Crock Pot Conundrum and a Pulled Pork Recipe

by Kat Kinsman, Posted Dec 6th 2008 @ 10:00AM

There's an extra-stabby brand of self-recrimination that comes about when one comes home, mouth slavering for the vegetable stew, several-bean chili or pulled pork shoulder that's occupied one's thoughts all day, only to come home to an air redolent of exactly nothing. No warm waft, no indicator light all a-wink with the tease, nay, promise of a hearty, slow-cooked dinner because (shudder....sob...sigh...) one neglected to actually engage the Crock Pot's "ON" button.

Is there a term for this happenstance and/or the all-day nagging feeling that one's forgotten to flip it on, but is too far from home to remedy the situation? If not, howzabout we put it to a vote? Cast it below, or suggest a better one in the comments.

What do you call the state of worry that the crock pot hasn't been turned on and/or the discovery that it hasn't?
Crockanoia	104 (32.0%)
Cold crocking	51 (15.7%)
Getting crocked-up	15 (4.6%)
Crock tease	155 (47.7%)

And lest anyone fret, Jeff later reported that he in fact came home to a lovely, fully-cooked chicken cacciatore.

UPDATE: Commenter Jenna has suggested "crock blocked," which I'm entirely jealous I failed to coin.

My personal favorite cold weather, no barrel smoker, slow-cooker pulled pork recipe is after the jump.

Park Slope Style Pulled Pork Shoulder

1/2 pork shoulder with fat cap intact
1 medium onion
Worcestershire sauce
Several beers and/or leftover wine
Commercial or homemade BBQ sauce

Place pork shoulder into slow-cooker, fat-side up, along with several thick slices of onion. Cover the shoulder up to the bottom of the fat cap with a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, however many beers or splashes of wine you feel you can spare, and water.

Set the slow cooker on high for 6-8 hours. When the time has elapsed, very carefully lift out the shoulder with tongs or a pair of forks, and place it in a bowl. Discard the fat cap or set it aside for another use (perhaps as a jaunty chapeau?), and shred the pork with two forks. Serve the pork with your favorite BBQ sauce, either on a plate with coleslaw, or on a soft potato roll. Heck -- coleslaw with that, too.

My allegiances to BBQ sauces are ever changing, but here's a list of some of my favorites from around the country.

Filed Under: Ingredients, Methods
Tags: facebook, kat kinsman, KatKinsman, pork, pulled pork, PulledPork, slow cooker, slow cooker recipes, slow cooking, SlowCooker, SlowCookerRecipes, SlowCooking

Chew on This

Royal Wedding Cake Details Revealed! - YumSugar

Make Your Own Pop Tarts - CHOW
Denny's Introduces a Maple Bacon Sundae - Eater
Whole Foods Opening Bars in Stores - USA Today
Rules Of Bar Etiquette -- For The Bartender - HuffPost Food

Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

12-06-2008 @11:49AM Jenna said... At our house, when you come home and the delicious dinner you hoped for is sad and uncooked in the Pot...you've been Crock-blocked.

So depressing.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

12-06-2008 @11:52AM totoro said... hahahaha!! crock-blocked, definitely, Jenna!
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

12-06-2008 @12:00PM Kenboy said... I do something similar -- pork shoulder, but just salt and pepper, rubbed in, no other spices, no liquid, fat side down.

When you get home from work, flip it over and add North Carolina style bbq sauce: discard a little bit from a 1-quart bottle of apple cider vinegar and add:
1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons coarse salt
2 tablespoons vinegar-based hot sauce of your liking (Crystal is my favorite.)
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Shake well. Add a few good glugs to your meat; take out the fat and shred the rest; serve on potato-based hamburger rolls with mayo-based cole slaw and more sauce to taste. Leftover sauce keeps forever.

It's not quite Ed Mitchell's, but it'll do just fine.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

12-06-2008 @12:42PM Kat Kinsman said... Crock-blocked! I'm kicking myself for not thinking of that. Brilliant.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

12-07-2008 @3:18PM mickie.whitley said... seems Crockanoia is the feeling leading to the happenstance of being crock-blocked.

...says someone who has been crock-blocked more than cares to admit. Glad to know it has a name.
Reply