PULLED PORK

Thank you Bonnie Stern for the best superbowl party food yet! Thanks to twitter - my new favourite source of all food related knowledge, I discovered Bonnie Stern's weekend article in The National Post - "Presenting the perfect pretext to pull pork." I am a HUGE fan of pulled pork, and after reading through the article I could literally not wait to make it! Especially since last week we butchered pork & lamb shoulder's in butchery class I thought it would be so great to work with meats now that I understand their cuts.

 

The end result - pulling the pork

So for a great, fun meal, pulled pork is for you! I can't wait to make it again! The great part about this recipe is Bonnie actually gives a few extra ingredient recipes, chipotle mayo, a doctored-up BBQ sauce and a creamy coleslaw to top the pulled pork. Make sure to get really soft, good quality buns. I found mine at The Healthy Butcher, (any sort of egg made buns, like Challa is fab).

 

Pork Rub before going in the oven

 

Pork once it had cooked for 3.5 hours

 
The Pork itself
Ingredients:
Rub
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp each paprika, pepper and cumin
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 lb boneless pork shoulder (pork butt roast)
Cooking liquid
- 2 cups apple juice
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 6 whole cloves garlic
- 2 onions, thickly sliced
Maple barbecue sauce
- 2 cups favourite barbecue sauce
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp each Worcestershire sauce and apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Directions:
1. Combine brown sugar, salt, paprika, pepper, cumin, mustard and garlic. Rub into roast. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Combine apple juice, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Place garlic and onions in the bottom of a Dutch oven and set roast on top. Add liquid. Cover roast with a piece of parchment paper and then cover pan tightly. Cook in a preheated 325F/160C oven for 3 to 4 hours or longer, until pork is so tender it falls apart when pierced with a fork.
3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan whisk barbecue sauce with maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and mustard. Bring to a boil. Cook gently 5 minutes. Reserve.
4. When roast is ready, remove from pan. Slice thickly and chop. Combine with half the barbecue sauce, adding some of the strained cooking juices if meat is too dry. Reheat meat just before serving in a 325F oven for about 30 minutes.
5. Make sandwiches on the soft buns with meat, extra barbecue sauce, coleslaw, chipotle mayo
Makes 12 sandwiches

Chipotle Mayo

Ingredients:
- 1 cup mayonnaise (I like Hellman’s)
- 1 tbsp chipotle chili purée or to taste
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
1. Place mayonnaise in a bowl and stir in chipotle purée,

Creamy-Style Coleslaw
Ingredients:
- 4 cups shredded green cabbage
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 carrot, grated
- OR - just the pre made coleslaw packages by Our Compliments
Dressing
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper or to taste

Directions:
1. Make coleslaw by combining shredded cabbage with salt. Place in a colander set over a bowl, with a plate on top, pressing down on the cabbage to extract excess moisture. After about one hour, rinse cabbage and pat dry, pressing again firmly. Combine with carrots.
2. For dressing, combine mayonnaise with garlic, sugar, vinegar and pepper.
3. Combine dressing with cabbage mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Makes 12 servings

Total time (prep+cooking): 3-4 hours

photo-credit: my own & national post