“Summertime, and the livn’ is easy.” Ella Fitzgerald
Even with rising temperatures, don’t put away the crockpot! More often associated with cold weather cooking, the crockpot is your best summer secret weapon to get dinner on the table while you are out enjoying summer activities. With the additional bonus of not heating up the kitchen as much as conventional oven cooking, crockpot cooking makes perfect sense in the hot summer months. If your family mostly grills in the summer, the crockpot can be put into action for sides like baked beans(recipe here).
Whenever I make pulled pork, I scan the refrigerator for sorry looking condiment jars with dredges of their original contents. Pulled pork is an occasion to clean out the fridge. Left over pickle juice, peppers, relish, mustards, sauerkraut, anything goes! Which is why I never thought I would EVER write a post on pulled pork. Never two batches the same, no measurements, no recipe, winging-it kind of cooking. Not blogging material.
When my friend Deedee, a very talented cook, raved about her recipe for pulled pork (What? A recipe???), I graciously accepted her lovely handwritten recipe card and thought I’d better be on my Sunday best behavior and walk-away-from-the-pickle-juice. With cinnamon, cumin and chili spices for enticing flavor, it was very aromatic while cooking. The cat howled to be let back in, afraid he’d be left out! Deedee’s pulled pork lived up to its fame and is destined to become a family favorite, unless the fridge needs cleaning out! 
DEEDEE'S BEST PULLED PORK
1 41/2-5 lb, bone-in pork shoulder or butt, fat trimmed
2 large onions, roughly chopped
4 medium cloves of garlic, sliced
1 c chicken stock
1 c apple cider vinegar
2 T brown sugar
1 T chili powder
1 T sea salt
1/2 t ground cumin
1/4 t ground cinnamon
In a crockpot, place your pork. Surround and top with the onions, garlic and spices. Pour on the vinegar and broth. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove bones and using 2 forks, shred the pork. Strain some of the excess cooking liquid out. Serve on Kaiser rolls with a selection of traditional toppings such as: coleslaw, sauerkraut, shredded brussel sprouts, shredded kale or sautéed mushrooms.
To go Tex Mex: serve as carnitas on tortilla rounds with chopped tomatoes, avocado, lime wedges, sliced black olives, sour cream, chopped cilantro, salsa and black beans. The Tex Mex version could also be made into very popular rice bowls topped with the shredded pork and all the fixins! Sides of corn-on-the-cob would be a perfect summer accompaniement with whatvever version you choose to serve. Any way you go, this is a versatile dish with endless serving possibiliites to feed a crowd. Leftovers freeze well too. So crank up Ella and get slowcookin’.
Luncheon of the Boating Party, Pierre- Auguste Renoir, the Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, 1880-1881
French Gardener Dishes 
Mmmm! This looks super yummy! I love your spicing here! Just enough to enhance the flavours of the pork!
Thanks Juliana. The cinnamon and cumin was new to me in pulled pork but was very tasty!
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I bet it taste as yummy as it looks!!!
When you visit again I will make it for you Bernadette! 🙂
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Deedee’s recipe sounds delicious, especially the cinnamon, and the pork looks so perfectly tender! I do admit though, your clean-out-the-fridge recipe sounds super appealing because we definitely accumulate jars and jars of things…which is rather space consuming!
Thank you Laurie! Blogging forces me to be on my best cooking behavior most of the time but the truth is I’m more of a Mr Fitz than a Ginger and Cream in the kitchen most days. I’m glad you’d be game to try the fridge clean out pulled pork version too!!! I could throw in some cinnamon and cumin to be fancy. Appreciate you hosting us this weekend!
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Haha, a FF reference certainly does make my day! Have a lovely weekend Johanne 🙂
Great idea Johanne, I always tend to bring the slow cooker out in the Fall, but it makes perfect sense to have it slow cook in the summer time – less heat in the kitchen for sure. The pulled pork recipe sounds quite wonderful. I’m off to get out my slow cooker 🙂
I hope you’ll be enjoying your garden while the slowcooker is doing all the work Loretta! I found out the Frendh word for it recently: mijoteuse. So pretty isn’t? You can show off when you’re on Ile d’Orléans!
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Ha ha too funny Johanne. I’ll certainly make a note of that. I’m anxious to get to Nicole’s garden in Ile d’Orleans, she keeps an amazing one! By the way, I’ve just finished a post on Goodstay Gardens where I am spending all my spare time these days volunteering. We’ve just planted six raised veggie beds, I can’t wait! Maybe I’ll give my cooking blog a break and post on my Gardening and Travel adventures which are lacking in material :). Gorgeous days we’re having aren’t we?
Do you have a second blog or it’s just part of the same one? I will look forward to the feature on the gardens!
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oops,sorry it looks like the first msg did get to you. No, I just have 3 sections on my blog. If you look at the main page, there is cooking, gardening and travel.
That’s what I thought . Didn’t want to miss anything 🙂
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Great, thanks, now I can show off when I get there :). I just typed a full paragraph in response to yours, and it disappeared into thin air. I’m typing again. I’ve been busy at Goodstay Gardens where I volunteer, and also sprucing up my own garden. I’ve just finished a post on Goodstay Gardens which I will publish tomorrow. Maybe I should take a break from my cooking blog and let my gardening and travel sections catch up. :).
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