Welcome to Tuesday’s Pork Butt.

As a former vegetarian… maybe I should say as a reformed vegetarian, I admit it. I enjoy a good pork butt. My daughter introduced me to pork. She loooooves pork.

Now you know a pork butt is not really a pork butt, right? A pork butt is a pork shoulder. It’s an amazing cut of meat that, if properly prepared, melts in your mouth.

Pork Butt/Shoulder

It’s so good smoked, barbecued, or even the way I make it- slow cooked- I use my slow cooker because I don’t have a smoker and my grill is too hot and too quick for an all-day cook.

Oh! Have you watched BBQ Pitmasters? If not you should. Seriously. Watch it. I have a huge crush on judge Moe Cason, and not just because he’s from Iowa. He’s such a dang cutie! Here- Ponderosa BBQ- Des Moines, IA. One of these days I’ll get back to Iowa and taste some of his smokin’ Q.

So anyway, here’s my recipe for Barbecued Pork Butt, Slow Cooker Style:

Buy a 4 lb. pork shoulder. Put it into a Ziplock bag.

Make a dry rub or paste. I prefer a paste. Here is my mixture:

2 Tbs. brown sugar

1 generous tsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. cayenne

2 Tbs. smoked paprika

2 Tbs. sweet paprika

1 tsp. tumeric

2 tsp. granulated garlic or garlic powder

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ginger

2 Tbs. cumin

1 tsp. powdered thyme (if you have Zatar, use Zatar)

2 Tbs. olive oil

2-4 Tbs. water

Mix into a paste. Pour into the Ziplock bag, squeeze the air out of the bag, zip close, and rub the paste all over the meat. Refrigerate overnight, turning the meat whenever you remember. I usually manage to turn it 4-6 times. You want to make sure the rub or the paste covers the entire surface.

The barbecue sauce. This is the sauce in which you will cook your meat.

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup maple syrup or molasses

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup black coffee

3/4 cup ketchup or 3/4 cup barbecue sauce or 3/4 cup of tomato paste

1/2 cup water

Mix all the above ingredients. Place in a large jar or crock and leave in the fridge overnight.

Just put the meat into the slow cooker.

In the morning turn your slow cooker to high. Drop in 1 Tbs. unsalted butter. When the butter melts drop in the meat along with the rub/paste. Pour over the sauce. Replace lid. Leave on high for 3-4 hours. Turn to low for another 3-5 hours, until the meat is fork-tender. It should pull apart with zero tension.

Remove meat to a platter. Shred meat, removing as much of the large pieces of fat as you can. Return meat to sauce in slow cooker. Discard fat. Stir well until all the meat is coated with the sauce. Serve with the whitest white bread you can find - those Hawaiian buns work great - and loads of pickles, coleslaw, pickled onions… Acidic veggies go great with a sweet barbecue.

Pulled pork with grilled asparagus, French bread. Pickled cabbage not pictured.