Pull that Pork!

   I have to admit that whoever came up with pulled pork will be my hero forever! Actually, whoever came up with BBQ in general is just the awesomest (yes, awesomest!) person in the world! The smokiness, the tenderness, the juiciness... I can go on, and on, and on... I just adore BBQ and pulled pork. And I know, that if you don't have a "real-deal" smoker in your back yard, you probably will never get the same flavor, but I don't care and I'm making my own little pulled piggy anyways! It's supper easy and works every time... and who said you can't "cheat" a little bit and use liquid smoke? Here is the recipe, serves 6-ish:

Ingredients:

*  2-3 lb pork shoulder
*  1 large onion, coarsely chopped
*  2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
*  1/2 cup dried cranberries
*  1 cup red wine
*  2 tbsp brown sugar
*  1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
*  2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
*  3 tbsp original BBQ sauce
*  3 tbsp liquid smoke
*  salt and pepper
*  2 tbsp vegetable oil

Direction:

1. In a Dutch oven heat the oil, season pork with salt and pepper and brown it on both sides (3-4 minutes on each side).
2. Remove the pork from the pot, set aside.
3. Into the same pot add chopped onion, carrots and cranberries, and cook everything for about 6-7 minutes.
4. Add all remaining ingredients, bring to boil, and return meat to the pot.
5. Cover Dutch oven with a lid, transfer into the oven and bake for 2.5 hours at 325F.
6. When meat is tender, remove it from the pot and using a fork shred it into desire pieces.
7. Using a hand blender, blend the sauce until smooth, return meat into the sauce and mix everything together.

   The pork is very tender, juicy and cooked to perfection! You can serve it in a sandwich, with rice or pasta... or you can just devour it straight from the pot! Delicious any way! Liquid smoke makes all the difference, and if you never used it before... you just have to try it!

Enjoy,
Magda