Monday, March 21, 2011

Gone to the Dogs -- Crock Pot Barbecue

I home cook for my dogs. It's true. Now, before you write me off as a nut, there's a good reason that I cook for them. One of my dogs is allergic to grain. For a long time we visited the vet so often that they installed a revolving door for us. Then came a night when I thought poor Han had been poisoned and made a midnight dash to the doggie ER. Turned out his allergy was at the root of all the problems. The first thing the holistic vet said was -- take him off all commercial foods. Since then, some grain-free kibble has come on the market, but we're managing very well on home cooking, so I'm not inclined to rock the boat at this point.

Turns out cooking for dogs isn't all that difficult. They're omnivores like people (as opposed to cats who are carnivores), and with a few exceptions (chocolate, raisins, grapes, onions, and anything containing xylitol) dogs can eat almost anything we can eat. Who knew?

My dogs eat barley, lentils, Swiss chard, green beans, spinach, bok choy, raspberries, watermelon, apples, cucumbers, carrots, sweet potatoes -- and their latest favorite -- Asian pears. That's Queenie helping herself to raspberries right off the bush! Believe it or not, my diet has improved since I started cooking for them.


Consequently, I'm always on the lookout for meat that's on sale. One local store often offers pork sirloin roast at bargain prices. It's actually a nice looking chunk of meat. I checked out some recipes for it, and it appeared that most people roast it in the oven. That has been successful for me exactly once. I think it's just a cut that likes low, slow cooking. So I usually throw it into the crock pot with some diced tomatoes for the dogs. It always looks and smells fabulous when it's done. So tender that it just shreds apart.

Like Julie, I decided some experimentation was in order. Could I make barbecue in the crock pot? I used a boneless pork sirloin roast, and for good measure, added some Texas style ribs (no bones). I tossed in barbecue type ingredients and let it cook for eight hours.

Now, it didn't taste exactly like barbecue joint barbecue. Elizabeth's Lulu Taylor would be aghast. For starters, I didn't use any smoke in a bottle, and that smokiness was missing. And I think I liked it better the second day. But here's the thing -- it tasted exactly like ready made barbecue that I have bought in snazzy stores! It would make nice Sloppy Joes for kids, and to be honest, I'm going to be making this more often for myself because it's way cheaper than the store bought version and every bit as tasty.


Crock Pot Barbecue
(for people, but dog dinner inspired)


3 pounds pork (sirloin roast)
1 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1-2 tablespoons honey
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/3 cup diced onion
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 teaspoon celery seeds

Place all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low setting for eight hours. Shred meat with two forks.


Enjoy!


22 comments:

  1. Our corgi, Chloe, is allergic to chicken and we've had to go to a special pet store for years now! In many ways, it would really just be easier to do what you're doing, Krista, and cook for her!

    I think Lulu might actually secretly love this recipe for days when she's going to be out of the house ALL day and wants to have supper ready when she comes home! Sounds amazing and I love the ease of it and the fact it's economical. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Krista, I am glad I am not the only one. People always think we are nuts. I have one of my dogs we have to cook for as well for the allergies. All of the pets love watermelon, grapes and cantaloupe. I think they think they are humans half the time. This is a nice recipe to try or people or dogs :). Thank you for sharing this morning from one pet nut to another.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That looks yummy. I'm beginning to think I may need to invest in a crock pot.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am getting smoker fever looking at your crock pot pulled pork. And you have your own BBQ sauce in the mix as well. Excellent post. Needs a little heat (Cayenne Pepper spice or minced Chilis in Adobe sauce). I'm not a big fan of smoke in a bottle... spice would be better. And anytime you have an easy go to recipe for an inexpensive cut of meat, you are way ahead for your weekly budget (then you can splurge on something fancy with the savings).

    So, i am wondering how you find out what a dog is allergic to??? When I was a kid (half a century ago), I had that grid work on my back with pin pricks of everything imaginable I could have been allergic to. They never did find anything (my guess is the Doctor just bought a new toy and was paying for it... but I digress). I am picturing a shaved dog with that gridwork in sharpee put on him. But I am guessing that wasn't how it was done.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yum!! I am ready to eat with the dogs - do I need to bring my own bowl?

