The BBQ blues
Okay, you know how my blog description says I share “successes and failures in the kitchen”? Well, this is one of those times when my experiment didn’t turn out so well. I’d like to blame the Crock Pot, or my husband, or maybe even the cats, but I can’t really do that. I can’t even blame the recipe because… well, I didn’t follow one. Could that be the reason my Crock Pot barbecue didn’t turn out as well as I hoped? Indeed.
In the past, I’ve thrown hunks of meat into the Crock Pot with half a bottle of good barbecue sauce, a little water and a couple of fat onion slices, and the results have been good. I just drain off the grease, shred the meat, add some more barbecue sauce and top with some of the onion. This method has been especially useful for tough cuts of venison. It’s nothing like the flavor of barbecue cooked the old-fashioned way, but it’ll do on a busy weekday.
This time, my error was in the cut of meat. I had purchased some boneless pork chops on clearance at the grocery store and wanted to use them right away. It turns out that even on low, the cut was too small for such an application. And I overcooked it (7 hours), which left us with dry, shredded pork.
In this case, my husband can be credited with saving the day. He recalled a method he used to use when he lived out at the lake years ago. He mixed our shredded pork with more barbecue sauce and put it in a tightly crimped tin foil pouch with the onion. Then he tossed that pouch on the grill long enough for it to “Jiffy Pop,” or plump up. Apparently, this steamed the meat enough to moisten it. By the time we ate it, with some frozen, cooked corn and green beans canned by Mom, it was pretty good. Not great, but good.
Here’s what I learned: I will always use much larger cuts of meat when I make Crock Pot barbecue, such as a pork butt or a beef pot roast. I found a recipe that I SHOULD have used, and I’m going to paste it below the jump in case anyone wants to do a better job than me. It shouldn’t be hard!!! D’oh!
Slow Cooker Pork Barbecue
Makes 12-16 servings
Ingredients:
4 to 5 pound pork shoulder (butt) roast
2 large onions, sliced
4 to 6 whole cloves
2 cups water
1 bottle (16 oz) barbecue sauce, your choice
1 large onion, chopped, about 1 cup
Large split buns, toasted or warmed
Preparation:
Place half the sliced onion in the bottom of a slow cooker. Add pork roast, cloves, and water. Add the remaining sliced onion. Cover and cook 8 to 12 hours on LOW. Remove bone and fat from meat. Discard onions, cloves and water. Shred the meat and put it back in the pot. Add chopped onion and the barbecue sauce. Cook another 2 1/2 to 4 hours on LOW, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
Serve on large split buns.
Source: Southernfood.about.com
January 28, 2010 - 11:18 AM
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My girlfriend recently cooked some pork chops in the slow cooker. She used BBQ sauce, just enough to cover up the meat in the cooker, just a touch of vinegar, and I think she added a little olive oil. They came out just fine. She cooked the 6 chops for about 6 or 7 hours. Not a fancy meal, but pretty good for a mid week meal.
You might try experimenting with “Country Style” pork ribs. Well suited to a crock pot. As for the Boston Butt, dry rub it and cook in the oven… low and slow for best results.
I have made the same mistake before!
I’m starting to think maybe my Crock Pot cooks hotter than others, because I’m seeing a recurring problem with recipes calling for cooking too long. Who knew Crock Pot cooking could be hard???
I know it sounds kind of strange, but I like to add about 1/2 cups of cherry preserves to the crockpot with the BBQ sauce when I make it. It’s not really sweet, but gives a good tangyness. I just pick the cherry pieces out while serving.
I did some chicken soup in the big crock pot that my girlfriend owns.. we have 3 cookers between the 2 of us. Soup was pretty good!
I subbed cream of celery soup for the celery, used canned carrots (but rinsed them) used green onions and cooked it all day.
Just before serving I cut up the chicken breasts, added about 8 oz of water and the egg noodles, and cooked for 30 minutes. Looking back I should have made a bigger recipe in that big cooker or used a smaller one. It seemed like the noodles took up a lot of the liquid at the end of the cooking, but it was tasty!
