What to do with the pork seasoning?

[swan_tower]

I have a packet of really excellent-smelling pork seasoning.

I think I would like to make pulled pork sandwiches with it, because a slow-cooker recipe would be ideal for the logistics at hand.

How should I go about this? My pulled pork slow-cooker recipe calls for bbq sauce and a little bit of honey; should I just chuck the seasoning in with that (no, I have no idea what’s in it), or should I substitute something else for the liquid component? If so, what? Help me, o chefs more skilled than I!

Originally published at Swan Tower. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

If you have seasoning and you want it to taste like that seasoning, I think that throwing in barbecue sauce is not the best idea, because barbecue sauce tends to have a really strong flavor. So I'd only do that if you want it to taste like both. A little oil or water in the bottom of the crockpot should keep it from sticking/drying if you want to dry-rub the seasoning in.

If you want some other active sauce, figuring out what kind and making something that will actually taste like the seasoning sounds more effective to me than putting barbecue sauce in it.

[cgbookcat1.livejournal.com]

Yes to all of this. Doing a spice rub with a bit of oil, and adding a small amount of water to the crock pot (not much bc the pork contains some) should do the trick.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

This. You probably don't need to add liquid at all; you'll get plenty coming out of the pork, if you cook it low and slow. I'd rub the seasoning in the night before, then cook it all day (or however long needed for the size of the pork joint, he said, suddenly remembering that not everyone cooks enormous pieces of meat at the drop of a hat).

[wshaffer.livejournal.com]

I would go for something more neutral than bbq sauce if you want the taste of the seasoning to come through. If you want to go with something more flavorful than water, broth, beer, or a little white wine are all possibilities. (Or various other liquids, but without being able to smell or taste the seasoning, it's hard to know what would harmonize. The above are pretty safe bets not to clash.)

Or another idea - I make a pulled chicken recipe where I pour a can of diced tomatoes, some spices, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce over the chicken before I throw the chicken in the oven. When the pot comes out of the oven, I take the chicken and other solids out and reduce what's left into a sauce.

[sheff-dogs.livejournal.com]

I was going to suggest something wth tomatoes in, BBQ sauces usually have tomato in the mix so adding chopped tomatoes would give you that aspect of the BBQ sauce (which I'm assuming the rub does not have) plus the necessary liquid.