Things I Like - Food

Well, it looks like there's another key kitchen appliance that I've somehow managed to cook without for the last 25 years. I always thought that slow cookers were basically big crock pots. I had a crock pot once. It was good for making hot chocolate and cup of soup in my dorm room at school, but not for real cooking.

I can't remember the last time I had to make more than 2 cups of hot chocolate at once and I've been more than happy with my stock pot for making soup, so there didn't seem to be much need for a slow cooker. But I kept seeing recipes for slow cookers on all my favorite recipe sites. There were often stove top or oven instructions provided but the slow cooker recipe always looked so much easier. Easy is good.

So I did some research and put the Hamilton Beach 3-in-1 Slow Cooker on my Amazon wish list (it was almost magical the way it showed up on Christmas morning....thank you Johnnie!!) As you might surmise from the name and the photo above, the 3-in-1 includes three different size stoneware bowls (2, 4 and 6 quart) that fit into the cooker. How conveeeenient. And the bowls, in addition to being attractive, are also microwave and oven safe.

My first attempt with the slow cooker was North Carolina style, pulled-pork barbecue. I love pulled pork and order it just about any time I see it on a menu. The best, by far, is in west Tennessee - the kind you get from the guy who fires up his smoker in the summer and then sells the barbecue out of his truck along the road on the weekend. Everyone knows the spot, he's usually sold out by sunday morning. It's served with a vinegary sauce and, when we're at Aunt Linda's house, with coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans and deviled eggs. Trey's southern roots are special for many reasons.

I couldn't find a recipe for Tennessee barbecue but the NC recipe was vinegar based and sounded like it might be close. So I tried it out this week, and although I will likely make a couple adjustments to the seasonings, I have to give both the process and the results 5 stars. Could not have been easier and the pork was so tender it basically shredded itself. And while the potato salad wasn't quite up to Aunt Linda's standard, and there was no coleslaw (not even the store bought kind), it still felt like a little bit of Tennessee in the middle of winter.

North Carolina Barbecue
serves 10
3 lb boneless pork butt or shoulder
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup vinegar
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 TBS sugar
1 heaping TBS crushed red pepper
1 TBS salt
2 tsp black pepper

Combine all ingredients in 4 qt slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW (8 - 10 hours) or HIGH (5 hours) Remove and shred meat to serve.

Planned modifications:
- reduce crushed red pepper to level TBS
- add 1 TBS brown sugar
- blend /puree liquid & seasonings before adding pork
- cook at LOW setting (I used high for 5 hours and ended up cooking an additional hour at low)