Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Pork-Based Diet

I have a couple friends who eat "Plant-Based Diets." I think it means vegan-ish. As in, "I'm pretty much a vegan but I'm not too obnoxious about it." (Don't get your feathers in a ruffle. I'm sure You are not an obnoxious vegan. Further, I have loved most vegans I've met and known.) Whenever I think of the term plant-based, my head always turns it into pork-based. I daydream about meeting someone at a party and, when they tell me they eat a plant-based diet, my eyes light up and I tell them that I totally relate because I eat a pork-based diet.

 Not that I really like pork. It doesn't have a good taste to me. I like my pork heavily salted (Bacon!) or I've recently discovered I can eat some pork loin if it has strong flavors. This recipe below is one my family really likes. And I tolerate.

1. Crock Pot Pulled Pork
1 pork shoulder cut (butt or picnic), weighing 3-4 pounds
1-2 tablespoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1-2 tablespoons of granulated garlic or garlic powder
6 fresh garlic cloves, peeled
The juice of one lime
1 onion, sliced or chopped
1 bay leaf

Instructions:
Mix together salt, cumin, black pepper and granulated garlic. Juice the lime over the seasonings and rub the mixture all over the pork. Use a knife to slice six thin cuts in the pork and push each fresh garlic clove securely inside each cut. Place the onion and bay leaf in the bottom of the crock pot and pork on top. Cook on low for about 8 hours. (Great one to put on before work, and then it’s ready for you when you get home!)