One of my very favourite recipes is for pulled pork. I first cooked this about a year ago and I wish I had tried it earlier in my life. It is cheap, easy to cook, and with the richness of the sauce a little goes a long way. I always make more than we need so it can go in the freezer for those times when I can’t be bothered to cook. I’m planning on making sure my kids know how to make it when they move out and need budget cooking options! I should really have a nice photo of the finished dish to put at the top, but I always start eating before I remember to take a photo!
There are lots of different recipes of course but I quite like this one as you cook the pork and the sauce separately. I find that this makes the pork quite versatile as you can team it with different flavours as you want to. Apparently pork shoulder is the best cut to use, but I actually prefer to use pork leg; either way I will pick one up when it’s on special and keep it in the freezer until I’m in the mood to cook it.
This recipe is based on an article I read from Matt Preston, which I can’t find for the life of me now, but basically for 500g pork I put 1 tablespoon each of salt, brown sugar, and smoked paprika in a bag (or container) and shake to mix. If I have garlic powder on hand I’ll add that in too. I often cook 1.5kg to 2kg pieces and adjust the quantities for that. First step is to remove the rind from the pork, and if you want remove any excess fat. I tend to leave quite a lot of fat on and then remove it at the end. Rub the sugar/spice mix over the pork and put in the fridge for at least an hour, but overnight if you can.
There are a couple of ways I have cooked this from here – oven or slow cooker. The slow cooker is easier and probably more forgiving, but the oven method works well too. If you are using the oven heat it to 150C, place the pork onto a rack in a roasting tin, a bit of water underneath (maybe half a cup or so) and then cover with alfoil. Cook for 1 hour per 500g. If you are using the slow cooker, place the pork into the slow cooker and cook on slow for 6 to 8 hours. It’s hard to overcook the pork, but it’s worth checking after 6 hours as some slow cookers do seem to cook hotter than others.
Once the pork is cooked remove it from the roasting dish or slow cooker and set aside to rest. If you are cooking it in the oven it can be worth checking it from time to time to make sure that the juices are not burning in the pan – you may need to add more water if they are. You want these juices to add to the sauce.
This is how I do the sauce – it’s based on an American style BBQ sauce but I have adjusted quantities to suit our tastes (mainly less cayenne and I think I cut the vinegar down too). In a pan I mix 1/4 cup cider vinegar, ½ cup yellow (American) mustard, 1/3 cup ketchup, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 garlic clove, crushed, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp cayenne, ¼ tsp pepper and bring it to the boil, turn down and then simmer for 5 – 10 mins. Add any juices from the oven dish/slow cooker and bring back to the boil.
Once the pork has rested for a little while (which really depends on how impatient I am) grab two forks and start pulling it apart and shredding it. How fine or coarse you do this is up to you. I then add a few spoonfuls of the sauce and mix it through to coat the meat. I keep the rest of the sauce separate so that people can add more to their taste.
One of the reasons I love this recipe is that after that one cooking session we had dinner that night for 2 adults and a teenager (equal to another 2 adults really) and then about 6 containers to put in the freezer. We have it with baked potatoes, mix the pork with some salsa and make tacos, use it on pizza, sandwiches and rolls, use it as a pie filling… so many options!
Bayside Homestead 
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