While slow cookers (like Rival’s Crock-Pot) can do the low and slow part of barbecue, you will not get the authentic flavor of the dry heat and smoke that a backyard smoker will provide. That doesn’t mean you can’t have great food from a slow cooker. To make meats tender, especially meats like pork roasts, brisket, or ribs you want plenty of cooking time. Slow cooking for 8 hours will generally do the trick but, you will need to make sure that it is fork tender before you take it out of the slow cooker.
Many people attempt to add that smoke flavor to their Crock-Pot barbecue by adding liquid smoke. I’m not going to tell you what to do, but in case you’re interested I don’t use the stuff myself. Liquid smoke is a product made from water, natural hickory smoke flavor, vinegar, molasses, caramel color, and natural flavoring. It adds a smoky flavor to foods and can be used in lots of dishes. Many commercial barbecue sauces (especially the big brand names) have liquid smoke in them. How natural hickory smoke flavor is made is a mystery to me.
Slow cooker barbecue is a very easy process. You can literally throw in your meat of choice, add barbecue sauce, and let it cook all day long. You can also take more extravagant measures. If your meat of choice is fatty then you will probably want to cook it first on low temperature with just a hint of seasoning to liquefy most of the fat. Pour this excess fat off before you add any sauce or other ingredients.
When slow cooking meat for sandwiches, like pulled pork or barbecue beef, start with medium sized chunks of meat. This reduces the cooking time, but makes the meat easier to shred. It’s my opinion that shredded meat is better than chopped because it has a better texture.
If you haven’t been introduced to the real flavor of true barbecue this is a good place to start. If you catch the bug then come back and I’ll show you how to make real barbecue that has a flavor you just can’t beat.
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