The humble pig is one of my favourite animals to eat. There are endless ways to enjoy it - with pulled pork, being arguably one of the best! Unless you are a barbecue pitmaster, the idea of pulled pork can be a bit intimidating. This recipe is fool-proof and done in the oven.
Pork shoulder is often also called "Boston Butt" or "Picnic Ham". This is a very inexpensive but very flavourful cut of meat! This is an easy recipe to throw together on a weeknight for dinner/lunch for the rest of the week. The meat can be used in sandwiches (with a little coleslaw) or in quesadillas, tacos, over rice and beans, etc... I usually freeze half for another future pulled pork cravings!
-1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-2 medium onions, diced
-4 cloves of garlic, minced
-2 tbsp cumin
-2 tbsp paprika
-2 tsp cayenne pepper
-1 1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
-1 bottle (12 oz) of beer (or 1.5 cups of white wine or chicken stock)
-1/2 cup red wine vinegar
-1/4 cup of Dijon mustard
-4 tbsp of tomato paste
-1 chipotle pepper, finely mined, with 1 tbsp of accompanying adobo sauce*
-4 lb of bone in Pork shoulder**
- Preheat oven to 300F.
- On the stove, heat a large pot over medium-low heat with olive oil.
- Add onions and cook, stirring until very soft and just lightly browned.
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 1 min.
- Add beer, vinegar, mustard, chipotle pepper with Adobo sauce, and tomato paste. Whisk until smooth and turn heat to medium to thicken.
- Add pork to pot and turn to coat with sauce.
- Cover with a tight fitting lid and bake for 2hrs in the oven.
- Turn the meat over and coat with more sauce and cook for another 2 hrs.
- Transfer pork to a large bowl to rest.
- Skim off excess fat from the sauce.
- Optional: Strain sauce from onions and garlic. This smooth sauce can be added directly to the meat. Add as much or as little as you like depending on the spiciness you desire. Otherwise, serve the thick sauce with the onions directly on top of the meat. The meat itself (without the sauce) is mild.
- Once the meat has rested for at least 15 min, remove the bone, skin and excess fat from the meat.
- Using two large forks, pull in opposite directions to shred the meat.
- Serve immediately with sauce.
* You should be able to find canned Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the international aisle of the grocery store near the taco shells. I wouldn't suggest omitting this ingredient as it adds so much flavour. If you want the sauce to be less spicy, you can remove the cayenne pepper or subsitute cayenne for chili powder (which is milder). Again, the meat is not spicy and you can add as much or little of the sauce you want afterwards.
** If you have a smaller cut of meat (under 2lbs) you can cook it for 3hrs total, turning the meat halfway through.
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