Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Barbecue Recipe (2024)

Have you got a million dollar idea? Look to your hometown for flavor inspiration like I did with this Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Barbecue recipe, and you just might! Thanks to theLay's "Do Us A Flavor" contest.

That's right ~ the ever-popular, now-iconic Lay's "Do Us A Flavor" contest has returned, with a $1 million grand prize for the best potato chip flavor idea. $1 million! And you may just be the one with that $1 million dollar idea.

And this year, there's an exciting new twist for the contest ... the Lay's brand is asking entrants to include the city and state that inspired the flavor. So, do you have a hometown favorite flavor? Or, a special regionally-inspired dish? Then you've got a "Do Us a Flavor" idea!

So pop on over to the "Do Us A Flavor" siteto view official rules and enter it!

Today through March 30, 2015, Lay's fans are encouraged to visit the "Do Us A Flavor" site and submit their ideas for the next great potato chip flavor. {See the Lay's "Do Us A Flavor" site for complete details and official rules.} Then later this year, four fabulous flavor finalists ... representing four fabulously flavorful cities and towns across the U.S. ... will be brought to store shelves and voted on by all of America.

How cool is that?

And I'm tellin' ya, that winning idea may just be your idea.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind what my hometown-inspired flavor idea would be ~ Carolina Pulled Pork Barbecue.

See, because I'm fortunate to live in the very heart of Carolina pulled pork barbecue country ~ Lexington, NC. Of course, around these parts, we simply refer to the wonderful stuff as barbecue. No 'pulled pork' required.

That's right, Lexington, NC is the Barbecue capital of North Carolina ... and some would argue, of the world.

Lexington-style barbecue is a labor of love ... pork shoulder cooked slowly over a hardwood fire for hours, lovingly infused with nothing-short-of-amazing smoky goodness. The meat is then doused with a tomato-and-vinegar-based sauce ... the recipe of which is unique to each of the area's many barbecue joints.

And quite honestly? The merits of each barbecue sauce is truly a hotly debated topic in barbecue country. Spirited discussions are known to erupt over which sauce is the best or favorite!

With it's culture so firmly rooted in barbecue, it's no surprise Lexington pays great homage to the pig. And evidence of this can easily be seen with just a simple walk about town ... doing a little about-the-town pig spotting ...

Like "Barbecue Pig" ... and "Lawyer Pig" ...

... and "Justice Pig". And my favorite ... "Miss Puffy," the Red Bird Mints {made in Lexington} pig.

Oh, and pig bench for a rest, anyone?

Like good barbecue country folks, our family loves us some barbecue ... especially my husband, Mark. He can put away a pound of the stuff in one sitting by himself, I swear. Barbecue is a staple at gatherings and get-togethers in these parts ... and, much to the delight of my hubby, was served at our engagement party, our rehearsal dinner, and is our family's Christmas Eve dinner tradition.

Our favorite Lexington barbecue place?

Smiley's!

Oh, they get such great smoky flavor in their 'cue. And I love their hushpuppies, too ... You just gotta have a side of hushpuppies with barbecue!

I wasn't always a barbecue lover, mind you. Growing up in Vermont, I didn't know what the stuff was until I met my Southern then soon-to-be sister-in-law, a Charlotte, NC native.

To me, ... as to most New Englanders ... barbecue was a verb not a noun. You know, you go outside on the grill and barbecue some chicken. Or ribs. Or hot dogs. Or whatever you happen to be barbecueing. So the classic North/South barbecue misunderstanding began when my soon-to-be sister-in-law asked the simple question ...

"Do you like barbecue?"

And I replied, "Barbecued what?"

"Barbecue," she said back.

"Barbecued what?" I responded.

"You know, barbecue."

... a back-and-forth exchange I think would have gone on all day if my Northern-born, transplanted-to-the-South brother hadn't stepped in to explain that we had different understandings of that word barbecue.

A classic, classic moment.

And so, I think it's only appropriate that I got this Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Barbecue recipe from none other than my sister-in-law.

And believe me, now that I live in the South, I truly understand both the verb and noun use of the word.

Now, I don't evenbeginto proclaim ... nor would my sister-in-law ... that this easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Barbecue recipe comes anywhere closeto creating the smoky slow-cooked deliciousness that the Lexington BBQ kings create. What they do with a roasting pit and pork is an art form.

But in the comfort of your own home, a slow cooker and a bit of liquid smoke will produce a tender and juicy pulled pork barbecue that will hold you over until you can get your hands on the real thing.

Now ... I've got to ask ... do you think the Lay's brand could work the hushpuppies into my Carolina Pulled Pork Barbecue potato chip "Do Us A Flavor"contest idea? Like, maybe 3/4 of the bag be Pulled Pork Barbecue flavored, and 1/4 be hushpuppie flavored??

Ohhhhhh, it would be so good if they could!