Pulled Pork
Pulled Pork
Recipe Type: BBQ
Cuisine: American
Author: Caroline Artiss
Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 5 hours
Total time: 7 hours
Serves: serves 5-6
One of my favorite recipes while traveling across America on Chef Race. One day I dream of having an actual smoker in my garden, wouldn't that be fun!
Ingredients
2 kg / 4lb joint of pork butt / pork shoulder
Spice rub:
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp smoked paprika
½ tbsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
½ tbsp black pepper
To Marinade:
5 cloves fresh garlic
small handful fresh thyme
1 bottle ale
Instructions
There are a few steps to making a great pulled pork!
Step 1- Marinade the pork overnight
Mix all the ingredients together for the spice rub and keep in a small bowl
Place the pork in a large bowl and pour the bottle of ale over it
Add the fresh sprigs of thyme and squashed cloves of garlic
Add 1 tbsp of the spice rub mix and mix it all into the pork
Leave the pork covered in the fridge to marinade over night
Step 2 – slow roasting
The next day take the pork out of the ale marinade and place in a roasting tray fat side up
Keep the ale to one side
Pat the joint dry with kitchen paper and then rub a tbsp of oil all over the joint
Then the remainder of the spice rub all over the pork and put a few cloves of the garlic and thyme on top
It is now ready to smoke or roast
If you have a smoker place it in your smoker and leave to slowly cook for 6 – 7 hours for this size of joint, at 220 f
Step 3 - cook
If you don’t have a smoker you can roast this in your oven
Place the pork on a baking tray, fat side up cover with foil and place in your oven at it’s lowest temperature – 120c / 240 f and leave for approx. 6 hours
You will know when it’s done if you get a fork and tug at the meat it should fall off the bone and separate into strands easily and still be juicy!
Check it at around the 5 hour mark as it is a small size joint
Allow meat to rest for 30 minutes with the tin foil keeping it warm before you shred it
If using a bigger joint adjust the quantities of spice rub, and then you can work out the cooking time by approx. 1.5 / 2 hours per lb (1lb is approx. ½ kg) of pork in weight, at oven temperature 270f gas 1/ 140 c
If you want to go the whole hog! (eh hem) I sometimes get the BBQ on as I don’t have a smoker YET!
To add some extra wood chip hickory smoke flavor
Take the joint out after it has been over night with the ale
Rub the spice mix on and slap it on the grill for 30 minutes with lid shut, before placing it in the oven covered in foil to slow roast
This gives it an extra smokey flavor
I also sometimes add some of the beer marinade into the roasting tin when cooking the pork to give extra flavor and also to help keep lot’s of moisture in there.
I hope you enjoy my recipe, I know everyone has their own special way of making this amazing dish, so please do make it your own and I’d love to know your twists too.