100 Ways to Use Beer in Food and Drinks #17: Brown Shugga’ Pulled Pork
Every once in a while, the fiance’s schedule and my schedule line up so that we can have dinner together. Sometimes I make dinner (salads, stir fry, and fried rice), and most of the time she makes dinner. Last night, she made dinner — pulled pork. Thanks to my trusty beer exchange, there are a few unique beers I will hide away to have with a particular meal, or IN a particular meal. She asked me the night before to suggest a beer to cook our BBQ pulled pork in. In digging through my arsenal of craft beers, I came upon the Lagunitas Brown Shugga’ Sweet Release. BINGO – what else could complement a sweet BBQ pulled pork like a beer with a tasting profile including brown sugar, sweet fruits, and a warming boozy taste to pair with the tang of BBQ sauce. A match made in pork and beer heaven.
Off to work I went to give my fiance the time to work her magic on the rest of the dish. When I came home, the apartment smelled of sweet barbecue. Turns out I’m well within my right to proclaim myself as a beer-advising genius. Paired with the culinary finesse and intuition of my fiance, we created a sweet, tangy, melt-in-your mouth pork that needed no bun. The brew added just enough sweet flavors to highlight the barbecue sauce. I also found that the boozy taste of the beer translated into a warming, stick-to-your-ribs feeling going down. It was hard just to have one serving. I’ll admit that I had a few bites myself before cleaning up.
Moral of the story: if you hadn’t realized already: the style and flavor of the beer you pick when cooking with beer makes a world of a difference. Something like a pale ale or lager is not going to add any unique flavors to something like pulled pork. Meanwhile, the complex flavor profile of this specialty beer makes a unique dish that is hard to duplicate. Lucky for you…all you need to do is follow the recipe:
Brown Shugga’ Pulled Pork
- 1 Pork Shoulder
- 1 Sweet Onion
- 1 Bottle Lagunitas Brown Shugga’
- BBQ Sauce of your choice
1) Chop onion and put on the bottom of the slow cooker. Place pork shoulder on top.
2) Pour entire bottle of Brown Shugga’ brew on top. Cook on high for four hours.
3) Pour 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce into slow cooker. Cook for another hour.
4) After the hour – take out the shoulder and shred. Pour sauce into a saucepan and reduce on the stove top.
5) Pour back in slow cooker with the pork and add more BBQ sauce to your liking. Let it sit until you’re ready to eat!
