Pressure Canning Pulled Pork

When it comes to Pulled Pork, look for either Pork  Shoulder or Pork Butt (pork butt is actually part of the shoulder, not the butt. The actual butt of the pig is the "ham"). I had to read a lot about pork before committing to buy because I always used to buy center cut pork chops and cook them/shred them. That was really expensive and a lot of work lol. Now I opt for the pork shoulder/pork butt. Bone-in or boneless will work, whichever you prefer. Bone-in shoulders take a little longer to cook, but can make the meat more flavorful and succulent. Boneless cuts can be sliced into smaller chunks for easier handling and quicker cooking. I've done both many times and find bone-in or boneless fairly interchangeable. I usually go for 4 to 6 pounds boneless or 4 to 7 pounds bone-in. This will give you about 10 cups of shredded meat, which is enough to feed a crowd or plenty for a week's worth of meals. Cooking a pork shoulder takes quite a lot of time, so I tend to roast as much as I can at once and pressure can what I don't think I'll use right away for future meals.

Making all that BBQ sauce a couple weeks ago, I thought it'd be a perfect time to make some Pulled Pork Sandwiches. Of  course, I can't just make a small portion I need to make enough to can some! Pulled pork is a summer favorite for most down here in the south, and I technically lie in the south so that is fun to say! Now, I will be able to whip it out with little preparation and have amazing pulled pork sandwiches with homemade BBQ sauce. A dish that would normally take all day to cook you can have ready in minutes after canning it!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Yield: 4 pints 1 quart
Ingredients
4lbs Pork Shoulder or Pork Butt
1 Onion sliced
BBQ sauce
**optional** 2 tbls Dry Rub Spice (mixture from BBQ sauce recipe)

(Cooking the Pork)
1) Place the Onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top it with your pork and if desired a couple tablespoons of the "Dry Rub Spice Mix" (I gave in my BBQ sauce recipe last week).

2) Turn the crock pot on medium and cook the pork shoulder all day.

3) Once the pork is tender enough, take a fork and start pulling it apart.

4) Add more BBQ sauce until you get the consistency you want for your pulled pork. I mixed my sauce in with the pulled pork but it still seemed a little dry for canning and I wanted my pork to be completely submerged in the sauce so I added some water until I got the consistency I was looking for (I added about 1 cup of water, broth would also work).

5) Bring your meat/sauce mixture to a simmer. You want it to be a little saucy because the canning process absorbs a lot of the liquid.

(Pressure canning process)
1) Prepare your canning jars by boiling them in water and put the lids in simmering water to sterilize and kept them all hot until your ready for them.
2) Ladle the Pulled Pork into your jars, and wipe the rims clean (I always use distilled white vinegar to get all the bacteria and extra grease off before lidding them).
3) Remove the lids from the simmering water using your handy dandy magnetic lid wand, tightening them onto the jars to a fingertip tightness.
4) Processed the pint jars in my pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure for 70 minutes (90 minutes for quart jars). **Don't forget to adjust cook pressure according to your elevation**.
5) After processing, I removed the canner from the heat and let it cool, and allowing the pressure to drop naturally. 
6)  Removed the jars from the canner using your handy dandy jar lifter and set them on a folded dish towel on the counter to cool. I love to sit and listen for the PING of each successfully sealed jar.

Real BBQ anytime you want it :)

BBQ Sauce Recipe

With summer finally "officially" here what a perfect time to refill my BBQ sauce inventory! There is nothing like a good homemade BBQ sauce, and it is fairly cheap and easy to make. I have made a few recipe's over the years, but I think this is one of my favorites. 

INGREDIENTS:
6 tbls Dark brown sugar
1 tbls molassis (or sub 1 extra tbls brown sugar) 
1 cup cider vinegar (white vinegar will work) 
7 tbls Worcestershire sauce
3 tbls Yellow Mustard

5 tbls honey

6 cups ketchup

7 tbls dry rub spice mix (1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1/8 cup seasoned salt, 1/4 cup paprika, 1/4 cup smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon garlic powder,  2 teaspoons onion powder, 1 tablespoon celery salt, 2 tablespoons chili powder, 2 tablespoons black pepper, 1 tablespoon rubbed dried sage, 1 teaspoon ground allspice, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne)
**optional - liquid smoke 1/2 tsp per 1 cup sauce (so should be roughly 4 1/2 tsp)**
**optional - a pinch of cayenne pepper to add a little more kick**

DIRECTIONS:
1) Combine all ingredients in large saucepan. 
2) Stir well over medium heat, slowly bringing to boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 60 minutes.
3) Stir occasionally as it cooks.
4) Once it's thoroughly mixed and cooked for an hour, you can either store it in the refrigerator (it keeps for several weeks) or, of course, you can "can it". Because why would I be giving you a recipe for something if you couldn't can it? 

TO CAN IT: 
1) This recipe is suitable for water-process canning as long as you don't decrease the ratio of vinegar to other ingredients. 
2) Ladle your hot barbecue sauce into your hot prepared (sterilized) jars leaving  about 1/4" head space. 
3) Process half and full pints for 20 minutes in boiling water canner.

I always taste and tweak it according to what I am in the mood for when I am cooking it, but this is my base recipe. Taste as you go and you can change this recipe easy by adding more or less spices, sweets ect to suit your preferences!