Pulled Pork

Normally I make my pulled pork differently, but today I decided to try something new.  I would normally just cook a pork beef roast in a crock pot with my favorite BBQ sauce for a day, and then pull it apart and let it cook a little more before eating.  Today I figured I would try something different.  I decided to cook the roast in the oven first with some rub, and then pull it apart and let it cook in the crock pot with the BBQ sauce.

Start by rubbing the roast with a meat rub of your choice. (I used 17th Street Magic Dust)  Then put it in a roasting pan or dutch oven and put it in the oven to cook.  You will want to cook your pork roast to an internal temperature of 155 F to 160 F.  That works out to about 20 minutes per pound at 350 F. (Since my oven has a meat probe, I set the oven to cook at 350 F until the internal temperature reaches 155 F.)  Since we will be cooking the roast more with the BBQ sauce, you can set it at the lower limit.

Once the roast is cooked, pull it out and let it rest for a few minutes before shredding it.  Put the shredded pork, less the fat, into the crock pot.  Sprinkle some more rub add any drippings after skimming the fat off of them and  BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's) until the meat is the reaches your preferred level of moistness.  Add a whole pineapple, diced.  Stir and set the crock pot for 2 hours on low to let the flavors blend.  Once it is done, serve and enjoy.

Pork, Cabbage and Apple Soup

I have been working on using all of my Bountiful Baskets before I get more, and so I was thinking what I could make that I already have all the ingredients for.  I found some sauerkraut in the fridge, and realized I had two heads of cabbage in there.  I also remembered I had some huge apples from a few weeks back, and in the freezer I had some pork chops.  I decided to make a pork, cabbage and apple soup.

You will need:
1 lb lean pork, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb onions, peeled and quartered
6 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 cup apple cider vinegar
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups apple cider
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp caraway seeds
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 lb carrots, cut into 1" slices
1 head cabbage, cut into 1" pieces
1 lb apples, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 lb potatoes, cut into 1/2 cubes
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large pot.  Coat the pork with salt and pepper and then add to the pot and brown.  Once the pork is browned, add the onion and garlic, and cook until the onions are translucent.  Add the cider vinegar to the pot to deglaze it.  Add the stock, cider, brown sugar, caraway, and Dijon and mix until everything is dissolved.  Add the vegetables and bring it to a boil.  Lower the heat and cook for about an hour until the potatoes and carrots are tender.  Add salt and pepper if needed.  Serve and enjoy!

This recipe is definitely a sweet and sour recipe.  I really enjoyed it.  I also used colored carrots since they are what I had in the fridge.  It added some nice colors to the soup.