Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork with Chipotle BBQ Sauce

It’s a little too cold to do the grill these days, but we still crave pulled pork BBQ in the winter, and making it in the slow-cooker is a great way to indulge the craving. We’ve made this with both bottled and homemade sauces, and our preferred bottled sauce is Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Roasted Garlic Honey if we don’t feel like making a scratch sauce, but this easy sauce is interesting and different because the chipotles in adobo add a bit of heat that you don’t find in regular sweet sauces. The meat tenderizes well during the 11-hour stay in the smoky, slightly spicy sauce, and we enjoy it piled high on a bun with extra sauce on top and some creamy coleslaw on the side.

We typically do this on a weekend since it does take some time to pull the meat, and I prefer to cook it overnight and then pull it the next day after it has had a chance to cool a bit. I love the magic of the slow-cooker and how it lets you wake up in the morning with the house smelling like delicious barbecue!

Serves 8 to 10 people, depending on appetites.

Update: On July 24, 2009 Apartment Therapy The Kitchn featured this bbq sauce recipe as their favorite.

“The sauce is smoky and tangy with a nice kick- exactly what we said we liked in a barbecue sauce! (Also, try the pulled pork if you make this recipe. It’s divine.)”

Read more

Barbecued Ribs

I can’t imagine summertime without barbecue…ribs, chicken, pulled pork, you name it. When it comes to ribs, I love sticky, sloppy, finger-licking sauces, although I like dry rubs as well. This is a family favorite that we enjoy when we visit Michael’s parents at their camp in the Adirondacks. The ribs are great for 4th of July cookouts along with salt potatoes, corn on the cob, and an assortment of side salads.

Equipment

2 half-sheet baking pans
aluminum foil
grill Read more

Pork Medallions with Balsamic-Honey Glaze

This is another dish that is elegant enough to serve guests, yet is easy and quick enough for a weeknight meal. The glaze adds some incredible flavor with the balsamic vinegar, honey, and rosemary. Use slightly less honey with an older, sweeter balsamic vinegar, and slightly more with a younger balsamic vinegar. If you really like the glaze, make some extra so that you can spoon it over Garlic Mashed Potatoes. You can buy a whole loin and slice it into 1-inch medallions, which I do and then freeze the extras, or you can purchase just four medallions for a small dinner.

I say that this one counts as a kid pleaser because my toddler kept asking for more during Sunday dinner! Read more

Southern Sausage Gravy

This is the next recipe in the Southern Country Breakfast series. Sausage gravy is a Southern tradition that my family has indulged in for many years. Now that we are all watching our waistlines, we only have it for family get-togethers, but it always tastes yummy and brings back wonderful memories of the big country breakfasts that my grandmothers used to serve. Enjoy this over biscuits.

Equipment

10-inch cast iron skillet
potato masher Read more

Jambalaya

When I first made this a few years ago, my husband had recently been to New Orleans, and said this tasted almost exactly like the great jambalaya he had on his trip. We’ve adapted the recipe a bit to our liking. We usually freeze a couple containers of this, which makes a quick and tasty meal on a weeknight. Just thaw it out overnight in the frig.

Equipment

rice cooker (or you can cook it on the stove)
sharp knife
6 quart pot Read more

House Fried Rice

This one has a mix of meats—shrimp, ham, and chicken. It’s a meal in itself, and it truly has become our “House Fried Rice”. My kids devour this and ask for seconds.

Equipment

wok
sharp knife
rice cooker (or you can make it on the stove) Read more

« Previous Page