Orange BBQ Pork Ribs

I came across this recipe on a blog that I check occasionally. I immediately thought this combo sounded really, really good. I admit, this recipe was a bit involved. If you don't think orange and BBQ sound good together, then obviously, skip this recipe. But don't dismiss it because of the long directions. I did it in two stages and I think there could be a reasonable work-around to some of the time consuming prep.

**UPDATE**
I just had some leftovers of this for lunch today - outstanding flavor, in my opinion. I LOVE the orange and BBQ sauce flavors together....made for really, really tasty leftovers! If you're not interested in the long version of the recipe, I'd still do a dry rub - that gave a ton of flavor, but then simply using store bought BBQ sauce and some fresh orange juice (as in, squeezed from an orange) and orange zest might be a great alternative.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Confections of a Foodie Bride

1 Tbsp ground black pepper
1-2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp dried oregano
4 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp table salt
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp ground white pepper

1 4-5lb pork tenderloin
Orange barbecue sauce, recipe follows, for serving

Mix all spice rub ingredients in small bowl. Massage spice rub into meat. Wrap tightly in double layer of plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (For stronger flavor, the roast can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.) Unwrap roast and place it in slow cooker with ¼ cup water. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 6-8 hours, until meat is fork-tender. Transfer roast to cutting board; discard the liquid from the crock. Shred the meat by hand or using forks. Discard fat.Return the shredded meat to the crock. Toss with 1/2 cup barbecue sauce, and heat on low for 30-60 minutes, until hot. Serve with additional barbecue sauce.

Orange Barbecue Sauce

Confections of a Foodie Bride

Juice of 1 large orange

2 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 3/4 - 1 cup)

1/2 cup ketchup

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Stir orange juice and sugar in a small sauce pan over medium heat until dissolved. Reduce the orange juice to 2-3 Tbsp, taking care not to scorch. Heat olive oil in a 2-qt sauce pan. Saute onions for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in the orange reduction and remaining ingredients. Simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
Source: Adapted from The Pastry Queen, 2004

My notes: I used about 2-3 pounds of boneless pork loin ribs and served this over mashed potatoes. I think you could use several different cuts and kinds of meats for this. The dry rub recipe above made quite a bit of dry rub, so you could probably halve this if you were only using 2-3 pounds of meat. The cayenne pepper gave this a pretty good kick. If you don't like too much heat, you might want to put less in. I put the dry rub on the pork and refrigerated it overnight, just because it was fairly quick to prepare and I wanted a lot of flavor.

I really liked the homemade BBQ sauce with the orange. I found that I needed more orange flavor so I just squeezed more orange juice, and the zest of an orange, right into the BBQ sauce. I would just taste it as you go along and see how much orange flavor you want. I'm curious if you could more or less get the same effect if you used a jar of store bought BBQ sauce and added orange juice and orange zest. I may just try that next time to see how it is.

After I shredded the pork and added the BBQ sauce to the crock pot, I didn't think there was enough sauce. I ended up throwing together some more homemade sauce and even some store bought stuff, along with some more orange juice and zest, until I was happy with the consistency. So this recipe is really workable.

Have I scared you all away or is anyone willing to give this a shot?!?!?