Slow Cooker Scotch Pulled Pork - A How To!

Low Cookin'

Adam and a sizeable group of our male friends are currently heading up to Watkins Glen to watch cars turn mostly left for the weekend. (Actually, I have been corrected many times that "The Glen" is one of the few NASCAR tracks that includes right hand turns. Very exciting.) It's an annual trek to New York, and Adam was put in charge of food this year. Seeing as the drive is five hours, I offered to make pulled pork for tonight's dinner so he won't have to cook too much during the set-up of their campsite.

Now, I'm not one much for how-tos, mostly because I'm not organized enough to follow, never mind write, directions, save baking recipes, but that's more of a science than I think cooking is.

Cooking is an art, baking is a science, and scotch makes everything better. Words to live by.

Generic vinegar, Laphroaig scotch, BBQ sauce.

I happened upon my scotch pulled pork because I had my favorite scotch around, Laphroaig (pronounced: laFROYG), and I thought it would taste yummy in pulled pork. Lo and behold, I was right! (Pulled pork is like the pizza of slow-cooker meals anyway; even when it's not that good, it's still pretty good, so I am not afraid to experiment with it.) Anyway, here goes.

Supplies

• Slow cooker big enough to hold your pork (mine is a 6 quart capacity)
• Whole Bone-In Pork Shoulder Picnic with skin
• White or Yellow Onion(s)
• Garlic Powder or one fresh clove garlic, minced
• Ginger Ale (any type, I used Canada Dry)
• Your favorite barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's because it's deliciousness in a bottle)
• Vinegar (I used white this time, but apple cider vinegar is good too!)
• **Laphroaig Scotch (BRAND IS IMPORTANT!)**

I started with a 6.5 lb (roughly 3 kg) whole pork shoulder picnic, which was about $15 at our local Stop 'n' Shop (or Stop 'n' RobYa, as a some say). I also opted to use two onions, since the pork shoulder was so big.

Slice the onion in rings, placing half the rings on the bottom of the slow cooker. Place pork on top and cover with remaining onions. Add minced garlic or powder - I gave it a good dusting, all over the top of the shoulder. (I usually use fresh, but forgot to pick some up this go-round. Oh well!)

Add one to one and a half cup ginger ale.

Set cooker to low.
Leave on low for 12 hours. 

While cooking, I highly recommend not opening the cooker, even though it'll smell like awesomeness, and also going out for a beer or two with friends. Just a thought. Beware of overly-helpful sous chefs.

Simon, my sous chef.

At the 12 hour mark, remove shoulder from cooker. Strain the onion out of the liquid. Discard liquid and retain the onions.

Remove the bones, cartilage, skin, and the majority of the fat. I use the tongs pictured below. Pull using tongs or a fork until it looks like this:

Pulled Goodness.

Set cooker back to low. Return pork and strained onions to the cooker. Add two cups of BBQ sauce, and half a cup of the vinegar. Add scotch to taste. I added about 1/4 of a cup, but less can be used. A little actually goes a long way!

**The brand is important for two reasons. One, Laphroaig is delicious and awesome and my favorite. But more importantly, they use blue peat in their distillery process, and the smokiness of the peat shines through the pork. It almost tastes like you've smoked the pork, without all that crazy work of cranking on a smoker for a zillion hours.**

Stir well and leave covered on low for another 6 hours.

When your six hours are up, serve and enjoy in whatever fashion you prefer your pulled pork. Adam likes his on potato rolls, I will throw mine on a plate with some cole slaw, and I'm sure there are many other ways to enjoy it. The best part is that it freezes really well, and a shoulder of this size will feed a group of about 12 with ease. Enjoy!

P.S. A very happy birthday to my big brother!