For The Most Tender Pulled Pork, Add A Splash Of This Fall Drink

When the autumn equinox comes around each year, it means one thing: apple cider is in the fridge and ready for action. This fruity liquid is a must-have for those hot buttered apple cider cocktails you will be sipping on at backyard bonfires or after a moonlit hayride. But it is also the perfect braising base for pork butt, pork belly, or whatever cut of this meat you might be cooking up. This is especially true with pulled pork.

Apple cider's flavor is a combination of sweet and tart. This can helps balance the flavor of pulled pork, while adding another benefit, as well. When a pork shoulder is left to soak in this juicy liquid as it cooks, the meat absorbs it, making it tender and leaving behind a reduced glossy sauce. This is because acids are great at breaking down meat. The result is a tasty, succulent, sink-your-teeth-into-it bite that will have you making a slow-cooked apple cider pulled pork on repeat. 

How much apple cider do you need when cooking pork? It takes just two cups of apple cider to create a fall-flavored pulled pork from a 3-pound pork shoulder. However, you may want just a tad more if you are cooking a rather large piece of meat. Just don't get heavy-handed. Apple cider, particularly if it is commercially produced, is already sweet, and it gets even sweeter as it reduces. But there is a fix if you find that it is too sweet.

One of the easiest ways to control the taste is to use unsweetened, unfiltered apple cider (which may contain less sugar). You can always sweeten it with other warm fall flavors like brown sugar and nutmeg. But when you use unfiltered apple cider, it will it be less intensely sweet, letting your pork be more balanced and allowing the apple's earthy flavors to come through.

There is another fix to bring down the sweetness, if you don't have unfiltered apple cider. Similar to the best way to kick back the sweetness of store-bought BBQ sauce, a splash of apple cider vinegar can help bring the taste back into balance. Just add a little, or you may make it too sour.