You have no idea how excited I am to share this with you! This Secret Ingredient is something that a lot of you have never heard of or used….until now! Pulled Pork is a family favorite in our house, and as much as I’d like to say I am sharing a smoked pork recipe with you today, I’m not, BUT even though this is made in the crockpot (for us busy folks) you will still have a nice smoked rich flavor with this recipe and it’s so simple. Anytime I can throw something in the crockpot and it makes lots of food, I’ll take it! I can’t believe I am sharing this with the world, I wanted to keep it to myself, but here it is, it’s yours now!
{Secret Ingredient}
Last year, at The World Food Championships, my new foodie friend Liz Kraatz from Liz’s Cake Art, introduced me to Pork Jowl. I know, being in the foodie world I should have know what that was already, not that I hadn’t heard of it, just never used it, so give me a break alright! Haha, ok so when I got home I HAD to try this out. I had to make my pulled pork for something and I thought, why not add some jowl to my crockpot while it cooks? BEST IDEA EVER! I’m sure the name, Pork Jowl, doesn’t sound appetizing, but trust me, it is. It’s cured and smoked cheeks of the pig, basically a different and more delicious form of bacon.
You will not regret trying this simple new pork recipe. The smoked jowl gives such a rich flavor that you wouldn’t normally get with a crock pot meal.
- 1 8-10 lb pork shoulder, bone-in
- 1 lb smoked pork jowl
- 1-2 cups Rootbeer
- Rub:
- 2 TBS brown sugar
- 1 TBS pepper
- 1 TBS salt
- 1 TBS garlic powder
- 1 TBS cumin
- 1 TBS oregano
- 1 TBS paprika
- 1 TBS chili powder
- 1 TBS onion powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp cayenne
- 2 tsp ground mustard
- Alabama White Sauce Coleslaw:
- ½ head cabbage, shredded
- 1 large carrot grated
- ½ cup mayo
- 1 TBS vinegar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- Remove pork shoulder from packaging.
- Take jowl and cut into cubes. Set aside.
- Mix all rub ingredients together.
- Place shoulder in crockpot and cover all side with rub, gently press and massage into meat. Making sure the shoulder is fat side up when finished.
- Pour in root beer until reaches about 1in from top of pork.
- Dump jowl in over top, place lid on and cook on low 8-10 hours. (I like to do this over night)
- ***If you have the time, you can cover pork in rub, wrap in saran wrap and place in refrigerator until ready to cook.
- Mix all coleslaw ingredients together and place in refrigerator until ready to eat. Best to let flavors meld together so prepare this ahead of time.
- Pork will be done when you can easily remove the bone.
- Also remove about half the liquid, you don't need it all.
- Depending on how much fat the shoulder has, sometimes I will remove some of that before shredding.
- Shred pork and jowl together, leaving crockpot on warm until ready to eat or you can refrigerate until ready!
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