Pulled pork - how to?

[di reston]

Please could you tell me how to do pulled pork, and what cut of pork I should do, what you serve it with and anything else I need to know.

Many thanks

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

[Kayelle]

Hi di. While you're waiting for responses to your question, you might enjoy this thread from a couple of years ago.
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums...ase-80912.html

[GotGarlic]

Hi, di. I posted my pulled pork recipe a few years ago, with serving suggestions: http://www.discusscooking.com/forums...ork-81344.html

If you don't have a slow cooker, you can put it in a 300F oven for a few hours, till it's tender and easy to pull apart with two forks. It can also be smoked.

[medtran49]

Pulled pork traditionally is done over a low and slow fire in a BBQ pit. The slow cooker and oven methods are newer, convenient ways to get an end product that is similar to but, IMHO, just cannot match a piece of pork spice-mixture dry-marinated at least overnight and then cooked in a pit at low temps, using wood for fuel, for hours. My DH also uses a wet mop when he smokes ours.

Don't get me wrong, the convenient methods are fine, especially if you don't have access to a pit smoker, just wondering which method you are inquiring about.

[di reston]

I've never done pulled pork, so all advice is most welcome. What cut of pork do I get? My husband sometimes gags on fat, so I would have to take that into account when buying the meat.

Thank you for the replies so far

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

[Cheryl J]

Hi, di. I usually buy a bone-in pork shoulder, it's also called butt or picnic cut. It does have a heavy fat cap, but you can cut that off. Usually I quickly sear it in a dutch oven, then slow roast, covered, at 300 for several hours. It takes quite a while to become tender enough to shred, but boy is it worth it.

There are lots of seasonings out there, depending on what you like. I'm cooking for one so I like to keep the seasonings simple, usually just kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. That way I can portion it up and re-season for how I want to use it - pulled pork tacos, added bbq sauce for sandwiches, etc.

It'll give up a lot of fat as it cooks - if you have the time you can refrigerate it overnight, and then just scoop off the solidified fat. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[lyndalou]

I do mine in a slow cooker and it's great! I serve it on a bun with cole slaw in the sandwich and baked beans on the side. I always use a pork butt, also known as pork shoulder. Barbecue sauce as well in the sandwich.

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Here's a Mexican version of Pulled Pork:

Pork Carnitas

Ingredients:

• 1½ Tbs kosher salt
• 1½ tsp chili powder
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp ground cumin
• 2 Tbs vegetable oil
• 2 lb pork shoulder
• ½ cup onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1½ tsp lime juice
• 1½ cups vegetable broth
• 1 orange, halved

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400oF

Put the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl, whisk to combine and rub the spice mixture evenly over the pork.

Heat a Dutch oven over high heat. Pour the 2 Tbs of oil into the Dutch oven and heat to shimmering. When the cooking oil starts to shimmer, add the pork and brown it on all sides. Add the juice from the orange, the broth, the onion and the garlic to the Dutch oven and deglaze it to loosen the browned bits. Add the orange halves, cover, and place it in the oven at 400°F for 3 hours, until the pork is very tender. Cool to room temperature.

Remove the pork from the Dutch oven and pour the liquid into a fat separator. Shred the pork with 2 forks. Return the pork and the defatted liquid to the Dutch oven. Bring the shredded pork and liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, until all of the liquid evaporates. Reduce the heat to medium, and sauté the pork until it is crisp on the edges.

[jennyema]

As others have said, use a pork butt which is a BONE-IN SHOULDER

I HATE

[Addie]

If you choose a shoulder, leave that fat cap on as it cooks. It helps to keep the meat moist and keeps the flavor in also. Then when it is done, you can almost just roll it off. It separates very easily from the meat.

[GotGarlic]

Originally Posted by di reston

I've never done pulled pork, so all advice is most welcome. What cut of pork do I get? My husband sometimes gags on fat, so I would have to take that into account when buying the meat.

Thank you for the replies so far.

