When my husband and I got married, I swore to myself that if I got a slow cooker, I would use it a fair amount. Well we all know how those promises go. You acquire the appliance and it just sits there. But now that I’m a mom, I have found a couple tried and true recipes that I always use my slow cooker for. This and my homemade chicken broth (it’s already posted on my blog) are just a couple of them!

The base recipe that I built my version of pulled pork comes from Damaris Phillips and the Food Network. Her version is super tasty, but where I live, I can not find sorghum syrup. And I ended up really enjoying the flavor of the ratio of molasses and honey that I used. And the addition of sherry and red wine vinegar adds just enough acid to make this version not super sweet. Set your slow cooker, prepare, and serve it with my tasty cabbage slaw (again, listed on my blog), and eat it on a good pretzel bun. You’ll be glad you did!

2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf, large
Salt
Pepper
Boneless pork butt, 3-4 lb piece, cut into 4 pieces
Yellow onion, diced
1/4 c unsulphered molasses
2 tbsp honey
1/4 c coconut oil
1/4 c sherry wine
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp liquid smoke

In a large bowl, combine the chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, ancho chili powder, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, salt and pepper with a fork. Add the pork and turn to completely coat all 4 pieces.

In the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker, add the onions and cover them with the pork.

In a small bowl, combine the molasses, honey, coconut oil, wine, vinegar, and liquid smoke. Pour the mixture over the pork.

Cover and cook on low until the pork is tender and falls apart when pulled with a fork, 6 to 8 hours, depending on your slow cooker. Remove the pork from the liquid and shred. Skim and discard the fat from the liquid in the slow cooker. Return the pork to the skimmed liquid. Season with additional salt if needed. Keep warm until ready to serve.