Tarot & Food: Ten of Pentacles Pulled Pork

Oh no! An office potluck?

There I was–like a deer in the headlights. The cook in me is shrieking with joy. The perfectionist is starting to amp up because this is a time to show off, right? You want a dish that will please a lot of people. However, you do not want a dish that will cause your inner accountant to lock themselves in the closet and refuse to come out.

It occurred to me that the card I would associate this with was the 10 of Pentacles. It is a card that represents community and family and gatherings. It’s about work and what you get from a great work ethic. You can also say that this card is about trusting in the path already taken. It’s about spending money in a wise way as well. It is about tradition.

And what better tradition than the office potluck for our 10 of Pentacles, right? It’s a great chance to sample your community’s offerings (even those who never bring anything other than one bag of chips.) But now what could I bring that

would satisfy my inner cook, not make my inner perfectionist break out in hives AND assure my inner accountant that I did know what a budget was? Not to mention the fact that it is currently hitting 100+ every day so whatever I cooked could not use the oven. The less heat generated the better!

Well, at first I thought Sloppy Joes, but the idea of all that grease from frying up the hamburger did not appeal to me. But what about my crockpot–or slow cooker? When I got married, the very best gift I got was a crockpot the size of Rhode Island. Kid you not, I can cook a turkey in this thing. It was a budget-saver when I lived in Georgia because I could cook big meals and package them up plus it helped keep the house cool. Can you tell that is a theme in the summer in the South?

But I had my mouth set for something savory like a Sloppy Joe. My answer was easy! Here in the South, there is a miracle known as pulled pork. Now I don’t know the history of this, but I do know that nearly everyone down here (I’m in Texas) as a pulled pork recipe. Or a pulled beef. It’s called “pulled” because when you cook it long enough you can shred it with forks. This is most likely the precursor to the Sloppy Joe. It was probably easier to fry up hamburger and add a sweet and spicy red sauce to that then wait for the pork shoulder to cook.

So I made this dish for an office potluck. It’s a great dish for a group because it makes a lot for a little and goes a long way. The smart cook will pull some of the meat aside and freeze it for later–but without the sauce. You can add the sauce later. You can do this without a crockpot. I just don’t know how. Grin!
10 of Pentacles Pulled Pork

1/2 C apple cider vinegar
1/2 C honey
1 C water
2 16 oz bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

Slice up the two onions nice and thin. Spread one of them on the bottom of the crock pot. Put the pork roast in (I usually go for a shoulder roast) with the fat side up. This way the fat will run down and make your meat nice and tender.

Pour in vinegar and water. Then pour the honey over the top of the roast. Add the chopped garlic to the top of the roast. Put the other onion on top of the roast. You can add salt and pepper here if you like. I don’t.:)

Put the lid on the crockpot and turn it on low. For a 6 lb piece of meat, you want

 to cook it at least 10-12 hours. This is reminiscent of the work you do to get to the 10 of Pentacles point in your life. You have to wait for the goodness that is pulled pork!

When the time is done, turn the heat off and walk away for at least an hour. This is for two reasons. One, you want it to cool a bit. Two, by letting it sit, you are letting the juice go back into the meat and it will be better for it.

Scrape the onions on the top to the side. Then pull the fat layer off and lay it to the side. If you have dogs or cats, they can have a SMALL piece each. I’m talking a 1-2″ square max unless you really really like a sick pet that you have to clean up after. EWWW ARWEN! This is a recipe for Gods’ sake. Sorry, but that had to be said.

Now take two forks and start pulling. If you have never done this, you will get a kick out of how easy this is! Make sure you pull the bones out and throw them away (or save them to make a soup stock with since the marrow will be heavenly at this point.)

Once the meat is shredded, depending on your time, you can add the BBQ sauce. Then you want to turn that slow cooker back on low for another 4-6 hours. This will let that sauce soak in so deep. Mmmm!

Serve with hamburger buns, coleslaw and extra napkins!

ENJOY!