Hello all and a very joyous Sunday morning to you. Now If I had it my way today I think I would have woken up to the lovely smells of some 12 hour brisket, and ribs coming out of the smoker in my back yard. Such an amazing smell to wake up to on a perfect autumn day. Alas instead I sit here with a black coffee. Not even 1/100 as exciting.
Meat. - I love meat. I enjoy many different cuts, from many different animals, and the many different cooking techniques in the world. Today I am going to share with you an old classic, one of my favorites. This is will surely have you waking up to some sweet scents and the idea of an old backyard BBQ.
Pulled Pork
Now many people think that pulled pork has to be incredibly difficulty to make because it is so very tasty. Naturally taste = hard work. Not true my friends. One of the loveliest details about pulled pork is that the pork really does all the work.
Go to your local butcher and ask for Pork Shoulder or "Picnic Ham" This is a cut that is taken from the upper part of the foreleg that includes a portion of the pork shoulder. You can either get this cut with the bone in or out. I enjoy bone in because then you can really see the meat fall of the bone after roasting. This is the perfect cut of meet for pulled pork and is one of the lesser expensive cuts as well.
As you can see from the picture on the right there is a huge fat cap on this piece of meat. This is the layer of 1inch fat that runs along the animals back. Essential in pulled pork.
Now you want to cut right between the flesh of the meat and fat and slowly pull it back off. Leave the fatback connected to the meat. You are going to create a layer between the fat and flesh so that as the meat cooks it is consistently filled with flavour.
Rub the whole cut of meat with a generous portion Salt, Pepper, 1tbsp smoked paprika, 1/4 cup grainy mustard, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and then fresh thyme and rosemary. Then place the fat back onto the meat and tie so that the bundle of herbs is secure. Place in your roasting pan.
On the bottom of my roasting pan I always put a liquid. I enjoy using beers (of all kinds) I used a Apple Cider Beer last time because I wanted to get a hint of the sweetness of the apple so that my pork could be in tune with the autumn weather.Make sure that the bottom of the pan is fully covered with beer. If you have to use 2 bottles or cans. You don't your roasting pan going dry. =)
Put your oven to 500 and broil the fat of the pork for 5 minutes or until crisping. This will have the fat immediately starting to release and baste the rest of the meat. It will also secure the fat back on to the meat.
Once the top of the fat has browned turn your oven way down to 220F. This is going to be some sslloowww. Good for the heart and uplifting for the soul. Cover your roasting pan with tin foil and place in the oven. I like to do this in the evening so that my pork can slow roast over night. I also love that I get to wake up in the morning to the sweet sweet scents of pulled pork. ahhhhh .
If you are uncomfortable leaving your pork in the oven while you sleep roast it during the day or in a slow cooker. This way you can check it every hour or so to see how it's coming along. You want to give it time so at least 8 hours (depending on how big your meat is) Even so do not rush it. When you pull the pork from the oven the meat should be falling apart on it's own, and easily pulling away from the bone.
Now remove the string, the fat cap and your roasting rack. I like to let my pork fall right into the roasting liquid that has settled into the bottom of the pan.
This makes a beautiful natural sauce.
You have now created love in a pan. Eat this as is, on a baguette, in a bun, on poached eggs, on a picnic, in the backyard or simply standing over your stove as is.
Eat drink and enjoy!
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