Slow Cooked, Seasoned Pulled Pork

This is the best way to prepare pork, ever. I dream about this dish. I have to make up special occasions to have an excuse to fix this for dinner. The original recipe is here, which includes instructions on cooking it in the oven. Since I'm a crock pot girl, I'm just going to do it my way.

You need to start this recipe the day before you want to serve it. You'll brine it one day, and cook it the next.

First of all, you'll need a big hunk of pork. If you can swing it, buy a large Boston butt. I usually buy a seven pound butt for 5-6 people, and that works out to just over $2.00 per person, which is really not bad. Make sure it has a nice layer of fat on one side and a bone running part of the way through. We need this for flavor.

Now, let's make the dry rub:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar (leave it out - you'll use it again later)
• 1 tbsp salt (ditto)
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp chili powder (get creative here with your leftover spices from the Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes)
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp paprika (or half regular and half smoked sweet paprika)
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper

Yes, it's rather like the sweet potato spice we just did. In fact, if you're like me and you're now keeping a container of prepared sweet potato spice on hand at all times, you could probably go ahead and just use that.

Now set that aside and work on the brine:

• 2 quarts cold water
• 1/2 cup salt
• 3 tbsp dry rub mix
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (you can put it away now)

Stir the salt into the water until completely dissolved, then add the brown sugar and dry rub mix and keep stirring. Finally, add the bay leaf. Find something large enough to hold the pork but small enough to fit in your fridge. You can use a large pitcher, a bowl, or a giant Ziploc bag. Make sure the pork is completely covered in brine solution. Leave it in the fridge for at least eight hours. I usually do more like 20 hours. I put it in the solution in the morning, then turn it before I go to bed.

If you're serving this for dinner, then you want to start cooking it first thing that morning. Take it out of the brine solution, and pat it dry with paper towels (this will help the dry rub stick). Then roll up your sleeves and press that dry rub onto every inch of the roast. Get it in all the little crevices. Don't skimp. Odds are there will still be some left when you're done. Keep it. You can mix it in with the finished product for some extra kick when you're done.

Now that your butt is sufficiently rubbed and covered in spice (that's a sentence I don't write every day), go ahead and drop it in the crock pot. I like to add about 1/4 cup water, but I don't think it's necessary. Now turn it on low and let it cook for ten hours or so. If you don't have ten hours, start it on high and switch to low after a couple hours.

When this thing is done, you won't need to pull it apart. You just look at it, and it separates. Your only job is to try and remove all of the bone and most of the fat. And to taste lots of samples and lick grease off your fingers.

Serve this however you want. I'd eat it plain, but we usually do sandwiches. This is supposed to be enough for lots of leftovers, but don't count on it.

It serves exactly as many people as there are.