Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches in a Carolina Vinegar Sauce

We have looked in the past at making pulled pork in a Dutch oven, but today we are going to take a look at making it in a slow cooker and then serving it in a home made basic Carolina style vinegar BBQ sauce.

You need to get a 4-6 lb. pork shoulder. The great thing about pork shoulder is that it is inexpensive, delicious if properly prepared and can feed a lot of people at a party or family event (or feed the family with lots of leftovers!) Bone-in is fine. Do not remove any fat layer. This helps to make the meat moist and is discarded later.

For this recipe you need to season the shoulder on both sides with salt and pepper to taste and then liberally with a Tex-Mex style seasoning blend. If you have the seasoning blend Vegeta sprinkle one teaspoon of it on both sides and then place the shoulder in the slow cooker in 1 cup of cold water.

I love the rich flavour Vegeta adds to dishes like this, but if you do not have Vegeta then place the seasoned roast into a cup of vegetable or chicken stock/broth.

Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 8-9 hours.

Meanwhile, on the stove we will make our Carolina vinegar sauce. For this you will want to blend together in a pot 1 cup of white vinegar, 1 cup of cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon of Tabasco or a Louisiana style hot sauce, 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon of mustard powder.

Bring this blend to a boil, and then lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Once at room temperature put in a covered jar or bowl in the fridge for the hours that the pork cooks.

After 8-9 hours of cooking on low, remove the pork shoulder. Discard any liquid put keep the slow cooker on on low. Using two forks pull the pork apart on a large plate and shred it. It will fall apart easily.  Discard any bone and the fat layer if there was one.

Pour the vinegar sauce into the slow cooker, put the now pulled pork back in as well, blend it all together and heat on low for an hour. You can use any BBQ sauce, of course, homemade or store bought, but this vinegar sauce is really great, tart and fiery hot and is meant for pulled pork. Give it a try!

I like to serve this on hamburger buns topped with a creamy coleslaw. It also goes well on its own with rice and slaw or even as a taco filling.

Enjoy!

See also: Jerk Style Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Coleslaw & Jalapenos