It's really important to use a bone-in pork shoulder/butt for this preparation. A leaner cut will not get tender enough to pull. You can cut off some excess fat and, as has been said, much of it will render out while cooking. When you pull it after cooking, you can remove any remaining fat. You will know it's done when the meat pulls easily from the bone.

[CraigC]

In the smoker or in the oven (on a rack), the fat melts as it cooks to keep the meat moist. The fat drips off the meat as well. When the right internal temperature is reached, the collagen begins to break down. How is the fat dealt with in a crock pot? I can imagine the pork would be swimming in fat. Do you skim as you go?

[tenspeed]

Depending on the size of your slow cooker, this rack might fit. It just barely fits in my 5 qt.

http://www.amazon.com/Roasting-Bakin...3GMYE39C31ZWJC

[jennyema]

Originally Posted by GotGarlic

It's really important to use a bone-in pork shoulder/butt for this preparation. A leaner cut will not get tender enough to pull. You can cut off some excess fat and, as has been said, much of it will render out while cooking. When you pull it after cooking, you can remove any remaining fat. You will know it's done when the meat pulls easily from the bone.

I totally agree. Use a butt and not a leaner cut.

I make pulled pork all the time for people like your hubby who hate fat.

1. When you pull the meat (make sure it's warm when you do this), it is easy enough to remove visible fat and other icky stuff. I actually do it with a fine-toothed comb, so to speak, and so it takes extra time and effort but it's appreciated by the folks who eat it.

2. De-fat the cooking liquid with a gravy separator. Then mix it back into the pulled meat.

[GotGarlic]

Originally Posted by CraigC

In the smoker or in the oven (on a rack), the fat melts as it cooks to keep the meat moist. The fat drips off the meat as well. When the right internal temperature is reached, the collagen begins to break down. How is the fat dealt with in a crock pot? I can imagine the pork would be swimming in fat. Do you skim as you go?

It sits in the fat, but it's not "swimming" in it. It doesn't bother me.

[Hoot]

While I agree that a pork shoulder (also known as Boston Butt) is best prepared over a low slow fire, the following method is drop dead easy and the result is amazing.
Crock Pot Kalua Pig

[di reston]

When I went to the butcher's today, he showed me a large very thick slice ( would say three inches max) of pork shoulder, skin and fat on, with a rather small piece of marrow bone in the middle(ish). Somehow, from what I infer from everything you have all said, this may not be right, but as I've never done this before I have no idea. Could you describe what the piece of pork should look like so's I can tell the butcher?

If any of you have a picture - I don't want to inconvenience you though - could you let me see it?

Many and grateful thanks to you all for your help

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

[Andy M.]

A fun Boston Butt is about 7.5 to 8.0 pounds, around 3.5Kg. Part of the shoulder blade should be included.

[RPCookin]

Originally Posted by di reston

When I went to the butcher's today, he showed me a large very thick slice ( would say three inches max) of pork shoulder, skin and fat on, with a rather small piece of marrow bone in the middle(ish). Somehow, from what I infer from everything you have all said, this may not be right, but as I've never done this before I have no idea. Could you describe what the piece of pork should look like so's I can tell the butcher?

If any of you have a picture - I don't want to inconvenience you though - could you let me see it?

Many and grateful thanks to you all for your help

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

In Italy, you may not find many of what we in the US consider "traditional" cuts of pork. It sounds like you have a piece of the Butt. You can roast it or braise it slowly at about 125° C for 2 or 3 hours at least. You want an internal temperature of about 90° C. Then use two forks to shred the meat, season and sauce it as you like.

I've had pulled pork that was shredded almost to mush, and that's how some folks like it. I prefer a coarser shredding, with the shreds about 1-2 inches (3-5 cm) long. That way I can get the flavor of the pork while still making a great barbecue pork sandwich. It's not uncommon to top the pork mixture in the sandwich with cole slaw, and there are many possible variation on that too.

[Addie]

http://food.unl.edu/image/image_gall...D1289429576021

This is a pork shoulder, bone in.