BBQ Pulled Pork

I put my hand up and admit, I have come very late to the Pulled Pork party. It has been popular for a long time in North America and has gained in popularity here in the UK over the past several years.  I first had it about four years ago at my youngest son’s home. He had made it in the slow cooker by pouring a can of DR Pepper over a pork roast and letting it simmer until it was falling apart.  Shredded and  mixed with BBQ sauce, it was quite good!

Truly authentic pulled pork is actually a barbecue dish, cooked for hours over a charcoal pit until it falls apart, ready to be easily shredded or ‘pulled’ apart to serve. Most people don’t have pits to cook their meat in however, so we must resort to cooking it in the oven.  My heart longs to be able to try fire pit pulled pork, but this is the next best thing!

Rubbing your meat with a spicy mixture and letting it “marinade” in that mixture for a time prior to roasting it, is a great way to really get some fire pit flavour into the meat, and works a charm.  I do this in the refrigerator.  

You also don’t want to use a really lean cut of pork.  It would dry out too much during the long slow cooking in the oven.  You want a cut that is succulent and that will fall apart beautifully.  Pork shoulder is perfect for this use.

On the day I served these I made homemade oven chips to have with the pulled pork.  I just cut some potatoes into thick wedges/strips and tossed them together with some garlic and onion salt, pepper and paprika and a bit of oil and then stretched them onto a large oiled baking sheet and roasted them in a very hot oven for about 20 minutes.  They were great! 

Mix together all of the ingredients for the rub.  Remove any rind and skin from the pork and discard. Leave a thin layer of fat.  Rub the roast all over with the rub ingredients. Place on a plate and then refrigerate for several hours uncovered.

Preheat the oven to 150*C/300*F/ gas mark 3.  Put the pork into a roasting pan with a small amount of boiling water.  Roast in the oven, turning it every now and then for about 3 to 4 hours, or until the meat is basically falling apart.

While you are roasting the meat, make the sauce.  Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar over medim low heat. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes.  Set aside.

When the pork is done, remove it from the oven. Place it on a plate, lightly tent and allow to rest for about 10 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of water to the roasting pan drippings.  Cook over medium heat, stirring to deglaze the pan and get up any scrummy bits.  Bring to the boil and reduce by half.  Stir the mixture that is left into the BBQ sauce and reheat the sauce over low for about 5 minutes or so.

Place the pork into a bowl and pull the meat into chunks and shreds using two forks. Add half of the BBQ sauce and toss together to coat.

To serve spoon the pork mixture into white buns and pass any remaining sauce on the side. Pickles and closeslaw go very well with these.

Wether you choose to have coleslaw with these or not, or oven chips or whatever . . . I think you will agree that these BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches are quite, quite delicious!  Bon Appetit!

Debunking the myths of English Cookery, one recipe at a time.
The English Kitchen

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