As we’ve written before, you can’t go wrong with ANY recipe from The Pioneer Woman. My theory (tested about a dozen times) is that The Pioneer Woman gets such high marks because she is a master at adding one or two ingredients to her recipes that give them a much needed zing. With her homemade pancakes, it’s the lemon zest and sour cream. With her chicken tortilla soup, it’s Rotel tomatoes and corn meal. By adding a couple of interesting additions, her recipes go from good to great in one bite, with the end result tasting fabulous. One we really love? The Pioneer Woman pulled pork! And it’s because of these two ingredients: Dr. Pepper and Adobe Chilies, which create a melding of flavors that make this recipe divine.
Before you give thumbs down to the Dr. Pepper, I promise you that the addition of this one ingredient makes today’s recipe special. I know there’s been lots of hoo-rah-rah lately about sugary sodas and how bad they are for Americans. And I completely agree, but one Dr. Pepper does not make a darn difference when it comes to your waistband. One huge piece of advice–Do NOT make this recipe with Diet Dr. Pepper. Even the butt will protest.
This recipe is so easy. Just pop it in the oven and forget about it for 7-8 hours. It works wonderfully as an entrée with baked beans and slice tomatoes, or makes a “killer” pork taco as witnessed by the photo below. Let your guests build their own tacos by giving them the option to add sour cream, tomato, chopped jicama, cilantro, black beans and guacamole.
I’m a big admirer of Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. She understands, as women, we’re all so busy, that popping dinner in the oven, heading to the pool for the afternoon and taking credit for the smell of pork butt wafting through the air when your cowboy walks through the door is what makes us giddy (as in giddy up and go get a pedicure while the butt is cooking).
I want to leave you with a Texas quote as a tribute to the Pioneer Woman and women everywhere!
“If you’re ridin’ ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there.” (Author unknown)
Pioneer Woman Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 1 whole Large Onion
- 1 whole Pork Shoulder "pork Butt" - 5 To 7 Pounds
- Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1 can 11 Ounce Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce
- 2 cans Dr. Pepper
- 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a large dutch oven.
- Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions in the pan.
- Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork (include the sauce.) Pour in both cans of Dr Pepper. Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.
- Place lid tightly on pot, then set pot in the oven. Cook for at least six hours, turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours; it should be absolutely falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it's not falling apart, return to the oven for another hour.
- Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, discarding large pieces of fat. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard it. Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve. (You can also refrigerate the meat and liquid separately, then remove hardened fat once it's cold. Then heat up the liquid on the stovetop and return the meat to the liquid to warm up.
- Serve on warm flour tortillas. Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, grated cheese, avocado slices, salsa, and whatever else you'd like.
Nutrition
Happy 4th of July!
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