Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do you put vinegar in pulled pork? ›

This thin, vinegar-based finishing sauce, which differs from a BBQ sauce, is the secret ingredient to kick up my smoked pulled pork. After you've pulled your pork butt, drizzle over the meat and combine. The vinegar adds contrast to the smoky flavor and cuts through the fat in the meat.

The slow cooker makes this a dump and go meal and allows the pork to become tender. The soda helps to tenderize the meat and mellows out the spiciness of the chipotle peppers. It is the opportunity to use your favorite dark soda pop in a savory recipe. Try using Dr Pepper, root beer, cola or cherry cola.

Brining overnight locks in juices and injects flavour all the way through the pork so every mouthful of pork is seasoned; and. Slow-roasting at a very low temperature means less moisture loss and in turn more succulent meat.

For an all-American classic, I use a mix of ketchup, grainy mustard, apple cider vinegar, and Coca-Cola. Your liquid should not cover your pork in the slow cooker: it should only come up about a quarter of the way up the sides. The pork will make more liquid as it cooks, and you need to leave room for that.

Additionally, spray chicken broth or apple juice on the meat to prevent it from losing more moisture in the crockpot. To add a strong flavor during the process, white wine can also be sprayed.

It's good to add a binder, which helps the rub stick to it. This can be olive oil, yellow mustard, or a spray oil like duck fat. For pork butt I usually go with mustard. It doesn't add any flavor to the finished product, but I like the way it holds the rub and the color it gives to the exterior early in the cook.

Obviously, I've used Dr Pepper instead of co*ke since that's the soda I enjoy, but feel free to use either one – or any other cola-type soda you prefer.

We use brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, a good amount of salt & pepper, and a pinch of cayenne! Make sure you use all of the seasoning! Also, really rub it into the pulled pork, get all of the nooks and crannies!

Apply the sauce after the meat has been cooked. Depending on the cooking temperature and the type of sugar, a sweet sauce can get gummy or even burn. So, apply the sauce at the end, about 15-30 minutes before removing the pork to add rich flavor.

How to use it. This doctored up store-bought BBQ sauce tastes like a homemade BBQ sauce for ribs when you add your favorite additions. Use it on chicken, pulled chicken or pork, beef brisket, and even kebabs.

How do BBQ restaurants keep pulled pork moist? ›

The gelatin also thickens a bit as the meat cools during the rest, so more of it stays in the meat when sliced or pulled. Many competition barbecue teams will wrap briskets and pork butts in aluminum foil during the final stages of cooking and add broth, juice, or other flavorful concoctions to the foil package.

By the way, just as it's possible to overcook beef in a beef stew, it's quite possible to overcook pulled pork. You want your pork to be pull-apart tender—an indication that the connective tissue has broken down—but not so cooked that the muscle fibers themselves start to lose structure and turn to mush.

Now, if you've wrapped the meat, open the wrapping for a minute or two. This is called “burping” the meat and will help keep it from overcooking and becoming mushy during the rest. And yes, that can happen! Reclose the wrapping or cover the meat if it was butterflied but not wrapped.

Dryness: If your pulled pork turns out dry, it might be due to overcooking or not enough fat content in the cut used. To avoid this, ensure you're using a cut like pork shoulder (butt roast) and keeping the cooking temperature low.

Flavor Enhancement: Vinegar adds a tangy and slightly acidic flavor to the pork, enhancing its natural taste and complementing a wide range of seasonings and spices. Tenderness: The acidic properties of vinegar help to break down the muscle fibers in the pork, resulting in a more tender and juicy end product.

Tips for Perfectly Tenderized Pork Every Time:

Its acidic nature helps break down tough fibers and its enzymes work to further enhance tenderness. So next time you're cooking pork, consider using vinegar as a marinade for perfectly juicy and tender results.

Mix vinegar, baking soda and salt, and baste over the skin, saving a little for an extra baste later. The vinegar will help remove any additional moisture and the baking soda will help the skin bubble. Place in the middle of the oven and roast for approximately 1-1.5 hours depending on the size of the pork belly.

You wouldn't necessarily just season pork with cumin, but mixing it with other seasonings like ginger and lime can enhance the flavour significantly. We'd recommend using ground cumin in recipes like our Pork Kebabs Marinated In Orange & Cumin, where the cumin can bring out the citrus and pork flavours well.