I love pulled pork, and have tried many recipes over the years. When I came across this recipe that uses Dr. Pepper as the braising liquid, I knew it was bound to be a winner. This recipe is adapted from the Pioneer Woman---LOVE HER!
The Dr. Pepper lends a bit of sweetness and gives the pork a certain "Je ne sais quoi". But there's nothing fancy about this dish....it's pure comfort food. Perfect for Super Bowl Sunday.
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| Pork butt |
You'll need a large pork butt--also called pork shoulder. I never understood why the shoulder is also called the "butt", and I don't like to envision eating anything's butt, but rest assured, this cut is actually taken from the shoulder. The pork butt should be about 5 lbs. You can get it with or without the bone. You'll need a big dutch oven for this---with a lid.
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| You do not need any knowledge of Calculus to execute this recipe |
You sit the salted and peppered pork butt on top of wedges of onion, then pour in a can of chipotle peppers and it's sauce (really gives it a spicy kick), then douse it with 2 cans of Dr. Pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to the sauce and stir.
Put the lid on, then cook for a minimum of 6 hours in a 300 degree oven. Often I'll put it in the oven in the morning, and not even check it until 7 or 8 hours later. When it's completely falling off the bone or falling apart, take it out and let it rest on a cutting board for about 25 minutes. While the meat is cooling, try to skim off some of the fat from the braising liquid.
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| Aim for bite size pieces |
You can use 2 forks to shred the meat, but I find it easiest to chop it all up using a cleaver. Discard any fatty or sinuous pieces of meat. Add the meat back to the cooking liquid, and serve on buns, or with tortillas.
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| Getting there... |
I like to heat the tortillas in a dry pan, then put the meat on and top it with chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, sour creme, salsa and avacado.
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| Yay, it's done! |
Any left over pork freezes well. Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 whole large onion
1 whole Pork shoulder, 5-7 lbs
salt and pepper
1 can (11 oz) Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce
2 cans Dr. Pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a big dutch oven. Generously salt and pepper the pork, and put it on top of the onions.
Pour the can of chipotle peppers (including the sauce) over the pork. ( I cut the chipotle peppers up before I put them into the pot). Pour in both cans of Dr. Pepper. Add the brown sugar and mix it into the sauce.
Put lid on, and place in oven for 6-8 hours. The meat should be absolutely falling apart when it's done.
Let meat cool on a cutting board for 20 minutes or so, then chop it all up with a meat cleaver or 2 forks. Discard large pieces of fat. Skim fat that has risen to the top of the sauce, and add the shredded meat back to the sauce. Serve with buns, or tortillas.
