Sunday 25 November 2012

Pulled Pork











If you want some love in your life, make pulled pork. Husbands and sons People will bow down at that temple, I'm telling you. Oh, and anything made in a disposable foil tray -Yeah, that goes down really well with a certain man that I live with, which is not surprising seeing as how he washes dish after dish after dish around here. Oh and there's the bun. Anything in bun is totally (totally!) approved of with a big gold stamp. And let's not even talk about the smell of slow-roasting meat smothered in a spicy rub that fills the house for hours and hours... okay, then let's... lots of warm fuzzy feelings coming your way right there people. Yep, if you mention that you might make pulled pork, expect cheerleaders to suddenly appear.


Pulled Pork
from Kevin and Amanda
Serves 8

NOTE: This recipe requires brining the pork for at least 8 hours, then long, slow roasting so it's best to start it at least the day before.

1 x 2.5kg Pork Shoulder, bone in and with a good layer of fat on top

For the Dry Rub:
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon Maldon salt
1 tablespoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix well and store in an air tight container.

For the Brine Solution: 
1/2 cup Maldon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
8 cups cold water
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoon dry rub mix

Add salt to cold water and stir very well until all the salt is completely dissolved. Then add the brown sugar, dry rub, and bay leaves and stir well to combine.

Prepare and Roast the Pork:
Rinse the pork shoulder and place in a large container (I used a large zip-lock bag, then put the sealed bag into a large roasting pan for insurance in case of leaks), pour in the brine solution until the shoulder is completely covered. Cover the container (or seal the bag)  and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. Then remove pork shoulder from brine solution, pat dry with paper towels, place in baking pan that is bigger than the shoulder by at least a couple of centimeters in length and width and at least 6cms deep (I used a disposable foil tray - saves on washing up and husbands with dishpan hands). Sprinkle dry rub onto the surface of the shoulder and massage in such that it adheres to the surface. Coat all sides. Make sure the fat layer on the shoulder is facing up before cooking! Place baking pan uncovered in a 110 degrees C oven on the middle rack. Insert a probe thermometer into the centre or thickest part of the shoulder, but not touching the bone. Monitor the temperature throughout cooking. Do not remove from the oven until the center of the shoulder reaches 94 degrees C (mine took 8 hours). When the shoulder has reached 94 degrees C, turn off the oven and let the roast cool for a couple of hours before removing from the oven. If the bottom of the pan is dry (or crusted with dried spices) then cover the pan with foil to retain internal moisture of the meat during the cooling period. When the temperature drops to 76 degrees C or slightly lower, remove from oven. Place on a large, clean work surface such as a cutting board, and remove the large sheet of crusted fat on the top (I know, I cried too). Pull apart with two forks, it will pull apart very easily.

I served mine in soft hamburger buns with a red cabbage slaw and Spiced Warm Corn Salad to a round of applause.

24 comments:

  1. Ouh la la!!! Pulled pork is life, it is so goooooodddd!!! With the bun, yummy!!! Your pictures are so intense, that I would eat one of your pulled pork sandwich right away for breakfast :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. pulled pork is a religion where i live (texas), and yours looks AMAZING! there's nothing my husband gets more excited about for dinner than a pulled pork sandwich. i'll be trying this one soon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Okay, for us folks here in the U.S., what is Maldon Salt? a.k.a. Kosher salt?

    ReplyDelete

  4. OMG....You have so many awesome recipes on your blog... fabulous photos!! pulled pork is so damn good, and yours looks so juicy and tender, I'm definitely going to have to try :P
    Amazing blog! I'd love if you checked out my blog, and if you like it, can we follow each other? I promise I’ll follow you back <3

    x♥x♥

    "Saúde & Beleza - Health & Beauty"




    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey Gabrielle. Pulled pork sandwiches for breakfast, you might me on to something there :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks Little Kitchie - looks like our husbands would get along like a house on fire :)

    PS. Being a Texan, you're probably an expert on how to make pulled pork!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey Patty. Maldon Sea Salt is English sea salt flakes. It is mild and delicate and often used for finishing dishes because it is savoury rather than salty. You could use Kosher salt instead, but I wouldn't use normal table salt as it is too harsh. Or, if you have to use table salt, only use half the quantity.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you Maria. I am now following your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That looks amazing, will definitely be giving that a try!

    ReplyDelete
  10. How many people would this feed?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, looks amazing. Have you thought about a slow cooker method given how long this needs to be in the oven? Maybe with a high-heat oven finish to crisp it off?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hey Anonymous. That's a very good question. I'll add that to the post. It will easily serve eight very hungry people.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for the tip Tony B., I recently used my slow-cooker for some Slow-Cooked Pork Ribs with Cheats Barbecue Sauce and was really happy with the results. I'll keep it in mind for the next time I make this recipe :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. We love pulled pork and this looks like a great recipe. A question - I looked at the source you listed and see that the original recipe called for 1 tablespoon of cayenne - my question, did you try it with the full tablespoon and found it too spicy? We do like spice but hubby doesn't want just HOT without flavor. Just curious. I am going to try this next week for a group we have coming over. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks so much for your comment MaryB. I have two young sons and one of them doesn't like really spicy food. He can tolerate a little heat, but will refuse food if it's too hot for him. I erred on the side of caution with the cayenne for that reason. Also our (Australian)cayenne is blow-your-head-off hot - or at least the stuff I buy is. It tends to overpower a dish if you use too much. I'm not sure if American cayenne is the same. I've found some of our chilli powders are much hotter than the American ones too. I think if you normally would add a whole tablespoon of your cayenne to a rub, then do so. If I added that amount of ours, we'd all be breathing fire for days. :0 Hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm cooking a 5kg for my birthdy lunch this Saturday. Do I just double the cooking time? Im starting the brining process tonight and am a little worried that the pork will be under or over done. Is it okay to have the pork all finished a few hours before people arrive or will it dry out? If this happens should I pull it apart or leave it whole till it's ready to serve? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  17. 5kgs... Wow, that's a big piece of pork. If you use a thermometer you won't have any trouble deciding when your pork is done. However, you should figure on it taking about 3 hours per kilo - in your case, about 15 hours. You can definitely cook this hours before you want to serve it. I'd pull it apart after the 2 hours resting in the oven as per the recipe. Pop the pulled meat into a clean foil tray covered with foil. When you're ready to serve it, put it in a 180 degrees C oven until warmed through. Happy birthday for Saturday and enjoy the pulled pork. It's an excellent choice for a birthday celebration.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I know 5kg,never seem to do things in half measures!
    So I still need to get to the 94 degrees? Still leave it for 2 hrs to rest also, so 17 hrs in total?
    Thanks so much for all your help.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Haha - you and me both with the things in half measures. Yes, you'll still need 94 degrees core temperature and a total oven time of 17 hrs (seems like a lot, but if you do it overnight, you won't even notice it). I think you're gonna love it.

    ReplyDelete
  20. This looks amazing! Just wondering whether you ended up trying this recipe in the slow cooker? I've got it in the oven at the moment but was curious for next time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't tried it in the slow cooker yet, but I've tried similar recipes in the slow cooker and they are turned out great.

      Delete
    2. We just ate this for dinner and it was amazing! The disposable roasting tray is a stroke of genius as well! Thanks for sharing :)

      Delete