A slow cooker is by far the best cooking gadget we own, it’s perfect for students and anyone wanting to save money. You can turn super cheap cuts of meat into premium restaurant quality meals by chucking them in with a few things and leaving to cook.
The slow cooker we use > http://amzn.to/1Kg3lo7 or http://10ws.co/1q6ekW4 (+ a decent deal atm)
Just cooking for 1? These are also well reviewed:
Breville 4.5L £19.99 > http://10ws.co/1Kg318Z
Morphy Richards 3.5L £23.00 > http://amzn.to/1M4cGv5
Our recipe for pulled pork (originally adapted from ‘The Londoner’):
Buy some pork shoulder (one that fits your slow cooker) or pork ribs. Buy 1 jar of BBQ sauce (280-400g). Buy a bottle of coke (1.25 litre). Place meat in slow cooker, pour sauce over, wash out jar with splash of coke, pour enough coke to almost cover all the meat. Cook on high/med for at least 6-8 hours or med/low for 8-10 hours or until tender, it might depend on your cooker but normally the longer the better (as long as there is plenty of sauce/liquid) – remember to check on it every few hours. Now if the meat is done but the sauce hasn’t thickened enough for you but you’re ready to eat (often happens), take the meat out and put to one side (ideally wrapped in foil with a tea towel chucked over for warmth), pour the sauce into a saucepan and put on the hob, spoon out any of the fat/oil that is on the surface and reduce it down (alternatively just keep in the slow cooker for longer or shred in the sauce and put on high for an extra hour to save using the hob method). Meanwhile sieve any bones (ribs only). With the meat and sauce back in the slow cooker use two forks to pull all the meat apart. Stir and serve.
For those wanting to mix it up: Swap Coca-Cola for Dr Pepper or Cherry Coke and add garlic/chilli/salt/pepper etc before you start cooking however leaving as described above is still perfect.
Works well as Pulled Pork Nachos, Pulled Pork Buns, Pulled Pork Pizza or just Pulled Pork and a big old spoon crying into a mirror (just us?).
Images courtesy of chow, veronicashortandsweet, worldclasscooking & thekitchn check them out for more ideas.
