Kitchen Island
By Angela Denstad Stigeler
No one is an island, but if you’ve been stranded indoors during this summer’s excessive heat you may well feel a little distant from all that outdoor summer fun. When it’s too hot to even grill, you don’t want to turn on the oven or slave over a hot stove, either. Well, there’s more than one way to get some great barbeque flavor—now’s the time to let your slow-cooker work for you!
In this easy pulled pork recipe, some pantry staples combine to create a rich and flavorful island-inspired barbeque sauce that clings to tender pieces of pork. Add some fresh pineapple slices and thick slabs of red onion—in fact, grill them both if you can bear it—and you’ve got a little island retreat on a bun. This recipe makes enough for a luau, so bring the party indoors, gather at the kitchen island around the crockpot and say aloha to a great summer feast. Now that’s some great kitchen island cooking!
Hawaiian Pulled Pork
4 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons molasses
2/3 cup pineapple juice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons cornstarch
In a 6 or 7 quart slow cooker whisk together the ketchup, soy sauce, honey, molasses, pineapple juice, ginger, allspice, onion, garlic and black pepper. Nestle the pork into the sauce, cover and cook on low heat for 7 to 8 hours, or 5 to 6 hours on high. Remove the pork from the slow cooker, shred in a large bowl using two forks and set aside.
Pour the pan juices into a medium saucepan, skim off the fat and bring to a boil. Let the sauce reduce by one-third, about ten minutes. Whisk the cornstarch with a little water and pour into the sauce. Return the sauce to a boil over medium high heat and simmer 30 seconds, stirring constantly until thickened. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker and pour sauce over it, tossing to evenly coat. You may not need all of the sauce; pass it on the side or reserve for another use. Serve warm on hamburger buns with grilled pineapple and red onion slices.
