoulder/Pork butt (they both come from the shoulder area of the hog) are tough cuts of meat. You have to cook pork shoulder / pork butt to 195F internal temp to break down and tenderize those cuts for pulling.
An internal temp like 145F would be for a tender cut like pork loin.
Put the pork roast back in the slow cooker and cook it until it reaches 195-F internal temperature. You will then have a tendrerized cooked roast you can pull.
Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork, Rub & BBQ Sauce
In the winter it’s difficult to BBQ outside, but you can still have a delicious substitute indoors. Just slowcook a pork butt (also called pork shoulder) in your crockpot and make pulled pork. Here’s how:
4-lb bone in pork butt (also called pork shoulder)
2 Tbs yellow mustard
2 Tbs of your favorite BBQ Rub
Coat a 4-lb pork shoulder with yellow mustard and then coat with your favorite dry BBQ rub. Don’t add any liquid to the crockpot. The pork butt will create several cups of its own broth. Use a meat thermometer cook the pork until it reaches 195-F center internal temperature. This ensures that the pork will be tender. Another way of telling if the pork butt is done is when the bone comes out easily when gently pulled with tongs. I usually cook a 4-lb pork butt about 4 to 6 hours, covered, on high in the crockpot.
I then use our Kitchenaid mixer to pull the pork. Just place the pork, cut into 2 or 3 inch sized chunks, in the mixer and run at medium speed using the mixing paddle. After about 30-seconds you will have perfectly pulled pork. Add some of the pork broth from the crockpot to add flavor and a little moisture to the pulled pork as it’s mixing.
Serve on buns with your favorite BBQ sauce and coleslaw.
Here’s my homemade BBQ rub. It’s my adaptation of Ray Lampe’s Big Time BBQ Rub.
Pulled Pork BBQ Rub
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (substitute more brown sugar if you can’t find turbinado)
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon granulated onion
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons freshly ground pepper (reduce amount to 1/2 tsp for a milder rub)
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (reduce amount to 1/4 tsp for a milder rub)
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Combine ingredients in bowl, mix well. Rub a tablespoon or two on pork, chicken or beef before cooking.
Makes about 2-cups. Store unused rub in an airtight container.
Here’s my favorite homemade Hickory flavor BBQ sauce, it tastes like a cross between Bulls Eye BBQ sauce and Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce:
Hickory flavor BBQ sauce
1 Cup Ketchup
1 Tablespoon prepared Yellow Mustard
6 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
3 Tablespoons Distilled White Vinegar
4 teaspoons Hickory Flavor Liquid Smoke
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Granulated White Sugar
1 teaspoon Table Salt
1/4 teaspoon Louisiana style Red Pepper Hot Sauce
4 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons Yellow Onion, finely minced
Combine all ingredients in a 2-qt sauce pan. Mix well.
Simmer over very low heat for 15-minutes, stirring occasionally. Store unused sauce in fridge