Slow cooker pork ribs.

Cook once, and eat twice, or maybe three times.  Who doesn’t love that?  Not me, for sure.

With some very simple preparations you can be having a deliciously tender, falling-off-the-bone  roast pork for dinner this evening. The aftermath of this meal will be to use the remaining meat to make pulled pork.  I’ll be serving that in a few days and plan to share my recipe with you.  Left over pork can be enjoyed in many different ways, so let your imagination run free to come up with countless ways for using those leftovers.

It all begins with the slow-cooker and a bottle of root beer soda.  Good barbecue requires low and slow cooking.  So we will make a simple spice mixture to rub on the meat, put the meat in the slow cooker, add the root beer soda, and let it cook on low for about 8 hours.  Most barbecued pork or pulled pork is made from either a pork shoulder roast, or a pork sirloin roast.  In my version today, I am using bone-in,  country style ribs that have lots of meat on them.

Using root beer soda is a technique that I have learned about from several sources. It is very popular with Southern cooks. It provides the needed moisture, its sweetness is the basis for the barbecue sauce, yet all trace of root beer flavor disappears with cooking.  In a follow-up blog post I will tell you about how I made the pulled pork with a very special barbecue sauce.

SIMPLE SAVORY RUB SLOW COOKED PORK

You get big flavor from just a few ingredients.

Yield:    Makes 8 – 10 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds pork shoulder, sirloin roast, or meaty ribs (with bone)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup root beer soda

1.  In a small bowl, combine all the seasonings.  Rub the mixture all over the meat, pressing it to adhere.  Place the meat in the slow cooker.  Pour in the root beer.  Cover and set to “low heat” setting and allow to cook undisturbed*  until the pork is very tender, 6-8 hours.

Ribs in the crockpot, all seasoned and ready for some slow cooking.

2.  Transfer the meat to a serving bowl or platter and allow to rest, covered.  The meat is very flavorful and tender served just like this, along with some of the pan juices to moisten it.

Slow cooker pork ribs served with pan juices.

*Curb the urge to stir, peek or smell.  Every time you lift the lid of your slow cooker, you lose heat equivalent to 20 minutes of cook time.  Resist the temptation to lift the lid until its time to check for doneness in the last 30 minutes of cooking.

SOURCE:   Sweet Tea Please,  Vicki Prescott