    Sounds delicious, even if I only have cats!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Elizabeth, if you avoided onions and garlic, you probably could feed your Corgi what you eat. Talk to a holistic vet about it if you're interested.

    I love that Lulu might secretly enjoy this recipe. Hmm, maybe she makes it on the sly and none of the customers know!

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  7. Babs, a lot of people think I'm nuts for home cooking for my dogs. But they weren't there to see Han falling down, and his eyes uncontrollably flicking back and forth.

    It's amazing how much dogs love fruit. People are always so surprised that my dogs like watermelon.

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dru, small crock pots are surprisingly inexpensive. You really don't need one with a lot of bells and whistles.

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dave, I forgot about you heat lovers! Of course, a dash or two of pepper sauce would be just the thing.

    The holistic vet took one look at Han and knew he had a grain allergy because he had classic symptoms. It's scary how many things dogs can be allergic to these days. Like people, I guess. Some are even allergic to grass, poor things!

    There are blood tests and intradermal skin testing for dogs. For food allergies, though, those tests aren't considered as accurate as food trials. Eliminate foods and reintroduce them to identify the culprits.

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous, we have plenty of bowls. Unless you want one with your name on it, of course! ; )

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have four crockpots (in four sizes) and use at least one every day! The small ones are about ten bucks on sale. I make oatmeal in it, put it on in the night. The one I like least is the big digital version. Needless to say I'll be making this BBQ and passing it to my daughter too. The dogs are looking interested! Today's pork is bred to be low fat, so it needs a cooking method that doesn't dry it out. You hit the jackpot, Krista! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dog-inspired barbecue Love it! May Max come visit your pups and get a home-cooked meal? He's eschewing all the dried food I give him. I get him all meat in a can and it's good for him, and he likes that, but the kibble. Blech! I'm going to make some biscuits for him in the coming weeks. Definitely going to be experimentation time.

    ~Avery
    AveryAames.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is such a fun post, Krista. Love the pictures of your gorgeous pooches. They're adorable. And cooking for those we care about is never nuts, so I hear you! If my beloved K'Ehleyr (who is no longer with us) had needed home cooking, I would have done it, too. I have a giant crock pot from my mil that I drag out from time to time. I think this recipe is calling for it to come out and play!

    ReplyDelete
  14. My go to crockpot recipe "cheats" because I throw in a whole bunch of ribs, a bottle of BBQ sauce, a thinly sliced onion, and then add enough water to cover the meat.

    Terry
    Terry's Place
    Romance with a Twist--of Mystery

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow, Mary Jane! That's a lot of crock pot cooking. I must say that I always feel like I'm cheating and not cooking when I use it. A guilty pleasure. I'm not surprised that your doggies are interested. They probably got notice from my dogs via doggiemail.

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  16. Avery, Max can come for dinner anytime! Odd that he doesn't like kibble. Do you think his teeth or gums hurt?

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks, Julie. Dogs and cats are members of the family! There's not much I wouldn't do for mine. Of course, there's also the fact that I see the vet a lot less often now!

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  18. Terry, your recipe would certainly work! I like making my own barbecue sauce. I walked by the bbq sauce section in my grocery store the other day and couldn't believe my eyes. That's *big* business! I never saw such a variety.

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  19. Love your dog pictures, Krista. They're awfully sweet!

    Your post reminded me I'm long overdue for some good ol' pulled pork, so we'll be having that again real soon, and I'll let the crockpot do the work. Thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks, Lynn. They're terrific dogs.

    I love pulled pork and can't wait to make the real thing out on the grill again. But this is a nice substitute and *so* much easier!

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great post, Krista. There's nothing I won't do for my furry friends (furry family, really). Our pets give us so much joy. The least we can do is protect them. Cooking for you dogs to keep them safe and healthy is wonderful! And your recipe looks so easy and delicious. (You reminded me how much I love sloppy joes, too, and there's so much fun to be had with playing with the spice mix.)

    Thanks for another great recipe idea!
    ~ Cleo Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

    ReplyDelete
  22. They do bring us joy, Cleo. Every day!

    The recipe is easy and you're right -- there's lots of room for variations. Include whatever barbecue flavors you like!

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete