If slow cooked pulled pork is music to your ears then you are going to LOVE this recipe. Most definitely a weekend indulgence, this American style slow cooked pork will have you down on bended knees when you take it out of the oven/slow cooker after six hours. The smell of it as it filters through the kitchen is just divine.
So now that I have your attention, let me tell you where I got my rather magnificent pork shoulder from. I took a trip to Lynas Food Outlet in Belfast for the first time recently. I’d heard it was the go-to place to bulk buy meat, bread, pasta, sweets, baking goods etc. I was imagining a big cold warehouse but it was nothing like that. It was like a mini supermarket stocked full of fresh and frozen meat, breads, pasta, desserts, cheese and many more things. As you can imagine it’s where many local restaurants, butchers and food suppliers buy their products. And for those of us in the know, it’s also a brilliant place to stock up on large quantities of food at hard-to-resist prices. Thankfully Phill and I have a second fridge freezer in our garage so we were able to make the most of all the meat…and that’s mainly what we bought when we were there. We’ll be dining on chicken breasts, bacon, steak, pasta and sweet potato fries for a long time I predict!
The stand-out for me was the 2kg Causeway Prime pork butt I spotted at Lynas Food Outlet. I knew immediately I wanted to make pulled pork for Sunday dinner. Luckily Phill had a pulled pork recipe at home that a friend from work had given him ages ago. His friend makes the most stunning pulled pork and is kind enough to bring some in when she cooks huge amounts of it. We amended the recipe a little to suit us but I really can’t recommend her method highly enough. You may be waiting a while on the pork but this recipe is extremely easy to follow and you’ll not be slaving away in the kitchen for any more than thirty minutes!
What you’ll need:
2kg pork butt/shoulder
Large roasting dish with lid or large slow cooker
For the pork dry rub:
3 tblsp light brown sugar
1tblsp dried chilli flakes, cumin, paprika & oregano
1/2tblsp cinnamon
4 bay leaves
salt & pepper
For the pork bath:
1/2btl red wine
4tblsp red wine vinegar
1 cup Chipotle Paste
1tblsp Worcestershire Sauce
handful cherry tomatoes
1 bulb garlic
3 red onions, chopped
tin chopped tomatoes (set aside until pork has finished cooking)
For the American style coleslaw:
Whole cabbage, shredded
2 celery sticks, chopped finely
2 carrots, grated
1 red onion, chopped thinly
2 handful pecans, chopped roughly
4tblsp mayonnaise
2tblsp maple syrup
1tblsp apple cider vinegar
Method:
1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan, and place the roasting dish in the oven.
2. Remove the pork binding and wash and dry the pork before inserting the bay leaves along the pork butt.
3. Mix together the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl and massage it thoroughly along the pork butt until every piece is covered.
4. Take roasting dish out of the oven, drizzle some olive oil over the bottom and add the red onions to saute for a little time.
5. Meanwhile, mix together the wet ingredients for the pork bath (not the tinned tomatoes yet!) in a large bowl.
5. Place the pork in the roasting dish and then pour over the wet ingredients before placing it in the oven for five hours.
6. Prepare the coleslaw by mixing together the vegetables in a big bowl. Mix together the mayonnaise, maple syrup and vinegar thoroughly before adding it to the vegetables. Place the coleslaw in the fridge until the pork is ready to serve.
6. After five hours remove the roasting from the oven and fish out and discard the bay leaves.
7. Remove the pork from the dish and place in a large bowl.
8. Pour all the wet ingredients in a medium sized pot, add the tinned tomatoes, and simmer for approximately 10 minutes until the sauce reduces and thickens.
9. Meanwhile pull apart the pork until it is has all been thorough ‘pulled’. Then add the thickened sauce.
10. Serve the pulled pork on a brioche bun with homemade coleslaw, sweet potato fries and salad. You’ll not regret it.
Thank you to Lynas Food Outlet for supplying me with some of the key ingredients to make this recipe.
