Tag Archives: Big on the pig

Sometimes, in the dead of winter, with no grill and no smoker, you just have to make pulled pork.

If you’ll indulge me, I’m taking another trip down food memory lane ….

The best ‘pulled’ pork I ever had was a couple summers ago, at a pig pickin’ in Carolina Beach. After cooking all day, the whole pig kept its perch on the grill as hungry people lined up to pull the succulent meat straight from its bones. A drizzle of Carolina Treet, and it was perrrrrfect.

Mine didn’t turn out quite as swoon-worthy, but I highly recommend this spice rub and mop sauce. And cooking it in the slow cooker. Sure, I missed out on the smoky flavor, but I also didn’t have to worry about baby-sitting the oven for 8-10 hours (or paying the price of a higher gas bill).

Flip a small plate and set it face-down in the slow cooker. Place the spice-rubbed pork shoulder on top of the plate, to let the fat drain off without boiling the meat. Cook on low about 8 hours, drizzling the meat with mop sauce whenever you can (I did it 3-4 times).

The rub
1/3 cup freshly cracked black pepper
3 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons granulated garlic powder
2 tablespoons granulated onion powder
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup ground cumin
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup hot dry mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne

Mix all ingredients. Rub on pork.

The mop sauce
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil

Mix all ingredients. Brush on pork during cooking. Drizzle over shredded pork before serving.

Pork chops used to be on the bottom of my pig list. When you have bacon, ham, slow-roasted pork butt … why settle for a dry, flavorless chop? Then I discovered the butcher counter pork chops. On the bone, inch-thick chops are where it’s at!

The combination of pork and apples is pretty standard. Here’s my take on it.

Pork chops with savory applesauce
2 half-pound, inch-thick pork chops
2 apples, sliced (I used Macintosh)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
Salt, pepper
1/4 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
1 tbsp. half and half

Preheat oven to 400. Toss apples slices with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.

While apples are roasting, heat skillet over medium-high heat. Rub both sides of pork chops with olive oil and a liberal amount of salt and pepper. Add another teaspoon of olive oil to skillet. Sear chops 6 minutes per side for deep brown crust. After searing, place chops in oven for another 6 minutes. Remove chops from oven and remove from skillet to rest.

Return skillet to burner on medium heat. Add 1/4 cup wine. Use wooden spoon to scrape up brown bits off bottom of skillet while wine comes up to a boil. Add roasted apples and garlic and let cook another 5 minutes. Mash apples with wooden spoon while they cook. Turn off heat and add cream. Top pork chops with savory applesauce and serve. (You could also serve the chop on top, so the applesauce catches all of its juices. Yum!)