Pulled Caribou Shoulder

I recently got a 2.14 pound boneless caribou shoulder roast from Anshu Pathak at Exotic Meat Market. I'd been reading about pork shoulder slowly cooked in Coca Cola to make pulled pork and I thought Coca Cola, along with slow cooking in a crock pot, would be good in helping to break down the tissues in the caribou.

A caribou in Denali National Park in Alaska.

I looked at a number of recipes and focused on one by Genius Kitchen. The recipe called for a four to five pound pork shoulder or butt, and my caribou was just over two pounds, so I reduced some of the ingredients by about half. 

The packaged caribou from Exotic Meat Market.

The un-packaged caribou.

First I seasoned the roast with a teaspoon of minced, dehydrated garlic; 3 teaspoons of minced, dehydrated onion; a quarter teaspoon of black pepper; and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper. 

I placed the roast in a crock pot, then added a half teaspoon of liquid smoke and five cans of regular Coca Cola, as well as two tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce which was not called for in this recipe, but included in at least one other recipe I looked at. I put the crock pot on low, overnight, for about nine hours (the recipe called for eight to ten hours). 

The roast shortly after being put in the crock pot. The Coca Cola makes the liquid very dark. 

The roast shortly before pulling it out of the crock pot, 9 hours later. 

When I pulled the roast out of the crock pot the next morning it looked very, very dark. I used about 10 ounces of barbecue sauce to work into the meat as I used two forks to pull the caribou roast apart. 

The roast out of the crock pot.

The caribou pulled apart about as easily as pork and the barbecue sauce added a tangy, smokey, sweet flavor. It was not nearly as fatty as pork, but it was tender and had a very nice flavor. 

The caribou after adding barbecue sauce and pulling it apart. 

I ate it by itself, as well as on a sandwich. I think this is a great way to cook shoulder or butt portions of wild game.