I use small cuts of meat in my crockpot all the time with no problems, but I used to have a fast cooking crockpot that ruined things all the time. I threw it away, got a new one and have had no problems since
My crock pot cooks hot as well and its an older model. I have to watch out how long I cook foods. I almost never use the high setting. The best cuts of pork are so cheap right now! I picked up a boneless loin for $1.58 a pound a Kroger. That makes the best BBQ. I plan on doing just that this weekend with my secret Southern sauce recipe!
It’s so funny you posted this because I was just thinking about doing some crock pot bbq. Yeterday I searched online and found this recipe that includes root beer. I haven’t tried it yet but I’m thinking about doing it this weekend. If anyone else has tried it I would love the feedback.
Things You’ll Need:
2 lbs. pork tenderloin
1 (12 oz.) can root beer
1 sweet onion
1 bottle barbecue sauce
Salt
Pepper
1)Rub the salt and pepper into the pork tenderloin. Use as much or as little as you like. Cut the sweet onion into five ½-inch-wide rings.
2}Cover the bottom of the crockpot with the sliced onion rings. Place the pork tenderloin on top of the onions.
3)Pour the can of root beer over the top of the tenderloin. Place the lid on the crockpot. Cook on low heat for 6 hours, or until tender.
4}Remove the pork tenderloin from the crockpot. Shred the meat with a fork and sharp knife. Drain half the juice from the crockpot, allowing the onions to remain.
5}Add the pork back to the crockpot and pour the barbecue sauce on top. Add as much or as little as you like, depending on your personal taste. Stir to combine and cook on low heat for one hour.
I saw Alton Brown on the FN cook oatmeal in a crock pot and decided to try it one night last year. His turned out perfectly, mine was a burnt mess even though it was on low.
Celia, the cherry preserves sound really good, not strange at all.
Homemaker, do you mean you had a slow cooker that was designed to cook things faster than a typical slow cooker, or that yours was just super hot for some reason?
Mine is only a couple of years old, it is a Crock Pot brand model, but it is a big, oval one. I wonder if it’s just the increased surface area that is skewing my cooking times. I would definitely think if I was still using my smaller, round slow cooker, it might take more time.
Original Greg, I think that recipe sounds very good. Have heard of cooking hams with cola or Mountain Dew, but haven’t heard of root beer BBQ.
I recently threw away my Crock Pot brand slow cooker for the very reason that it just cooked too hot and too fast. It was not even a year old – but worthless because of the way it would tend to overcook so many things – even on low. I read through several slowcooker reviews on Amazon and found many many comments from other users complaining that my same Crock Pot simply has a bad reputation for cooking too hot.
The best reviewed slow cooker was a Hamilton Beach model – and last Friday we took a joyride to Lynchburg to “Eat at Moe’s!” and visit Kohls. Found a great Hamilton Beach cooker with tons of settings, a meat probe, sealable lid for travel – in other words – loaded with fabulously nerdy slow cooker options! AND for only $45.00 on sale – a good bit cheaper than the Amazon price.
I really hated the waste of my other slow cooker – my husband suggested we donate it – but I thought it would be rude to pass on a faulty cooker. It was worth it to me to have a reliable unit – hopefully this one will last for a good long while.
Another tip..before you add it to the slow cooker, salt and pepper all sides. Drizzle with enough oil to coat and put a good sear on all sides. It adds a little more flavor. I know it dirtys up an extra dish, but I think the little extra is worth the flavor.
You are right, Ashley, it’s always best to brown meats before they go into the slow cooker if you have the time.
I have a Proctor Silex crock pot that full rolling boils on low. I’ve used it once. I had a P-S toaster that burnt my toast on 2 which made me wonder what 3-6 was for. I’ll never buy another P-S appliance. Hamilton-Beach here I come! Thanks for the referral. Say, why do we need a crock pot anyway, what about a stock pot on low on the electric stove top?