Pulled Pork

I LOVE pulled pork. I don't exactly remember where this love affair began, but it's only been in my adult life. I almost always order it when it's presented on a menu and only a couple times has it ever left me wanting.
Browsing through the meat aisle the other day, there were these little cryo-vac packages of pork with a label that read "for pulled pork". With my re-invigorated crock pot usage in my head, I thought, can I do this in my crock pot? The answer, is YES! And it was De.Lic.Ious. Granted, this is not BBQ pulled pork, there is no smoking involved. Of course that adds another dimension to the dish that is amazingly good. Sadly, I have not yet taken the leap into backyard smoking (it's on my list), but until I do, this will satisfy any pulled pork urge I have.
To make this pulled pork I put a dry rub on the meat and let it set in the fridge overnight. My usually go-to dry rub is a recipe from Alton Brown's "Who Loves Ya Baby Back", which can easily be tweaked with whatever spices you prefer. Then I set it in the slow cooker (juices will be produced over night so make sure it's a vessel to catch those and go ahead and pour them in the cooker) on low for about 4 hours, until I pierced it with a fork and it fell apart. Then I pulled the pork with two forks and slathered with BBQ sauce. A bulkie roll is a great way to go with this, but I also like it on a green salad. Sounds weird, but I had it at a BBQ joint once and now I'm hooked.

Slow-Cooker Chicken: Mexican Style

A friend emailed me an easy slow cooker recipe for a Mexican pulled chicken dish. I was so happy to get some other ideas for the slow cooker which I mostly use for pot roast or beef stew (which, let's be honest are almost the same thing). The recipe is this: 4 chicken breasts, a jar of salsa, a can of black beans, and a can of corn. Dump in the slow cooker until the chicken shreds with a fork. I used a pineapple salsa which added a nice sweetness to the spiciness. I also used some frozen corn instead of canned corn. It took about 3 hours for the chicken to be easily shredded. I served it on a tortilla with some lettuce, scallions and cheese.

Not Your Average Sloppy Joe

I have been inspired by the Food Network show "Aarti's Party" which is the first show of the Next Food Network Star winner, Aarti. She is from India and some of her recipes are American favorites with an Indian twist. I purchased some Indian spices to be able to try some of her recipes, namely Turmeric, Cardamom, and Garam Masala (an Indian spice mix). She also uses a lot of fresh ginger and had a great tip that you can peel and grate or mince fresh ginger and freeze it in that form. This was super helpful because I don't use it all that often and would get frustrated throwing away half of "hand" of ginger.
You can see her Bombay Sloppy Joe recipe. I used it as inspiration, but changed it up quite a bit. Mostly because I didn't have a lot of the things she uses on hand (like pistachios and serrano peppers) and just to suit my own tastes (Raisins, Aarti? Really?). But that's the great thing about cooking! You see something you find interesting, use what you like, change what you don't. I loved the Indian spice twist that this recipe provided. I think this was my favorite batch of sloppy joes I've ever made.
I decided to do it all in one pot instead of cooking the meat and sauce in separate vessels. I also used ground beef instead of ground turkey, because that is just what was in the fridge. For the sauce, I like the depth and richness of tomato paste in my sloppy joes so I used that instead of tomato sauce, but then added a can of diced tomatoes for a brighter tomato flavor and variety of texture. I garnished with some Muenster cheese for some creaminess and spinach to add some texture and make it feel a little healthier :)