Slow Cooker Cherry Coke Pulled Pork

October in Atlanta means the heat finally concedes, not gracefully but gradually, like a guest who says they're leaving and then stands in the doorway for another twenty minutes. The mornings are cool enough for a cardigan now, which Jasmine considers a fashion victory. She has informed me that cardigans are "in" and that I should buy her a yellow one. I told her we'd see. She heard "yes." She's not wrong.

Mama had a rough week. The second round of chemo is harder than the first — she's nauseous most mornings and the fatigue has moved from her body into her face. When I went to Cascade Heights on Saturday to cook her meals for the week, she was sitting at the kitchen table in her housecoat at two in the afternoon, which is something Brenda Jackson has never done in my living memory. That woman has been dressed and purposeful by 8 AM every day of her life. Seeing her in the housecoat at two felt like watching a clock run backward.

I cooked six meals in three hours. Baked chicken thighs with lemon and herbs. A pot of vegetable soup. Rice and gravy. Smothered turkey wings. Collard greens. A pan of cornbread. I portioned everything into containers and labeled them with days of the week, which Mama said was "unnecessary" and Daddy said was "helpful," and they looked at each other with the kind of married-people disagreement that has no resolution and needs none.

Curtis pulled me aside before I left. He said, "She's not eating much." I said, "I know, Daddy." He said, "She won't tell you that." I said, "I know that too." We stood in the hallway of the house I grew up in and didn't say the things we were thinking because Curtis Jackson doesn't say those things and I am my father's daughter. He hugged me instead. Curtis doesn't hug often. When he does, you feel the entire weight of what he can't say.

Set the Table class four: fried rice. I chose it because it's forgiving, uses leftovers, and teaches the girls how to work with heat. Jade — the quietest of the group — turned out to be a natural with the wok. Her fried rice was better than mine, and I told her so, and she smiled so wide I thought her face would split. Sometimes the kitchen finds people before they find it.

Dinner this week was comfort-heavy. Pot roast on Monday that lasted through Wednesday. The kind of pot roast that Mama makes — chuck roast, carrots, potatoes, onions, slow-cooked until the meat falls apart if you look at it sternly. I added rosemary because I'm me and not Mama, and the rosemary made it mine. Marcus ate his weight in potatoes. Jasmine picked out the carrots. We are who we are.

The pot roast carried us Monday through Wednesday, and when it was gone I felt it like a small loss — that particular comfort of lifting a lid and having dinner already waiting. I’ve been leaning hard on the slow cooker these days, partly because October has finally made the kitchen a place I want to be again, and partly because I need meals that don’t ask anything of me between the hours of three and six. This Cherry Coke pulled pork is everything I needed it to be: you start it in the morning, you live your life, and by dinner the whole house smells like something good is coming. Mama would call it practical. I call it survival with flavor.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 8 hours | Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 1/2 to 4 lbs pork shoulder (bone-in or boneless)
1 (12 oz) can Cherry Coke (not diet)
1 cup your favorite BBQ sauce, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced into rings
2 cloves garlic, smashed

Instructions

Make the dry rub. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne if using. Stir until evenly mixed.
Season the pork. Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork, pressing it into the surface on all sides.
Layer the slow cooker. Spread the sliced onion rings and smashed garlic across the bottom of the slow cooker insert. Place the seasoned pork shoulder on top.
Add the liquids. Pour the Cherry Coke around (not over) the pork, then spoon the BBQ sauce over the top of the roast.
Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the pork is fall-apart tender and easily shredded with a fork.
Shred and finish. Remove the pork to a cutting board or large bowl and shred using two forks, discarding any large pieces of fat or bone. Skim excess fat from the cooking liquid in the slow cooker, then ladle 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the juices back over the shredded pork to keep it moist. Stir in additional BBQ sauce to taste.
Serve. Pile onto toasted brioche buns, over rice, or alongside coleslaw and cornbread. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days — it reheats beautifully.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow Cooker Cherry Coke Pulled Pork — The Comfort That Carries You Through the Week