Maple Spice BBQ Pork Shoulder
It’s slow cooker season again. Although, when you’re a mom with a packed full of blessings schedule a slow cooked meal is always welcome. Maybe I should say, finally, the flavors of slow cooked food are starting to match the weather! I love a bit of warmth, a bit of spice, and bit of sweet-savory goodness in my slow cooked meals. This pork shoulder delivers on all counts. It takes a few minutes to get in the pot, it’s equally at home in an oven for a few hours or a slow cooker all day. It can be served platter style with sweet potatoes, piled high on a bun with slaw, or even plopped on tortilla chips for some stellar nachos. It’s the lightweight cardigan of meats, you’ll find yourself reaching for it all the time no matter what your needs are. My next course of action is to try it with chuck roast and see how delicious it tastes that way too!
Ingredients:
Makes 8 servings
2-3 pound pork shoulder, cut into large chunks
(this would also be delicious with chuck roast!)
1 cup apple juice
⅓ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
¼ cup tomato paste
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon ginger powder
a dash of worchestershire sauce
a dash of chili powder
Directions:
In a slow cooker, instant pot, or dutch oven, mix all of the ingredients together besides the apple juice and pork shoulder. Add the pork shoulder pieces and rub the sauce all over. Pour the apple juice around the meat.
If you’re cooking in a dutch oven in the oven, preheat your oven to 400 and pop the pork in without a lid for 30 minutes. At that point, add a lid and reduce the temperature to 300 and continue to cook for another 2 hours. The meat should be tender and shred easily. Shred the meat into the sauce and keep warm until ready to eat.
If you’re using an instant pot cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Shred the meat into the sauce and keep warm.
If using a slow cooker, cook on low for 6-8 hours until the meat is shred apart tender.
Enjoy!
