Spicy Shredded Pork (Pioneer Woman)

Now, what better way to begin my food blog, than with none other, a Pioneer Woman recipe. I hardly ever have one of her recipes fail me. They are so fun and easy to make, and you will wooo your husband all over again.

Now, let me just say, I, in a million years would have never thought to cook pork. Maybe a pork chop, but not a pork shoulder.

 I am sold. I want pork and more pork and more pork. Okay, not that much as I would like to see my grandchildren grow up. But this recipe is so easy that you may need to start excising some serious self-control.

Here is what you will need.

One 5 to 7 pound Pork Shoulder

One whole onion, quartered

1 tablespoon of Chili Powder

1/2 C Brown Sugar

4 Garlic cloves, peeled

1 teaspoon Dried Oregano

2 teaspoons Ground Cumin

1 to 2 tablespoons salt, to taste

Black pepper 

3 tablespoons of Olive Oil

2 table spoons of White Wine Vinegar

Here is a glimpse of some of the ingredients. :-) I like visuals, a lot.

**(The online recipe calls for Lime Wedges and Tortillas, but I didn't need them since I added my own twist to the recipe. to be continued.....)**

Preheat your oven to:

Now don't be ashamed, unwrap her. She won't bite. 

And give her a bath. No soap of course. 

Add all your ingredients into your Food Processor.

Onion, Chili Powder, Brown Sugar, Garlic, Oregano, Cumin, Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil, and Vinger. 

Pulse her until she looks like this.

Pour this mixture over your new best friend. And give her a massage, free of charge. Make sure you get intimate all over. Don't want any bicep gettin' jealous.

Time to take her home, in your Dutch Oven. Add two cups of water and Proclaim in a loud voice,

     "IT IS FINISHED"

(a dutch oven is what you will need for you are slow cooking her for 7 hours in your oven)

Transport her to Heaven or your oven, whichever is closer.

Set your Oven Timer. I live by mine, you don't have too, but it makes life a lot less complicated.

 And yes that is right, 7 hours long. It makes you feel like you worked hard. 

Now fold laundry, or do what I did and have a NetFlix Marathon.

PW tells you to turn her every hour, but honestly I think I did it three times in the 7 hours and it was perfectly fine. 

PW also says to have it cook for 6-7 hours and if it is Fork Tender increase your heat to 425 degrees and roast uncovered for 20 minutes. 

I cooked mine for the full 7 hours and found the skin already nice and crisp, so I skipped this step. 

So wait.
wait.
wait.
wait.
wait.
wait.
wait.
sniff.
wait.
drool.
wait.

And then sub come to your fleshly desires and resurrect that baby. This is what she should look like.

Pat yourself on the back as you discover her Fork Tenderness...

I shredded her and added her to a casserole dish and added the juices from the pot onto the meat. At this point I release you to your own creativity.

Being an Eastern North Carolinian... Okay, I am not really, my husband is, but we're "One" right? We find that a few ingredients are deemed necessary when it comes to Pork. Proceed with caution.

Meet Vinegar and Texas Pete. As you can see they are favored guests in our house. In North Carolina they use a famous Vinegar sauce on their "BBQ" Yes, BBQ is Pork in Eastern NC. I learned this the hard way... I do not yet have a recipe for this vinegar sauce. If you do, PLEASE SHARE! Till then though, I promise you these two suspects will do just fine.

Now, like I said before, PW does her recipe a little different. Click here to discover her kind. And you could also use the limes and tortilla as a "Take Two" recipe. I would have done that, but the Vinegar and Texas Pete overtook our lives, leaving no man left behind. We are addicted too BBQ Slaw Sandwiches and can eat them for days. And all North Carolina Natives said, "AMEN!".

Check out our "Slaw Sandwich." I have to give credit, where credit is due. "The Preacha" did this when I wasn't looking and I caught on very quickly, and you will too. (That kinda Rhymed)

This "slaw" I purchased from Harris Teeter. It's delish and perfect for your "BBQ Slaw" Sandwich. You could step even more into your PW spirit and make your own, but with three little ones "The Preacha" is lucky to get a cooked Pork Shoulder. 

Go on, Dive into her sweet and tangy devilishness and have no regrets!

Now that you have all the steps, you may proceed with exuberance and excellence! Please subscribe to my blog, as many more recipes will be following. If you have a suggestion, I would love it! If you actually do this recipe, please comment! Any questions or issues, please let me know, I would LOVE to help you  troubleshoot.

Now what are you waiting for... Get ya Pork on...