Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Homemade Buns

Another rainy Sunday project. I've made this pulled pork a few times and it's always deeeeliiicious. I think it will make 95% of men drool instantly like Pavlov's dog when they smell it. Something about dudes and bbq-type food...

Let me start by saying I know nothing about serious bbq food. I know there are people who are very strict about how they cook it. Charcoal vs. gas vs. smoked...Texas bbq vs. North Carolina bbq. I know nothing of this. But, I think that a dry rub on any meat is a great start. Who can complain when there's a pile of bbq sauce drenched super tender meat in a homemade bun? Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I also made the rolls to go with this from scratch. I felt like I was underutilizing a King Arthur Flour baking cookbook I got for Christmas, so I put it to use today.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

(I have no idea where I got this original recipe, but I've changed it enough over the last couple of years that I feel like I can call it mine now)

Start with either 1 4-5 lb. boneless pork shoulder roast or 2 1.5-2lb roasts.

For the dry rub:

4 tbsp dark brown sugar

3 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tbsp pepper

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1. Mix all of the dry rub ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Put the pork roast(s) in the bowl with the rub and cover on all sides. Place roasts in a large plastic bag and refrigerate with dry rub for 6-24 hours (I forgot to do this last night, so only let the rub sit for a couple of hours today and it still came out fine).

To cook the pork:

1 cup water

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup cider vinegar

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tbsp liquid smoke

1 cup BBQ sauce, plus additional after cooking

2. Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker and whisk together. Place roasts in slow cooker with the liquid mixture, cover, and turn on low.

3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours depending on the size of the roasts. If liquid does not cover roast, flip occasionally during cooking.

4. Once pork is very fork tender (i.e. falls apart when forked) remove from slow cooker and drain all but 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.

5. Take a fork and knife or 2 forks and shred pork into small pieces. Add back into slow cooker with 1/2 cup cooking liquid and stir to combine.

6. Pour as much bbq sauce as desired in with pork and stir together. This is a matter of preference, some like it saucy, some like it dry, so there's no real measurement.

Now for the buns!

King Arthur Flour's "Beautiful Burger Buns"

From the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tbsp butter, softened

1 large egg

3 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp instant yeast

1 tsp onion powder (optional)

1/2 tsp dried minced onion (optional)

1. Combine all ingredients in stand mixer bowl and mix with dough hook until combined into a soft smooth dough (mine was rather sticky, which turned out to be fine).

2. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise for about 1 hour.

3. Flip dough out onto floured surface. Cover top surface in flour as it will be quite sticky. Separate dough into 8-10 roughly equal pieces (I did 8 as the recipe says, but would do 10 next time, they were slightly larger than burger buns when done). Shape each piece into a flattened ball and place on a greased baking sheet or 13x9 pan and cover with plastic wrap.

4. Let rise 30-40 minutes "until they're quite puffy" (a very exact direction from the cookbook). Just eyeball it, they'll almost double in size again by the time they're ready.

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake buns for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Then for dinner, serve bun piled high with pulled pork, add some sweet potato fries and you have a full happy belly.

Cinnabon Clone - A love at first taste recipe

Need a recipe that will instantly make someone fall in love with you? Or ensure that someone you're already with will love you forever? Well, this is it.

I saw a recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com/ recently for a "clone of a Cinnabon." Allrecipes can be a hit or miss site since anyone can upload recipes, but I like that it has a ton of traffic, so you can sort the good recipes from the bad by the ratings and reviews from other people. This recipe had a perfect 5 star rating from over 2,500 people. That's usually a good sign.

These are definitely a weekend kind of project, there are a few steps, a bunch of dishes, and a few hours involved in the whole process. But I've made cinnamon buns from scratch before and some from a King Arthur Flour kit, but this recipe takes the cake. If you click through to the allrecipes site, please, whatever you do, do not click on the nutrition information button. These are worth the calories.

Clone of a Cinnabon
Recipe from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Clone-of-a-Cinnabon/Detail.aspx

For the dough:
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

1. Combine all ingredients in stand mixer bowl fitted with the dough hook attachment. Turn on low to medium speed and let the dough hook do its thing. The dough hook is wonderful, no messy kneading by hand, it does all the work for you. Just remember, don't lock the mixer down since it will jump a little while kneading.

2. Once combined into a smooth dough, transfer dough to a mixing bowl that's been sprayed with oil. Cover tight with plastic wrap and put in a warm place to rise for about an hour. I usually put the bowl on the back burner of our gas stove where it gets some heat from the pilot light. But any other warm spot will do: top of your dryer while you're doing laundry, the top of your fridge. Or leave just out at room temperature for a little longer.

3. Wait until dough has doubled in size. It should go from this:

To this:
4. Lightly flour a spot on your counter, flip the dough out, then take a rolling pin and roll out to about a 16x21" rectangle. Cut off any uneven edges.

For the filling:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened
5. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. A trick I learned today: if you have some brown sugar that's rock hard, put it in a microwave safe bowl, cover the hard pieces with a damp paper towel and microwave for about 30 seconds. Don't microwave too long or the sugar will melt.

6. Spread 1/3 cup butter on dough evenly with a butter knife. Then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly. Make sure your dough is not too close to the edge of the counter, otherwise, when you go to roll it all up, the brown sugar/cinnamon will fall out the end all over the floor. Yes, I learned this the hard way. I am a very messy cook.

7. Start at one end and roll up the dough. Cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased (Pam spray, not butter) 13x9 pan and place back in your favorite rising spot for another half hour until rolls have almost doubled and fill the pan.

8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

9. Bake rolls at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes until just golden brown on top.

For the glaze:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

10. While the rolls are baking, beat together all glaze ingredients until smooth in a mixer with a whisk attachment. The consistency will resemble cake frosting more than glaze.

11. Spread the glaze evenly on warm cinnamon buns. Then, enjoy!