Pulled Pork
By Groceree
A bone-in pork shoulder cooked in a gentle oven until the connective tissue has turned to gelatine and the meat pulls into strands under two forks, then dressed while still hot with a thin cider vinegar sauce in the eastern North Carolina manner. The dressing soaks into the meat and cuts through the fat, which is something a thick sauce added at the table cannot do.
Last updated
- Servings
- 8 servings
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 7 h
- Total
- 8 h 30 min
Ingredients
Pork
bone-in pork shoulder2½ kg
fine salt2 tbsp
black pepper1 tbsp
sweet paprika1 tbsp
cayenne pepper1 tsp
dark brown sugar1 tbsp
water250 ml
Vinegar sauce
cider vinegar300 ml
caster sugar2 tbsp
chilli flakes2 tsp
tomato ketchup (optional)2 tbsp- salt1 tsp
- black pepper1 tsp
Slaw
white cabbage500 g
carrots1- cider vinegar2 tbsp
- caster sugar1 tsp
mayonnaise (optional)3 tbsp- salt½ tsp
To serve
soft white buns8
sliced gherkins (optional)100 g
Instructions
Pork
- 01
Pat the dry and score the fat cap in a criss-cross about 1 cm apart, cutting into the fat but not the meat. Mix the , , , and and press it into every surface and into the cuts.
- 02
Sit it on a rack on a tray and leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight if you can. A surface that has dried out takes far more colour in the oven than a wet one, and this cut spends long enough in there to build a proper dark outside.
- 03
Heat the oven to 150°C. Set the fat side up on a rack over a deep roasting tin and pour the into the tin, which stops the rendered fat and juices scorching and leaves you something worth spooning back later.
- 04
Cook for 6 to 7 hours, until a probe in the thickest part reads 95°C and the blade bone twists out clean. Somewhere around 70°C the temperature will stop climbing for a long stretch while moisture evaporates off the surface; that stall is normal and turning the oven up to beat it only dries the outside. Check the tin every couple of hours and add a splash more water if it has dried out.
- 05
Wrap the whole joint in foil and rest for 45 minutes. Then pull the meat apart with two forks, discarding the seams of soft fat and chopping the dark outside pieces through the rest so every serving gets some.
Vinegar sauce
- 06
Warm the with the , , if using, and , just until the dissolves. Do not let it boil: boiling drives off the sharpness that the sauce exists for.
- 07
Skim the fat from the tin juices and add a few spoonfuls of the juices underneath to the warm , then pour over two thirds of the sauce and toss. Tasted on its own the sauce is far too sharp; against the fat of the meat it comes out level. Leave it for 10 minutes to be absorbed and serve the rest at the table.
Slaw
- 08
While the rests, finely shred the and grate the , then toss them with the , and and leave for 15 minutes. Drain off the liquid they have given up and squeeze the lightly in your hands.
- 09
Stir through the if you want a creamy , or leave it as it is for the plainer version that is usually served with this . Either way it should stay crunchy, so do not make it far ahead.
To serve
- 10
Split the , pile in the , top with and the if using, and put the jug of remaining sauce on the table.
Notes
- Go by the probe, not the clock. Two shoulders of the same weight can finish two hours apart depending on how much bone and connective tissue they carry, and the difference between 85°C and 95°C is the difference between meat you have to carve and meat that falls into strands.
- Store the undressed pork in its skimmed juices rather than drained, and dress it as you reheat. Separated from its liquid it dries out within a day. It keeps 3 days in the fridge and freezes for 3 months, and reheats best covered at 150°C with a splash of stock.
- A boneless shoulder works if it is tied into an even shape, but add 30 minutes because it cooks less evenly without the bone. In an oven there is no smoke, so if you want that flavour add a teaspoon of smoked paprika to the rub rather than liquid smoke, which tends to taste of ash.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 640 kcal
- Protein
- 44 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 34 g
Estimated from the ingredients.
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