Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork

Ok! So cost of food has increased 8-15% in the past year. That’s an insane number. The total stated on the bottom of your receipt at the end of a shopping haul can prove it. If you eat meat, it’s due time to start utilizing the cheapest cuts. Because if you slow roast anything, it’ll eventually turn into a sweet, juicy, tender, and delicious piece of meat. Pork shoulder is no exception and it’s literally the cheapest cut you will find at the Whole Foods butcher counter. The end product is fantastic for sandwiches, tacos, burrito bowls, and even slathered in BBQ sauce with coleslaw. Cheers to cheap eats and bon appétit!

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

4 lbs organic pork shoulder

1/4 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

1 Tbsp oregano

1 Tbsp cumin 1 Tbsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 large white onion, cut into wedges

8 cloves garlic, smashed

Juice of 2 limes

Juice of 2 oranges

1/2 cup broth

2 bay leaves

Directions:

1. Pat the pork shoulder dry with a paper Poke several holes into the pork with a fork. Combine the sugar, oregano, cumin, sea salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle the dry mixture over the pork and massage it well into the crevices of the meat with your hands.
2. Place the prepared pork into a Dutch oven or oven-proof pot or dish of choice and add all of the remaining ingredients to the pot. Cover tightly and bake in the oven for five hours at 250ºF or for three hours at 325ºF. The longer, slower method will result in a juicier, more tender product. That said, food is quite forgiving when pressed for time.
3. After five hours, remove the pork from the oven and let sit for thirty minutes. Using two forks, pull the pork apart to create small Plate and pour any reserved juices over the meat to maintain the moisture and flavor.

NOTE: Reduce this recipe in half if you’re only serving four people and don’t want leftovers. Feel free to ask the butcher at the counter to cut the pork shoulder. He’ll do it for you and that way you don’t have to buy the whole thing. If they don’t have pork shoulder, pork butt works just as well, if not better. It is more expensive, though you will not be paying for the weight of the bone in the shoulder cut.