Pulled pork
From: uktv.co.uk: Hairy Bikers From: Hairy Bikers' Mississippi Adventure
SERVES 6
For the dry spice rub
50g soft dark brown sugar
4 tbsp smoked hot paprika
3 tbsp flaked sea salt
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp dry mustard powder
2 tsp dried thyme
For the pork
2 kg boneless pork shoulder
barbecue sauce, to serve
coleslaw, to serve
6 rolls of white bread
For the dry spice rub
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
For the pork
Put the meat on a board and rub all over with half the spice mix. Transfer to a shallow dish and cover loosely with cling film. Leave in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Reserve the remaining rub.
Take the pork out of the dish and put on a board. Massage with the remaining dry rub. Preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2.
Stand the pork on a rack in a roasting tin, skin side up. Pour 100ml water into the tin and cover the pork and tin with a large piece of foil, pinching the foil around the edges to make a good seal. Put the pork in the oven and cook for 5 hours.
To finish it off on the barbecue (optional)
Thirty minutes before the pork is ready, light at least 2kg lumpwood charcoal or briquettes in a kettle barbecue according to the manufacturer’s directions. When the barbecue coals are hot and have a light coating of ash, push to one side and put the pork, either in its tin (with the liquid drained) or in a foil tray, directly onto the barbecue.
Add a couple of handfuls of soaked wood chips as directed on the packet instructions (either to a foil dish or directly on the coals) and close the lid.
Barbecue the pork for a further 45 minutes until the smoke and heat forms a crust all over the meat. It should look a very dark reddy brown and even a little blackened in places.
Occasionally check that the pork's internal temperature remains at least 75C. If the smoke dies down or the coals lose their heat, add a few more coals, cover with the lid and continue cooking.
To serve
When the pork is cooked, transfer to a board, cover with a sheet of foil and leave to stand for 15 minutes. Pull into shreds with a couple of forks. Split the baps and fill with the hot pork. Serve with barbecue sauce, or hot sauce, and coleslaw.
Tips and suggestions
You’ll need to cook it on hot charcoal in a kettle barbecue with a lid and get hold of some woodchips for smoking the meat as it barbecues.
They use a dry rub in the Mississippi, as the brown sugar caramelises into a rich flavour and deep crispy layer or 'bark' on the meat.
Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork
From: www.fifteenspatulas.com
Use traditional pork shoulder
After you’ve seasoned the pork with salt and pepper, add some pineapple juice. Pineapple and pork are magical together, and this will infuse great flavor into the pork.
Cook the pork on low overnight, then refrigerate the entire pot.
You will see that after a few hours, the fat will harden, and will look like white chocolate floating on the surface:
Remove the fat with a fork or spoon, or pour the liquid through a strainer. Take the leftover juice (this is a mixture of the pork juices and pinapple juice), and add it to a big pan:
Add some BBQ sauce (storebought or homemade) to this liquid and let it simmer while you shred up the pork:
Then at the very end, toss the pork and sauce together.