What happens when you mix a pork shoulder with apple juice in a Crock Pot? If want to try a home cook from the American South, this one is a delicious and satisfying pulled pork meal that your family and friends will LOVE.
Using apple juice as a key ingredient in a pulled pork recipe shouldn’t come as a surprise for Southern cooks or game hunters. Apple slices were often added to tenderizer mixtures applied to venison in the antebellum period. The idea is to take advantage of enzymes, which are added in the modern apple juice bottling process, and to add a touch of flavor that is both sweet and tangy.
Enzymes are complex proteins that produce the biochemical effect of meat tenderizing. To this effect, pineapples and papayas are even better tenderizers since they are loaded with enzymes; however, when the taste they leave when they are reduced in a slow cooker is recommended for pulled pork, unlike apples.
For an easy and delicious pulled pork meal, simply rub a 4-pound pork shoulder with chili powder, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, paprika, and barbecue sauce. Place in a Crock Pot and add two cups of apple juice along with half cup of apple cider vinegar. You want to leave the pork cooking slowly for four hours before taking it out for shredding with a fork while still steaming. Pulled pork is better when enjoyed as a bun sandwich, and it goes great with traditional side dishes such as corn bread, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and others.