Pulled Pork, take 1 (a C+ for effort)

A few weeks ago we visited friends and had some spectacular pulled pork, which they cooked all day in the crock pot.  I was so impressed with the ease and overall deliciousness of the whole meal that I decided to take it on, recipe-less, myself.

Spoiler note...I probably should have used a recipe!

My recent sans recipe adventures have been mildly successful so I got super daring on this one.  I have never made pulled pork before nor am I very familiar with pork (other than the occasional chop).  I found a smoked shoulder picnic cut at the grocery store for super duper cheap and figured it was my lucky day.

Early on the morning of pork day, I got crazy with some spices and created a rub for my cheap pork (that some how doesn't sound right).

That lovely looking bowl contains some chopped garlic, salt, Italian seasonings, pepper, chili powder, onion powder, paprika, and ground mustard.  I smooshed it all together with some red onion jam and it turned a beautiful brick color (so I assumed I was on the right track).

I threw my pork picnic in the crock pot and slathered this rub all over the pork.

About 12 hours later, after cooking on low all day, I returned home to a delightful scent.  Happy with my work thus far, I shredded the pork, drooling, and removed the bones.  Then I took my first taste.

HOLY SALTY, BATMAN.

Looking back on my rub ingredients, I didn't recall putting very much salt in so I'm not exactly sure where I went wrong.  Maybe my lack of pork knowledge is to blame...is pork way saltier than I realized?  Or maybe it's the cheap smoked pork I purchased, extra salty?

In a panic to somehow save dinner, I dumped a huge glob of red pepper jelly in with the shredded meat and stirred it up.  I feel like someone somewhere told me that sweet balances salty.  I dared another taste and it actually worked (for the most part).  Still saltier than I would have preferred, I decided it was safe enough to cover in cheese and BBQ sauce and throw on a sandwich.

So into the toaster oven went some crusty bread, covered in sliced pepper jack cheese.

I added some BBQ sauce to hubby's sandwich because, well, he loves BBQ sauce.  We both finished our sandwiches without hesitation so they weren't terrible by any means.

I'm just now realizing how unappetizing all of that pork juice on the plate looks but it was yummy soaked into the bread.

The verdict?  The next time I venture into pulled pork land, I'm thinking I'm going to be wary of the type of pork I purchase (salt content) and definitely not add any extra salt.

C+ for effort but maybe I'm not ready to stray so far from recipes just yet!!