Tag: texan

Pulled Pork

.Reading time 3 minutes.

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 25th 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.

Chophouse’s BBQ Glazed Short Ribs

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves 4

My favourite source of meat in Sydney is Haverick Meats. They’re the best butcher in town and their Saturday store is borderline theatre; dozens and dozens of customers in the cool room, hundreds of cuts of meat, a non-stop BBQ for the kids.

And the best meat in town.

Peter, their MD has been pushing me to try his Short Ribs since I have known him, though I’ve never really thought of how to cook them and so have always left them on hold.

I found this short rib recipe via Haverick Meats; it is from the Chophouse, one of Haverick Meat’s many restaurant clients. The Chophouse did a cooking presentation at Haverick Meats for selected food bloggers – one of whom kindly reproduced the recipe.

I’ve cooked ribs plenty of times and they’re always a party winner; though just those boring pork and beef ribs you can find at Woolies with a BBQ sauce.

These Short Ribs are simply a different level altogether.

This is restaurant grade stuff. From the cut of meat to the process to the flavour.

Head to Haverick Meats on a Saturday morning, grab the Short Rib and say hello to Saturday night’s dinner and improved friendships/admiration/adoration.

Ingredients

2kg piece short rib (grain fed ideally), trimmed, bone in

Dry Rub Ingredients

2 sticks lemongrass
3 birds eye chilli
100gm ginger (about 2 cups!)
1 bunch coriander

BBQ Sauce Ingredients

200gm tomato paste
300ml apple cider vinegar
20ml sweet chilli sauce
5ml tabasco sauce
7gm ground ginger
10gm hot English mustard
20ml dark soy sauce
40ml light soy sauce
10g ground black pepper
400ml honey
100ml water

Method

  1. Steam the short rib for three hours; I left the ribs in the oven for a few hours after this to cool and as with all cuts of meat like this, the longer the cooking time, the better.
  2. Place the dry rub ingredients in a food processor and blend to a rough paste.
  3. Once the meat has cooled, scrape the excess fat and apply the dry rub to it; allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 6 hours.
  4. For the BBQ sauce, add all the ingredients to a large pot and bring to the boil. Mix regularly to stop the sauce from sticking to the bottom. Reduce to a simmer and continue to stir for 20 minutes. Cool and strain.
  5. Heat an oven to 160c. Scrape the marinade off of the meat and transfer the meat to a baking tray. Pour over the BBQ sauce and slow cook for 30 minutes, basting the meat every 5 or so minutes. Add water to the sauce if it starts to caramelise.
  6. Serve with slaw, baked potato and corn.