I’m no fan of the crock pot.

The idea, I love.  Throw some stuff in and voila!  Leave it alone for an entire day and it will magicially transform into a tasty meal that makes your family feel like there really IS a mother in the house.

Except, no.

Almost every single thing I have ever made in the crock pot—other than chili–regardless of which meat, spices, and vegetables I include, comes out as essentially the same gross meal.

I know, I know.   You have recipes.  You can change my crock pot life.  My children will fondly recall our lingering family dinners, full of laughter and sharing if only I can get this right.

But, see, I’ve tried.  It just doesn’t work for me.

And so, last month when I made my month-of-meals plan, I wasn’t planning any crock pot specials.   But I did want to make a couple of new recipes, so I went through all my old clippings and cookbooks to try to find something, anything, we don’t usually have that my people might eat.  Hmmm.

I found a recipe for pulled pork that sounded interesting.  Chili power.  Check.  Garlic.  Check.  Thai chili sauce.  Mmm. Hmmm.  These are things I might go for, and so, despite the fact that it called for dragging the unreliable appliance out and cooking-it-all-day-in-hopes-that-it-would-not-taste-like-every-single-other-thing-I’ve-ever-made-in-there, I gave it a whirl.

And?

It was good!  Surprise!  And it did not taste anything like the other randomness that has emerged from aforementioned crock pot. 

So, hooray.  There’s one.  One is better than none.  I’ll take it.

The recipe was clipped from a newspaper, which has clearly been around for more than a few years, but there’s no name or date reference on the clip. So I apologize for not giving credit to the daring soul that dreamed this up. Here’s the recipe, if you’re so inclined.

1 T olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped^*

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 T chili powder

1 t cracked black peppercorns

1 c Thai chili sauce

¼ c packed brown sugar

¼ c cider vinegar

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 t liquid smoke

1 boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat (abut 3 lbs) ^*

Kaiser rolls

^*Notes:  I used less onion (because I don’t care for it) and I used a pork loin instead of pork shoulder.  I think mine was bigger – maybe 4 or 5 lbs.  I also added a bit of water because my stainless steel crockpot does not know it’s supposed to keep things moist.  I think it failed crockpot finals.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet; cook onions over medium heat, until soft.  Add garlic, chili powder, and peppercorns; cook, stirring for 1 minute.  Add Thai chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.

Place pork shoulder in crock pot.  Pour sauce over pork.  Cover and cook on high 6 hours or on low 10-12 hours, until meat is very tender.

Transfer pork to cutting board and pull the meat apart in shreds, using two forks.  Return to sauce and keep warm until ready to serve.

Spoon shredded pork onto warm Kaiser rolls.