Pulled Pork
Pulled pork is awesome for meal-prepping and serving to company. It's also pretty easy to make at home, no smoker required. If you whip up some of the stuff (like the rub and the BBQ sauce) in advance, the most tedious part is cleaning the pot when you're done.
The Rub
Rub is the dry seasoning mixture that is going to be spread all over the pork before you cook it. It's going to sit and soak into the meat so the inside is just as seasoned as the outside.
WHAT YOU NEED
- 1.5 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp chile california powder (I use chile california because it's the cheapest one to buy in bulk near me, but you can substitute a 75/25 or 50/50 mixture of paprika and cayenne if you don't have that)
- 1/4 tsp adobo (or just granulated garlic/garlic powder/etc.)
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp ground fennel seed
- 1/8 tsp old bay, seasoned salt, or celery seed
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- a small pinch of msg
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HOW-TO
- Grind what needs grinding and mix the rest up.
- That's it!
The Pulled Pork
This part actually goes pretty quickly, aside from the waiting-for-3-hours part. It's going to make an absolute mess of your dutch oven, but the pork will last for a few days. You can probably get most of a week out of it if you double the recipe and are only serving one or two people.
WHAT YOU NEED
- ~1kg/~2lbs pork shoulder butt
- ~1-2 tbsp pulled pork rub, or more to taste
- 100g diced onion (any color you have)
- 1 clove garlic (scored and cut in half)
- 1 bay leaf
- 100ml water
- 2 tbsp vodka or whatever liquor you feel like using (any liquor is fine, as long as it doesn't clash with the flavor of your BBQ sauce)
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
- 5-6 tbsp BBQ sauce
- neutral oil
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WHAT TO DO
- Rub the pork shoulder down with the rub, then set it in the fridge for an hour. This is a great time to cook the BBQ sauce down, if you haven't already.
- Pour the water, liquor, and liquid smoke in a cup. Drop the garlic clove in there too, then set aside for later.
- Turn the oven on and let it heat up to about 325°F/160°C.
- Pour some oil into a dutch oven and heat it up over medium heat on the stovetop. You want to brown your meat on all sides, taking care not to burn it. I usually just hold the meat with my hands and sear each edge that way, then set it down to brown on both sides.
- Dump in the onions and the bay leaf. Let them cook until the onions start to turn translucent.
- Dump the garlic-water mixture in, then let it simmer for a few minutes.
- Spoon the BBQ sauce over the pork, then cover your dutch oven. When the oven-oven is done heating up, put the dutch oven in.
- Let the pork cook for 2-3 hours. The time is going to depend on your oven. After 2 hours, check the internal temperature of the thickest part of the meat (it should and will be higher than 145°F/63°C) and the texture on the top. The top of the meat should be crispy enough to make a sound when you drag a fork along it. If it isn't, then take the lid off the dutch oven and put it back into the oven until it is!
- When the pork is done, take the dutch oven out of the oven. Transfer the pork to a large bowl, and DO NOT THROW OUT THE OILY DRIPPINGS. The bottom may be a little black and charred, but that's good charring. Let the meat sit a few minutes, then shred it with a pair of forks. It should fall right apart.
- Pour the oily drippings into an old jar and pop it in the fridge. You need them to reheat the pork properly, and to mix in to stuff like BBQ spaghetti sauce.
- Store your pulled pork in a covered container. It will keep for a few days in the fridge. You can eat it as-is or dress it with BBQ sauce (or whatever else you feel like). To reheat it from the fridge, you're just going to put it in a pot or pan over medium heat with a little bit of the drippings. Easy!
CLEAN YOUR DUTCH OVEN RIGHT NOW
As you've probably noticed, the dutch oven looks pretty fucking scary right now. Do not be lazy. Do not wait. Do this right now, or you will be sad later.
WHAT YOU NEED
- water
- plain white vinegar 5% (or higher, if you can get the concentrated stuff that needs to be diluted)
- dish soap
- that scouring sponge in your sink that you probably needed to replace anyways
- a wooden spoon you're not too attached to
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HOW-TO
- Use the wooden spoon to scrape out what you can. The loose pieces can go right into the trash.
- Pour an excessive amount of vinegar and dish soap into the dutch oven, then fill it to the top with water. Cover it and let it sit for like 30 minutes.
- Get back in there with the wooden spoon to remove the worst of it, then dump it out and get in there with the sponge. Your sponge is going to die (RIP)
- Fill the pot up with vinegar, dish soap, and water again. Let it soak a while longer, then scrub the remainder out and finish cleaning the pot as normal.
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Pulled pork sandwiches are probably the most classic pulled pork dish. Once your pulled pork is done, they come together in just a few minutes.
WHAT YOU NEED
- 1 bun (hamburger bun, sandwich roll, etc.)
- butter
- a handful of pulled pork and some of the drippings to heat it up
- BBQ sauce (kind of a hot take, but I think additional BBQ sauce is optional)
- coleslaw (if you don't have any on hand, don't stress over it)
- sliced cucumber pickles
- yellow mustard
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HOW-TO
- Heat up the pork and toss it with the BBQ sauce.
- Toast and butter your bun, then squirt some mustard on both buns.
- From bottom to top, add the pulled pork, pickles, and coleslaw.
BBQ Spaghetti
I haven't finalized my recipe for BBQ spaghetti yet ;_;
check back later!!!
NOTES
- Pulled pork is good.