I also do pulled pork in the crockpot when the weather is too cold or I don't have time to fuss with the smoker. I use this recipe from Food Network, I used to just cook the pork with a can of root beer, some onions, salt and pepper, the girls loved it. Elery likes it spicier, so I use this now. Spicy Pulled Crockpot Pork 3 tablespoons light brown sugar 2 teaspoons hot paprika 1 teaspoon mustard powder 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 1 3-to-4-pound boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, plus more to taste 3 tablespoons tomato paste 6 potato buns Barbecue sauce and prepared coleslaw, for serving Directions Combine 1 tablespoon brown sugar, the paprika, mustard powder, cumin, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet; add the pork and cook, turning, until browned on all sides, 5 minutes. Remove the pork and transfer to a plate; whisk 3/4 cup water into the drippings in the skillet. Transfer the liquid to a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker. Add the vinegar, tomato paste, the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 cups water to the slow cooker and whisk to combine. Add the pork, cover and cook on low, 8 hours. Remove the pork and transfer to a cutting board. Strain the liquid into a saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Roughly chop the pork and mix in a bowl with 1 cup of the reduced cooking liquid, and salt and vinegar to taste. Serve on buns with barbecue sauce and coleslaw. Have fun! Annie

Well, here is what I am doing. I have it in the crockpot now. Everyone's recipes sound good, but I had all of these ingredients on hand. Didn't want to make the trip into town if I didn't have to. I made it simpler by coating the pork with the rub mixture, then placing in the crockpot and adding some of the basting sauce. I made the BBQ sauce, too, and will probably mix some of it with the pork before I freeze it. I'll let you know how it turns out. Barbecued Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Homemade BBQ Sauce Courtesy Emeril Lagasse 1 boneless pork butt, about 4 pounds 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar 2 tablespoons Essence 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon paprika 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon cayenne Wet Mop Basting Sauce, recipe follows Barbecue Sauce, recipe follows Place the pork in a baking dish. In a bowl, combine the sugar, Essence, salt, cumin, paprika, pepper, and cayenne. Rub the seasoning evenly over the pork to coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Preheat an oven or smoker to 225 degrees F. Bring the pork to room temperature and place in a roasting pan, fat side up. Slow cook in the oven, basting with the Wet Mop Basting Sauce every 45 minutes, until tender and the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F. (The cooking should take about 6 to 7 hours.) Remove from the oven and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes. With a knife and fork or two forks, pull the meat apart into small slices or chunks. Toss with the Barbecue Sauce, to taste, and divide among the hamburger buns. Top with coleslaw. Serve with additional Barbecue Sauce on the side. Wet Mop Basting Sauce: 1 cup white vinegar 1 cup apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper 1 tablespoon salt The night before you cook the pork, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well. Refrigerate and let the flavors blend overnight. Yield: 2 1/4 cups Barbecue Sauce: 1 cup apple cider vinegar 1 cup ketchup 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar 1 tablespoon yellow mustard 1 tablespoon molasses 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk well to dissolve the sugar. Place in a squeeze bottle and dress the pulled pork sandwiches to taste. Yield: about 2 cups Linda

Pam, I like the pulled pork with Root Beer too instead of the vinegar based ones. Sweet rather than sour, I guess. I use this recipe in the crockpot, and it's another one from Midwest Living. I don't use the root beer extract and I use Sharon/Chase's chile sauce that I canned, it's yummy and I need to make more of that too. Pulled Pork with Root Beer Sauce: 1 2-1/2- to 3- pound boneless pork sirloin roast 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil 2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges 1 cup root beer 2 Tbsp. minced garlic 3 cups root beer (two 12-ounce cans or bottles) 1 cup bottled chili sauce 1/4 tsp. root beer concentrate (optional) 6 to 8 dashes hot pepper sauce (optional) 8 to 10 hamburger buns or Kaiser rolls, split (and toasted, if you like) Lettuce leaves (optional) Tomato slices (optional) 1. Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut roast to fit into crockery cooker. Sprinkle meat with the salt and pepper. In a large skillet brown roast on all sides in hot oil. Drain. Transfer meat to a 3-1/2-, 4-, or 5-quart slow cooker. Add onions, the 1 cup root beer, and garlic. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. 2. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a medium saucepan combine the 2 cans or bottles of root beer and bottled chili sauce. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. 3. Boil gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes or until mixture is reduced to 2 cups. Add root beer concentrate and bottled hot pepper sauce, if you like. 4. Transfer roast to a cutting board or serving platter. With a slotted spoon, remove onions from juices and place on serving platter. Discard juices. Using two forks, pull meat apart into shreds. To serve, line buns with lettuce leaves and tomato slices, if you like. Add meat and onions; spoon on sauce. Makes 8 to 10 sandwiches. Make-Ahead Tip: Transfer pork mixture to covered container and chill up to 24 hours. Or transfer to 1-, 2-, or 4-serving freezer containers; seal, label, and freeze up to 1 month. Thaw overnight before serving. To reheat, transfer to saucepan; cover and heat over medium-low heat until heated through, stirring occasionally. If necessary, add 2 to 4 tablespoons water to keep mixture from sticking. Annie

5-spice is not a traditional ingredient in char siu. It isn't thought to go well with pork, Chinese prefer to use it with beef and occasionally, poultry. I use the already-pkg'ed chunky strips of boneless pork butt (shoulder or blade, as it's called in some regions). They're about 2" wide x tall, and about 10-12" long. Good proportion of fat to lean, which is critical in Chinese cooking. You can get pretty much the same effect by using one of the good quality sesame teriyaki marinades, like Soy Vey or Trader Joe's. Marinate for a day, and grill it on the barbecue, gas or charcoal. The flavor is infinitely better than roasting or broiling. Grills vary so much I think times will vary considerably, but mine take about 6 min on each side, medium-high heat.