Even without the sugary barbecue sauce, pulled pork is something that required some thought about how to make it friendly to the South Beach Diet, which recommends meat with less than 10% fat. I started with a crockpot recipe for Slow Cooker Pulled Pork that I'd spotted on Prudence Pennywise. Then I consulted my butcher for ideas about a lean cut of pork that would pull apart when cooked for a long time at a low temperature, and ended up going with a pork loin roast that I cut into two pieces against the grain, so I had shreds of pork that were 3-4 inches long. For the sauce I used mostly Splenda, but I did add a bit of brown sugar. You could certainly make this with all Splenda if you wanted it for phase one. Finally, read below about the reduced sugar ketchup that was the base of my sauce.I trimmed all the outside fat off my pork loin roast, and then cut it in half against the grain. This roast was about 2 pounds after trimming, but next time I'd get one just a little bigger.
When the meat is done enough to pull apart easily, remove from crockpot with a slotted spoon., then shred with two forks. (I ate some before I took this photo, so a two pound roast will be a little more than this!) Pork should cook about 7-8 hours, on low, depending on how hot your crockpot cooks.
3 pounds boneless pork loin roast (trim all visible fat, roast should be about 2 1/2 pounds after trimming)
olive oil, for spraying crockpot (or use non-stick spray)
1/2 cup reduced-sugar ketchup (the Heinz reduced sugar ketchup has 1 gram sugar per tablespoons)
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
4 Tablespoons Splenda
1-2 Tablespoons brown sugar (depending on how sweet you want it, or use all Splenda if you prefer)
(You can also use 1/3 cup Splenda-brown sugar blend, which will make the sauce a bit higher in sugar)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup mustard (regular yellow mustard, not Dijon)
2 teaspoon green Tabasco (or 1 teaspoon red Tabasco)
1 1/2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Liquid Smoke (or more, optional but recommended)
(Makes about 6 generous servings, recipe adapted from Slow Cooker Pulled Pork from Prudence Pennywise.)