Pulled Pork with Cherry Barbeque Sauce

So, tonight is my last night at my in-law's house. I am very disappointed; my mother-in-law is like my best friend and my brother/sister-in-laws are truly close, close family to me. But, my children and I have been here for a month and a half so I suppose it is time to go home. While I was here, we cooked up a massive 7 pound pork roast and then topped it with a glorious cherry barbecue sauce. I was a little nervous at first. I guessed that the sauce would be good, but the rubs I was making up entirely from some corner of my wacky brain. I was definitely very, very pleased-- as were all of my guests that night!

The first thing was making up the rub. I make my pulled pork in the crock pot. No, it is not as wondrous as actual barbecue with the nice bark and all, but, it's what works for me and my family. My basic recipe comes from Cooks Illustrated. ((why do I not get this magazine anymore?)) It uses both a dry and a wet rub.

For the dry rub, I started out with a large amount of black pepper, added some paprika, garlic, salt, pepper, and allspice. Next- the wet. The main ingredient is mustard; I used both dijon and yellow. Added in some worcestershire sauce, and maple syrup. You can see why I might be a little nervous! I cooked it on low for about 8-10 hours.

For the sauce I melted some butter to sauté some onions and garlic. Added some ketchup, brown sugar, cider vinegar and frozen cherries, simmered that for a while. It wasn't quite right so I added some molasses and honey. Perfect! This sauce wasn't enough for a 7# pork but would be plenty for a 5-6 pounder. The whole inspiration for this was a salad I wanted to make. I had it this past summer in Door County, WI: mixed greens, pecans, goat cheese, dried cherries, and a cherry vinaigrette. It'd be nice with some celery and green onions, too. The dressing I use is one of Rachael Ray's ((Yumm-o!))

http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/salad-recipes/greens-with-cherry-vinaigrette

Welp, here's the write out of the recipe; enjoy!!

Dry Rub
2 Tbsp Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Garlic
1 tsp Allspice
Salt and Pepper

Wet Rub
1/2 C total, dijon and yellow mustard
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp maple syrup

Rub the dry on, then the wet. Cook in a crock pot on low for 8-10 hours.


Cherry Barbeque Sauce
2 Tbsp butter
3/4 C onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 C frozen cherries, chopped ((you could use fresh, but frozen are pre-pitted!))
1 C ketchup
2/3 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C cider vinegar
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 C molasses
1/4 C honey ((this is really to taste))

Melt butter in a sauce pan.

Saute onion and garlic until translucent.

Add in the remaining ingredients; simmer until cherries are soft and mushy.

Using an immersion blender, puree the sauce.

Pull the pork and toss in the sauce! Enjoy!!