Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Third week. I am getting better at reading the room — learning to notice when D. is getting close to a meltdown before it happens, when M. needs the wall-touching lap to start the morning even if we are mid-activity, when E. is frustrated because the picture exchange is not giving her what she needs and she needs a different option. Ms. Reyes watches me noticing and gives me a small nod sometimes. That nod is the best thing that happens in any given day.

Called home on Sunday. Patty answered on the first ring because Patty always answers on the first ring. She asked how student teaching was going and I talked for twenty minutes without stopping. She listened to all of it and said "You sound like yourself." I said what does that mean. She said "You know what it means." I think I know what it means — it means the part of me that went quiet after Jess died is coming back. Not the same. But back.

Made pulled pork in the slow cooker on Sunday — this is a revelation. A two-pound pork shoulder from Aldi, under four dollars, rubbed with brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt. Left it in the slow cooker on low for eight hours while I did seminar readings. Shredded it with two forks. Made sandwiches. Made tacos. Ate it over rice. Fed myself for the whole week on that one piece of pork.

Total food cost for the week: under nine dollars. This is what batch cooking looks like when you find the anchor — one big cheap protein that you built everything else around. The pork was tender and deeply flavored and slightly sweet from the brown sugar. I ate the last of it on Friday night over rice with a fried egg on top and thought: I am going to teach people this. Specifically I am going to put this on the blog and explain exactly how it works on a teacher's salary. Which is what all of this has been building toward, I think.

So here it is — the recipe I promised myself I’d share on Friday night while eating the last of that pork over rice with a fried egg. This is the anchor. The thing you build your whole week around when you’re student teaching and scraping by and still want to eat something that tastes like you actually care about feeding yourself. Four dollars, two forks, eight hours of doing nothing, and you’ve got meals for days.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 8 hours | Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 pounds bone-in or boneless pork shoulder (butt)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water

Instructions

Mix the rub. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and black pepper.
Season the pork. Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture all over the meat, pressing it in so it sticks.
Set up the slow cooker. Place the seasoned pork shoulder in the slow cooker. Pour the apple cider vinegar and water around the base of the meat — not on top, so you don’t wash off the rub.
Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours. The pork is done when it pulls apart easily and the internal temperature reaches 200–205°F.
Shred it. Transfer the pork to a cutting board or large bowl. Shred with two forks, discarding any large pieces of fat. Pour some of the cooking liquid back over the shredded pork and toss to keep it moist.
Serve or store. Eat it on sandwiches, in tacos, over rice, or however you want. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork — The Four-Dollar Anchor That Fed Me All Week