Crockpot Keeper: Memphis Beer-B-Que Pulled Pork

There are few things I love on the BBQ roster so much as a pulled pork sandwich. When done right, the meat falls apart into juicy, flavorful shreds that taste great on day one and even better the day after. (Although you might not even have anything left-over to test that theory!)

Recently I've been on a kick to use every last little bit of anything that comes into this house, so I've been getting a little creative in the kitchen. One of my favorite things to 'use up' is alcohol. We aren't huge beer-drinkers in this house, but every so often my husband or I will get the craving to have a taste, and we're usually left with three or four beers that we don't plan to drink in the foreseeable future. I've learned that some of my best recipes can be tweaked a little to use up the beer and add a new depth to the flavor of an old stand-by.

Of course, it only stands to reason that sooner or later I'd be digging out my favorite pulled pork recipe and adding beer to it. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Memphis Beer-B-Que Pulled Pork

Serves 4-8, depending on appetites!

Ingredients:

• One can Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Beer
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
• One 2-3 lb pork roast
• Spices to season: dill weed, garlic, and cumin (If you don't have these exact spices, don't worry. Seasoning salt or a pre-made seasoning blend work just as well, this is just the spice combo that I use.)
• One bottle Cattlemen's Sweet Memphis barbeque sauce

Directions:

Place chopped onions in a mound on the bottom of your crockpot. They should be heaped in a way that will allow the pork roast to remain slightly elevated.

Add your pork roast the the crockpot, placing it directly on top of the onions.

Pour about 3/4 cup of beer and the vinegar into the crockpot. (Drink the rest of the beer if you'd like!)

Season the pork roast by sprinkling on whatever spices you are using. I don't keep specific spice measurements since roast size can vary, but I generally use 1-2 teaspoons of spices per pound of meat I have in a dish. (Note: Do not count 'salt' as a spice when following this rule!)

Place the lid on top of the crockpot and set it to cook for 6-8 hours on low.

Tear meat apart when the cooking time has ended by running a fork through the pieces. It may help to take the entire roast out and tear apart in a bowl before returning to the crockpot.

Stir the natural juices into the shredded pork while adding the Cattlemen's barbeque sauce. When you have reached the desired consistency, set the crockpot to 'warm' and serve with buns and sandwich toppings. Or eat it on it's own - it's pretty darned good stuff!

Enjoy!