So I posted a picture of it and you, my readers, have asked for it. Today we are delving into the glorious world of the pig once more. Now as food trends go this is one that I can totally get behind. I am talking about pulled pork, people. It seems that it is suddenly offered on every menu no matter where you go. I like to think that it is because digging on swine is awesome and pulled pork showcases this fact in stunning fashion. Eating a good pulled pork sandwich, to me is like watching Bobby Orr score his leaping goal or holding someone’s hand for the first time, it just puts a dumb grin on your face. So here we go, let’s pull some pork.
Now the key to this recipe is one that I suck at: patience. I joke that it took me 3 days to make this recipe, and that is only sort of true. The actual time you spend actively cooking is relatively small but there is a lot of waiting for the magic to happen. The way that I make pulled pork consists of three very important stages: brining, dry rub, and then the actual cooking. Each of these stages takes about 30 minutes of actual time in the kitchen. The rest of the three days is all waiting. The result is ridiculously tender and juicy pulled pork that is making my mouth water just from thinking about it.
But first things first, let’s talk about the pig. I use pork shoulder, mainly because it has some fat in it and you want that. Trust me you want that. If Emeril has taught us anything it is that pork fat rules. You want to make sure that the fat cap is still on your shoulder, the creamy white layer of fat, because that is the good stuff. You want to trim off any fatty stuff that is shiny, because it won’t break down and you will end up with chewy bits of gristle and no one wants that. Your butcher can help you get what you need. We all know that you need to be good to your butcher because he or she will tell you things like when they get their locally raised and hormone free piggies delivered. That is always a good thing.
Okay step one: the brining. This sounds very fancy but really all it is is soaking your meat in a salty water mixture to allow it to tenderize. Here is the recipe for the brine, it is really easy.
Simple Brine
Enough water to submerge your pork
½ cup salt
A handful of peppercorns
8-10 bay leaves
-In a stock pot dump all of the ingredients in bring to a boil for a couple of minutes
-Remove from heat and let cool completely.
-Brine is done. Put your shoulder in and completely submerge it, you may need to weigh the sucker down. Cover with cling wrap and put it in your fridge for 12-16 hours. I warned you that you would need patience.
It is now the next day and your pork is been brining away as you slept. Pull the piggy out of the brine and give it a rinse. It is now time to get your rub on. I use a dry rub made up of equal parts chilli powder, onion powder, and garlic powder with some salt and cayenne pepper. This stage is more about what you like more than a set recipe. Pick the flavours that you like and get a little creative. Coffee works in this stage if you are feeling a little adventurous. Mix your rub up and work it into the meat, coating it completely. Cover with cling wrap and let it hang out in your fridge for another 12-16 hours. I recommend that you do this step early in the morning. You will understand why when we get to the braising part. So the rub is working for you, go about your business, go to work, come home, and check out how your shoulder is doing. If you are like my buddy Toby, you can speak in softly to it.
Okay my lovelies we are on the final step, pulled pork is only 12 hours away, let us braise. The focus of this step is low and slow. If you are going to braise in the oven, which is how I do it, you are looking a temperature of about 225-250 degrees. If you have a slow cooker this is a great use of it. Set it on low for 10-12 hours and then you can finish it in the oven. Now you can get up early in the morning put it in the oven but I hate the morning and being a bit of an insomniac I get it going in the wee hours of the morning before I go to bed. This is around 3am. The choice is yours. I also make my own barbeque sauce that I use in the last stage of the cooking. I have included it at the end. Here we go, the last stage, I can almost taste it.
The Final Stages of Pulled Pork
1onion roughly chopped
6 large cloves of garlic smashed
3 bottles of beer
Water
Your pork shoulder
Barbeque sauce
-put your pork into a roasting pan and add all of the ingredients.
-Shove it into a 225-250 degree oven and let it braise for 10-12 hours.
-when you take it out you should struggle pulling it out of the pan, it should be that tender, falling off the bone tender.
-discard the stuff that is left in the pan, it has given you all it has to give. Give the pan a quick wash and return the shoulder. Using your hands or a couple of forks pull the pork apart so it looks like it has been shredded.
-add in your barbeque sauce and mix it all together. You can pop it back into the oven if it has cooled off too much. Serve on a good roll with some coleslaw on or on the side.
So while you are waiting for the glory of your pulled pork to cook here is a recipe for a homemade barbeque sauce that I use in the finished product. I paired it with one of my favourite tunes from Yukon Blonde. I know that Brandon, Jeff, John, and Graham Jones would approve mainly on the merits of the liberal use of bourbon. Enjoy.
Bourbon Barbeque Sauce to the tune of The Bride’s Song by Yukon Blonde
1 onion finely diced
2 cloves minced garlic
2 ½ cups of tomato ketchup
2 tbsp grainy mustard
A good glug of apple cider vinegar
A good glug of molasses
4 oz of descent bourbon
A little bit of water to thin everything out
-In a sauce pan cook the onions and the garlic until the onions soften and they go translucent.
-Add in all of your other ingredients and whisk the crap out of them to combine. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and let it reduce until it looks like the consistency of barbeque sauce, by about a third.
-Throw into your pulled pork hot off the stove or let cool and refrigerate.
There you go, awesome Pulled Pork in only 3 days. Enjoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment