Chipotle Barbecue Pulled Pork

This recipe is BEYOND easy.  It's ridiculously easy.  Just throw everything in the crockpot in the morning.  Turn it on.  Dinner's done.  'Nuff said.  The meat is flavorful: barbecue sweetness with a kick of peppers to spice it up.  Delicious. 

This was a team effort between my mother and I...my mother and me...whatever.  I overslept on the morning I was supposed to put this in the crockpot, so I asked her to do it instead.  The meat was straight out of the freezer.  Frozen hard as a rock.  By the end of the day, it was gorgeous. 

About the meat:  Pork tenderloin.  This is an incredibly versatile, low-fat cut of meat.  Therefore, you get more meat per point.  To me, more is more.  Not the opposite.  I usually get my tenderloins at Costco.  They come packaged in 2 lb packs, I think.  Don't quote me on the size.  Just wing it.  They freeze easily and can be cooked in a crockpot from the frozen state.  Beautiful.  Brings tears to my eyes. 

About the chipotles:  If you've never ventured into the Hispanic or Mexican foods aisle of your grocery store, please do.  Great and wonderful things await you there.  One of those gems is chipotles in adobo.  Basically they are roasted jalapeno peppers, packed in a vinegary tomato sauce called adobo. They are glorious, but very spicy.  A little goes a long way.  

Which brings about the question...once you've opened a can, what do you do with the leftovers?  If you're anything like me, they usually end up as one of the UFOs (Unidentified Fuzzy Objects) in the back of your refrigerator.  So here's the plan to be less wasteful.  I do the same thing for my tomato paste, as well: 

Once you open up a can of chipotles, use what you need, and then freeze the remainder in a freezer bag (labeled, of course, or it will just end up as another UFO:  Unidentified FROZEN Object!)  Then, when you need more chipotles pull the frozen block 'o chilies out of the freezer and cut off a chunk to use.  No need to defrost.  Just add the frozen hunk right into your pan.  The heat of your cooking vessel will defrost them.  It's a lovely plan.  Just lovely.  Brings order to the universe.  

Enough talk.  On with the meat!



Chipotle Barbecue Pulled Pork
Serves:  8, at least  
Serving size:  4 ounces of meat or 1/2 cup
Points per serving:  approximately 5 (depending on the points in your barbecue sauce)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs pork tenderloin (I think)
• 1 onion, sliced into strips (think fajitas here)
• 2 bell peppers (red or green), sliced into strips  
• 1 cup barbecue sauce
• 2 tablespoons chipotles in adobo (or a 1 inch hunk from your frozen chipotles.  See above.)

1. Add everything to your crockpot. 
2. If cooking meat from frozen, turn crockpot on high, for 5-6 hours, or low for 8-9 hours. 
3. If cooking thawed meat, then turn crockpot on low.  I would reckon that you would cook it for about 7-8 hours.
4. You'll know it's done when the meat falls apart when poked with a fork.  If it seems too tough, just let it go a little bit longer.  Time allows wounds to heal and the fibers of meat to relax.  Give it time, my friend.  
5. Once the meat is falling apart, remove the meat to a cutting board or platter.  Cut the meat into smaller chunks.  This makes the shredding part a little easier, so the strands won't be as long.  Take two forks to the meat and shred it. 
6. Place shredded meat back into the crockpot and stir it into the sauce, onions and peppers.  Allow it to warm back up a little, if necessary. 
7. Serve and enjoy (See below). 

Serving options:

1. Sandwiches on hamburger buns.  
2. Loaded baked potatoes.  Add sour cream, cheese, and chopped green onions on top.  Delish!  As always, count points for your extras. 
3. Salads.  Don't knock it till you've tried it.  Think taco salad, but with pulled pork instead.  It's good.
4. Flatout pizza.  (I have a whole post on these babies.)  Think pulled pork on a Flatout wrap with a little bit of barbecue sauce, green onions, and cheddar cheese.  Yum.