Parents Magazine BBQ Pulled Pork

Every year for Easter I make a big spread. There is always ham, multiple vegetables, rolls, desserts, you get the point. I cook a lot for the holidays. This year I decided to think outside of the box and make things easier on myself. One of the recipes from my menu plan for the week before Easter didn't get made so I was left with all the ingredients for BBQ pulled pork. So I decided that instead of the big spread this year I would just make pulled pork. My mother-in-law stepped up with her fabulous rolls and macaroni salad, and I made deviled eggs and a delicious carrot cake (recipe to come). All-in-all it was a great non-traditional Easter. The main course of the meal was the recipe for BBQ Pulled Pork from the April issue of Parents magazine, which takes a while in the oven, but worth the wait.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes a total time of 7 to 12 hours, 20 of which is active and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I let the mixture chill overnight for the flavors to fully saturate the meat. For the sauce I made a few modifications. My husband prefers a tangy Carolina type BBQ sauce, so I made a few changes to the sauce ingredients. I added an additional tablespoon of apple-cider vinegar and approximately a 1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke. For the rolls instead of whole-grain I used Sunny Buns, my family loves these and won't eat BBQ any other way. The sides of my baking dish burnt, so instead of tossing the pork once it was pulled with the cooking juices, I topped it with the sauce. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

As a main dish for Easter this was perfect. Everyone loved it and it made a great impression on a platter on the center of the table. It made more than enough for four adults and two kids with plenty of leftovers. I normally make pulled pork in the crockpot, which I love, but I liked how great this turned out in the oven with a lot less time than the crockpot requires. A very easy oven pulled pork recipe.

For the recipe go to BBQ Pulled Pork. (registration required)