I have been itching to try this dish for the longest time, so I present this to you with that much more passion than normal. I used a 8 lb piece of pork shoulder, bone in. A huge piece of meat I will admit. But I knew I could pack some off and send with the kids next time they come over. I used my standard dry rub on the pork. Scored the meat really well to allow the rub to penetrate the surface and cook into the meat. I wrapped it in plastic wrap and let it marinate in my fridge overnight. I started baking it at 7:00 a.m. and by 1:00 p.m. it was ready.
Fork tender, everything you have ever seen on the food shows about it ripping apart with a fork are absolutely true. As a Chef, it provides a tremendous amount of satisfaction to see food come together. Being able to tear into this piece of meat with a fork and pull out the bone with just a movement of my wrist – pure delight. I made a sandwich out of it on olive bread with Dijon and Lolita’s Hot Sauce (really, this is a fantastic hot sauce – taste and heat, that’s what I’m after, and I know my hot sauces!). I’m told by my friend in Minneapolis all that’s missing is some coleslaw. I don’t have any cabbage or carrots at home to make some, so this is without – and still so delicious. So give it a try on a Saturday when you have 6 or 7 hours to leave your oven on. Call some friends over in the evening and have some nice olive bread or crispy ciabatta buns, Dijon or some other hot spicy mustard and some of Lolita’s hot sauce (you can order directly from her at 647-321-7882). Oh and don’t forget to have a nice Riesling or Pinot Noir to serve with it. If you like it sweeter, a Gewurtztraminer will also work wonderfully well. As always – enjoy!
1 8-10lb Pork shoulder roast, bone in, skin on
Standard Dry Rub
2 tbsp. cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder
1 tbsp. coriander, salt, pepper, paprika
3 tbsp. brown sugar
4 medium sized onions, thickly sliced
12 cloves of garlic
12 hot chillies – Thai, Habanero etc.
Salt and pepper
Olive Oil
The night before –
Mix all the dry rub ingredients – taste, season and taste again – Is it tasty? Yes, proceed. No, re-season it to make it tasty!
Trim the excess fat off the pork shoulder, score the remaining fat cutting through but not to the meat, season it well with salt and pepper (this is in addition to what is in the dry rub)
Then rub the dry marinade all over the shoulder, getting into cuts and around the bone
Wrap in plastic and put into the refrigerator over night
The next day – remove the meat from the fridge and discard the plastic wrap
Preheat the oven to 300F
In a large dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot, add the onions, garlic and chillies – pour about 2 tbsp. olive oil on top and mix to coat well
Place the roast on top of the onions, garlic and chillies – pour about 1 – 2 tbsp. olive oil over the meat
Cover and place in the oven
Walk away, have a coffee, vacuum, do laundry, read a book, write a blog
3 hours later – check on the meat – turn it over – carefully – it’s just starting to get ready so it will be tender in some spots and that may make it hard to handle
Cover and put it back in the oven for another 2 – 3 hours
It’s lunch time somewhere, so have a glass of wine – read a book, write a blog, have another glass of wine (it will have been at least 30 minutes since you tried to read that book or write that blog)
2 – 3 hours later – check on the meat, it should be fork “pull-apart” and the bone should come out with just a nudge or flick of your wrist (don’t be brave, no one is watching so please use tongs, your fingers will thank you later)
Remove the meat from the pot – discard the fat skin – do not be tempted to eat this, I understand (ahem) it tastes awful, discard anything that looks like it shouldn’t be eaten – if in doubt, throw it out!
OPTIONAL – Additional step. I didn’t do this but in hindsight, it would have been nice to have some gravy/sauce to go with it. So…
Tilt the pot on the side of your stove so the liquid fat gathers in the corner – push everything else (the almost dissolved onions, chillies and garlic cloves) to the highest end
When the fat has drained to one end – remove it with a large scoop/spoon and discard it
Deglaze the remainder of the stuff in the pot by adding some ketchup, brown sugar, bourbon, salt, pepper – maybe even some barbecue sauce – whisk it all together, let it simmer – taste, season and taste – is it spectacular? It should be, you made it! Serve on top of the pulled pork shreds.
As always – enjoy!
