A wonderful, magical animal! Pork: Part 2

Now on to the second half of my precarious pork escapades.

Unlike the pork loin debacle of 2013, this dish went much better.

I started out with the pork in the slow cooker with three quarters of a cup apple cider vinegar for each pound plus some salt and pepper. Had I not already cooked the onions earlier that week, they would have ended up in this pot of love. I let it sit on low for 12 hours. I pulled out the meat, shredded it with forks. If it were not hot, I could have done it with my fingers as the meat was so tender.

After shredding it, I halfway considered leaving some to the side for a couple pulled pork BBQ sandwiches though I ended up not doing so. After putting the meat back into the slow cooker, I began dumping in all the veggies I had been roasting over the week for other meals. Carrots, potatoes, butternut squash, onion, green bell pepper (wasn't roasted but was still yummy) and garlic as well as a can of each of the following: beef broth, creamed corn, and great northern beans (rinsed) plus 24 oz can of petite diced tomatoes with the juices. Then on stove top over medium heat, I combined a can of chicken stock with a quarter cup of dark molasses as well as a bit of flour to thicken the stew.

^Reminder: Mix the flour with a little bit of the chicken stock completely before adding to the stove top concoction or you will have no chance at getting rid of the flour clumps.^

I put the molasses/flour/chicken stock mixture into the slow cooker over everything else and then added half a dark beer. In this case I opted for a pumpkin beer as I had brought a folly of Blue Moon and neither husband or I can drink more than 3 "special-seasonal-food-flavored" beers a season. Turned out to be a great addition.

I then let it cook on low while husband and I went futon shopping and cleaned the house. 8 hours later, I served the stew to husband and our friend Kim and it was a hit!

Granted, I have a good 5 quarts of stew left over, but this doesn't bother me as stew is normally better as a left over anyway.

Score as it stands::
Cat: 1
Pig: 1

Pulled Pork Stew Recipe:
Ingredients:
Pulled pork:
2 -3 pounds of pork shoulder
1 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Stew:
First wave: I prefer all these to be roasted before putting them in to the stew, but it is not nessecary
1 large white or yellow onion,  diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper
4 carrots, diced
2 potatoes, diced
2 cups of butternut squash

Second wave:
4 stalks of celery, diced
2 cans of petite dice tomatoes, with juices
1 can of creamed corn
1 can of northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of beef broth
6 ounces of a dark or amber beer

Third wave:
1 can of chicken broth
1/4 cup of molasses
2 tablespoons of flour
1/2 tablespoon of  paprika
1 tablespoon of chili powder

Directions
In slow cooker, put pork and apple cider vinegar. Salt and pepper the meat. Cook on low for 12 hours, turning the meat about half way though.

Take meat out and shred it with forks, but retain the juices and apple cider vinegar in the slow cooker. Place the shredded meat back into the slow cooker.

Add the first wave of ingredients. I prefer to have all these vegetables lightly roasted in the oven before putting them into the slow cooker, but that is the chef's call.

Then add the second wave, and cover while you move to the stove top to prepare for the third wave.

For the third wave, take a small sauce pan and over medium heat, mix the molasses and half of the can of chicken broth with a whisk until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, paprika, and chili powder with the other portion of the chicken broth until well combined with no clumps. Combine flour mixture with the molasses mixture until well combined and then pour over the stew.

Let cook in slow cooker for 6 hours on low. Enjoy with crusty sourdough bread or corn bread.



** Today's (and yesterday's) title comes from a television legacy: The Simpsons, the episode entitled "Lisa the Vegetarian".
Homer: Are you saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Ham?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal! **