Pulled Pork

Pulled pork seems to occupy a very mystical place for a great many people. I can't understand why. It's incredibly simple, even if you don't have a smoker (smoking the pork is a luxury most don't have access to, but if you have a barbeque, you can make a de facto smoker - details forthcoming) - it's all in the braising.

Braising is a term that'll be thrown around a lot here, as it defines much of my cooking style: I like food that takes patience, understanding, and time to reach it's divinity. Braising as a technique simply refers to foodstuffs (generally meat, but other vegetables and grains can also fall within these borders) that require low simmering temperatures in a moist-heat environment in order to break down connective tissues and flavinoids and thus elevate it beyond any self-respecting tournedo's wildest culinary delusions, to transfer flavour back-and-forth with said liquid medium in incredibly delicious ways, and generally eclipse any and all dry-heat-friendly preparations across the board.

Pulled pork generally starts with the shoulder, a heavily-used muscle on any animal; a general rule of thumb to know when dealing with any cut of meat - the more it's used in the animal's day-to-day, the tougher it'll be, but correspondingly, the more flavour it will have. Such cuts require moist-heat cooking methods, not slow-roasting or grilling.

Pork shoulder is usually pretty cheap compared to "lesser" cuts like the tenderloin or loin chops; if you're going to make this, stock up on the meat and make a good metric assload. It takes just as much time to braise five(5) shoulders as it does to braise one(1), and it freezes very well. The following recipe can be easily doubled, tripled, or tenfolded as required.

1 pork shoulder, roughly 5-8lbs.

1 large spanish onion, sliced thin

1 head garlic, sliced

5 exceptionally ripe tomatoes, diced [failing that, one(1) 28oz. can diced tomatoes]

Fresh thyme, in as much abundance as you feel necessary

Enough vegetable stock to just barely cover the victuals

- simple veg stock recipe? - a couple onions, a couple carrots, and half a head of celery, pulse it in a food processor until it's a grainy mess of pulpy vegetable matter, and top it up with double the volume of water. Simmer 45 minutes, strain, and use how you see fit.

Optional spices: smoked paprika, oregano, coriander, etc. A bit of sherry wine vinegar and/or Worcestershire sauce wouldn't hurt.

Salt to taste (It should not taste salty, only seasoned moreso than nature allowed it to taste. Never underestimate the ionic properties of salt)

Preheat oven to 325F. (this is the magic braising temperature. Remember it.)

Heavily season the shoulder with salt. You can cut it into smaller pieces if you like, but if your shoulder is still on the bone, leave the bone in at least some of the meat. Place all ingredients in a casserole dish large enough to hold them without overflowing. Bring to boil, tent with aluminum foil, and place in the oven for two(2) to three(3) hours. Check for doneness by stripping a small piece off of the shoulder, judging how effortlessly it severs from the larger cut. It should taste moist and not at all tough. If it takes an half an hour to an hour more, so be it. 

Once done, allow to cool, and refrigerate overnight. Next day, take the meat out of the dish and begin pulling it apart by hand. Meanwhile, pour the remains of the braising liquid into a pot and begin reducing it (whereby you allow the water component to evaporate, and the flavour to intensify in the now concentrated liquid remainder - let it simmer on medium heat until reduced to half it's volume). Fold the shredded meat back into this concoction, and check the seasoning. It may need salt, and/or some added honey to balance everything.

Toast some buns, pile on the squishie, and enjoy!

More to come - I might feature duck next.

luv,

s