Pulled Pork with St. Louis BBQ Sauce Dinner

We hosted a large family gathering over the weekend, on Friday night and this was the entree served, alongside corn muffins and a vinegar based Cole Slaw.  Having never made pulled pork before this, I cannot believe how easy it is to make, even the homemade St. Louis BBQ sauce to accompany it below.  It will be in my rotation for good meals for a crowd or for a casual meal. This can be made in advance, frozen-sauce too-taken out a day or two in advance to defrost, reheat, make your muffins-which could also be made in advance-Just make Cole Slaw the day of.  This was a hit, if I do say so myself!  

Ingredients

(This serves approximately 12. Suggestion is about 1/3 pound meat per person. I made a much larger quantity so do your math and calculate how much you will need for your dinner or gathering. I cooked 9 pork shoulders, for our needs)

-4 pound pork shoulder (or pork butt)

-2 tablespoons olive oil

Seasonings

-1 Tablespoon brown sugar
-1 Tablespoon chili powder
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-1 teaspoon cumin
-1 teaspoon kosher salt
-1 teaspoon black pepper
-12 ounces coke (not diet)

*BBQ sauce optional (Recipe Below)

Method 

1. Trim meat and cut into 4 pieces. Preheat an oven or electric roaster to 300 degrees. 
2. Combine all the seasonings and spices in a small bowl and rub onto pork.
3. Pour the olive oil into a Dutch oven, heat on the stove top and sear each piece of meat for a few minutes on each side. 
4. At this point, pour some beef or chicken stock, enough to cover bottom of roaster or roasting pan, place the four pieces of meat either in a roasting pan or in an electric roasting pan.  Pour a can of Coke over the meat.  Cover and cook for 3-4 hours until pork is tender and pulls apart with 2 forks.  
5. Remove each of 4 pieces of pork, 1 at a time to a large plate.  Let cool slightly, then pull apart with two forks.  At this time, I pull out and discard any pieces of tough meat or fat I missed in the initial trimming before cooling. When you make it at home, you know the quality of meat you are getting and you get to pull out any fat or little tough pieces. If serving immediately, serve with a sauce to top.  If you plan to make in advance, to freeze, let meat cool in the refrigerator on the plate, or in a serving bowl, then place in ziplock freezer bags, getting as much air out as possible.  When ready to use, defrost in the fridge (about a day in advance).  Reheat in a roasting pan in the oven, adding some beef or chicken-or a combination of both and a little of the watered down sauce you are using. Heat until warmed, don’t over cook, as meat has already been cooked. I like to serve with Jiffy corn muffins-which also can be made in advance and frozen- a good BBQ sauce and a vinegar based Cole slaw.  Yum & enjoy!!

*St. Louis BBQ Sauce

     According to my research a St. Louis BBQ sauce is a combination of sweet and tangy. It is sweetened with molasses.  All I can say is this is my new favorite BBQ sauce and since it is not hard to make, I will not be buying a sauce.  The Pulled Pork and this sauce are so easy to make, there is no need to order this meal out any more.  Go for it, is all I say and you may feel the same!

Ingredients

     -14 ounce can crushed tomatoes

      -1 cup ketchup 

      -3/4 cup brown sugar

      -1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

      -1/2 cup molasses

      -1 Tablespoon paprika

      -1 Tablespoon kosher salt

      -2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

      -1 teaspoon chili powder

      -1 teaspoon garlic powder

      -1 teaspoon onion powder

      -1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

      -1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Whisk all ingredients to blend and heat to a boil on medium heat. Once mixture starts to boil, reduce to a low simmer.  Make sure your saucepan is large enough so that your mixture does not boil over. 
2. Simmer for about 20 minutes.  Remove the pan from heat.  Allow mixture to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container or freezing for later use. If later defrosting, either defrost in the refrigerator or placing ziplock freezer bag in a pan of water.  
3. Sauce can be used immediately.  It is recommended to make at least a day in advance and let set in refrigerator overnight for best flavor. Sauce can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.