Pulled Pork

Serves 10

Pulled pork has been a bit done to death, though there are times that call for it.

And that time was Courtney’s 25^th birthday when 30 or so of her closest friends came for a casual, winter’s BBQ dinner and drinks.

This recipe is from Martha Stewart and whilst it’s the pork that does most of the talking, the rub makes a great difference. Shredded and mixed through with a good BBQ sauce, who could want more?

I should note that I have varied significantly from her method; she seals the meat and doesn’t focus on the crackling.

Having cooked 12-hour pork so many times, I reckon the crackling is half the point and whilst sealing the flesh would add another dynamic, once shredded, I’m not too fussed.

Ingredients

5kg pork shoulder (I cooked it without bone in, though bone in would be ideal)
3 tbsp brown sugar
Salt and pepper
2 tsp paprika
½ tsp dry mustard
½ ground cumin
½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

1. Place the pork shoulder on a baking paper lined tray. Combine the rub ingredients and rub all over the pork. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and ideally, overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 250c or as hot as possible.
3. Pull out the pork and bring to room temperature; 30 minutes. Pat the skin dry with paper towel, score if necessary and rub the skin all over with olive oil and salt.
4. Cook the pork in a baking dish at 250c for 30 minutes or so to allow the crackling to start to form. You could add the grill if necessary; really anything you need to do to get that crackling proud!
5. Drop the oven to 150c and let the pork cook for another 6 hours. Check to make sure it is not dry every hour or so and add water as necessary to the dish.
6. Remove the pork and it should start to fall apart under its own weight. If not, return to the oven for however long is necessary.
7. Remove the crackling and cut up; remove the fat and shred the meat with two forks.
8. Run through a Texan BBQ sauce and serve on brioche buns, slaw, all the good stuff.