Pulled pork not working?

[Icklepickle101]

First time attempting pulled pork. It sounded so easy but it is looking fairly bad at the minute! I put pork shoulder in slow cooker on low since 10 with a cup of apple juice, it’s still got 3-4 hours left but it is looking far from pulled and like a big grey chewy mess.

How do I rectify it? Do I just need patience and a miracle will occur?

I slow cook mine and then take it out and use two forks to pull it apart, it should fall apart really easily.

Keep it going and keep it moist!

You need a lot more liquid than a cup of apple juice! The meat should be at least 1/2 submerged in stock.

I don’t know where the extra liquid has come from but it’s nearly completely submerged. I was going by BBC recipe

So we think all might not be lost if I leave it a bit longer?

I'd add some mustard and BBQ sauce - just apple juice is a bit tasteless

It just needs longer, honest, itll be fine

I have copious amounts of bbq sauce for after I’ve pulled it. Next time I think I’ll find a mumsnet recipe!

I recommend using liquid smoke. You can get it in the American section of Tesco. Also use some apple juice x

It'll be fine! Have patience and wait for the magic to happen : )

Next time, google 'the epic pork'. Seriously, hands down the best slow cooker pulled pork I have ever made...

I don’t know where the extra liquid has come from but it’s nearly completely submerged.

Are you saying lots of extra liquid has come out of the pork? Are you using quite a cheap, low quality joint? You may find that this is the issue. You need a good fat to meat ratio and not a joint that's been pumped full of water

Take it out, 'pull it' with two forks and leave the lid off for a while... it should thicken up

It was an off the shelf Tesco job, I thought cheaper meat was made for the slow cooker! I took the skin off too, was that a mistake?

I’m going to remain mildly optimistic but have the takeaway menu on standby

Time is all it needs.

It's literally just a pork shoulder and 1 cup of apple juice?

You're only halfway through cooking! Give it time, it'll be fine.
Cooking needs to be low and slow for pulled pork.

Leave the lid on and let it do it's thing, the more you take the lid off the longer it will take

How big is the piece of meat?
Was it hot when it went in the slow cooker?
A very large joint of pork shoulder would need 10 hours on low, so chances are it will be fine but not for at least another 5 hours.

every time you lift the lid you add 30 mins to the cooking time. Leave it alone!

I do mine in a roasting tin in the oven for up to six hours on 140 degrees with liquid up to half way and foil tightly fastened over the top. I avoid checking on it.

For shredding I got a pair of "bear claws" - ebay or amazon or similar and use them to tear it up.

The best tip for pulled pork is to leave it alone and dont look at it... it goes through some gross looking stages haha but low and slow works. Take it out the liquid when its done..shred and add your bbq sauce

If I want to speed it up I always boil in stock for a couple of hours. Does the job nicely.

You need to be patient and stop lifting the lid. There is ample liquid you don’t need the meat submerged. I usually sit my pork on a bed of sliced onions in the slow cooker and smother in bbq sauce. I leave it 7 hours on medium and then lift it out and shred it using forks to pull the meat apart. Add some of cooking juice back to keep it moist and rescue the onions, then serve, delish.

It worked and smells fabulous! It’s shredded and covered it the sauce and on keep warm until DP is home.

Thanks everyone!