Zoe's Favourite Cider Braised Pulled Pork Recipe

With a cold breeze rolling through town and a bit more activity starting to happen, I am always looking for something easy and tasty to throw in the slow cooker in the morning, so dinner will be waiting for me later that day.

One of our absolute favourites is a cider braised pulled pork. It's incredibly easy to whip up and so versatile to serve - plus there is always heaps of leftovers to pop in the freezer or enjoy for the rest of the week.

We love piling the pork onto fresh bread rolls with a big spoonful of creamy vinegar-y slaw - but it's equally tasty paired with a green salad and grilled cob of corn, as a delicious filling for tacos or burritos or piled high over corn chips as nachos.

A winter warmer favourite - slow cooker pulled pork

Here's my secret recipe!

Zoe's favourite cider braised pulled pork

Spice rub

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon paprika

1 x Pork Shoulder (2kg seems a good size, and I prefer bone-out)

2 x stubbies of Cheeky Tiki dry cider (but sweet or orange and ginger would probably be fine too!)

1) Blend the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl. Feel free to add chilli powder etc if you like it spicy - we don't!

2) Rub this delicious spice mix all over the pork shoulder - top, bottom, sides, skin - all of it.

3) Gently place your pork shoulder in the slow cooker, skin side up. Feel free to add in a sliced onion or minced garlic, but I usually don't bother.

4) Add one and a half stubbies of dry Cheeky Tiki Cider. I like to have the cider come up to cover about half the pork. You can always add the extra half a stubby later if you feel it needs more liquid (or you can just drink it yourself!)

5) Set the slow cooker to low and leave it alone for 8+ hours.

6) When you're nearly ready to eat, use some tongs to peel off the pork skin and discard. Carefully get out the remaining pork roast (it should be falling apart) and place into a bowl. Using two forks, shred the meat and have a taste.

7) Carefully pour the cider braising liquid into a jug and save this for later. Add the shredded pork back into the slow cooker. Add some of the braising liquid back into the pork until it seems moist and juicy. Around 1 cup seems to do it, but you're definitely on your own here. Add more if you think it needs it, or less if you don't.

8) Yum! You're finished! Have another taste and season if required.

Like I said before, we love serving it up on fresh bakery bread rolls with some creamy slaw and a drizzle of bbq sauce

Bonus recipe - to make my slaw I add around one cup of whole egg mayo, a teaspoon of whole grain mustard, a teaspoon of dijon mustard, a teaspoon of celery salt around 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and a little grind of salt and pepper to a jug. Give it a stir and then dress a mix of cabbage and carrot.

Happy slow cooking!

Zoe