I had already cooked the pork shoulder (a highly unremarkable task). And it was only as I was preparing the pulled pork that it seemed like I had something worth writing about... or you know, maybe the whole concept of writing about cooking had sort of slipped my mind, so I was just keeping on keeping on. cooking as I do. And only later did I remember, 'Hey! Sometimes I write these dishes up!'
10 pounds Pork Shoulder
I got the cheap pre-brined kind, which I assume they do to both increase the sales weight; but also, as a preservative. I trust those factory sealed hunks of meat more than the locally portioned pieces... even if the custom-cut pieces taste better (not having any pre-injected saline, don't you know).
I spent a day cooking the pork... off and on, varying the temperature between 350°, 250°, and off (when I left for a few hours). And then, chilled the meat overnight in the refrigerator.
Oh, I suppose I should mention that I had thought about boiling the meat at first. But I didn't want to use the extra-large pot. And a hunk this size did not fit in the regular pot: the one I typically use for these recipes. Thus, I broiled it, adding water to the bottom of the baking dish.
The surface got pretty crusty. And I had wondered if I had ruined the meat, drying it out. But I had not.
Pulled Pork
2 pounds Pork... pulled apart by hand
2 cups (roughly) pork juice... poured over the top
¼ bottle BBQ Sauce
⅛ bottle Water
¼ cup splash of Pickle Juice
All of the above was placed in a saucepan (so, not a pot) and brought to boil. And that's it.
Served with:
- Toast
- Sliced Pickle
- Buttered Corn
Salsa Style
- Pork
- Salsa
- Sour Cream
- With a side of Chips
Pulled Pork Take II
- Pork
- Hand Shredded
- 1-2 lbs
- Pork Juice
- A good pint of the stuff
- All that was left
- Pickle Juice
- Maybe a cup
- Complete with Garlic Slices
- Which were mild
- But very tasty
- Spicy Mustard
- Maybe a tablespoon
- Tomato Paste
- A small can
- It needed to be thicker
- And a bit tastier
- Red Pepper
- Until I got sick of shaking
- I refer back to where I said it needed to be tastier
- Served with:
- Toast
- Sliced Pickle
- ColeSlaw
- By Others
And Dessert was noteworthy enough to mention: equal parts Chocolate and Canned Cherries with a half portion of Salted Pecans, melting the chocolate in a saucepan, mixing in the remainder, and serving... best straight out of the pan.
That last Pulled Pork, Sloppy Joe, or whatever you want to call it was good enough that I added two more pounds of meat to it. And the remainder (a short pound... or a heavy pound if one wants to count the bone and fat) went back into the oven at 425° for half an hour after being liberally doused with Balsamic Vinegar and Salt.
It should be good.
The final dish I shall document (I have five servings of leftover Sloppy Joe) is a hunk of Roast Pork that I put in the oven for 45 minutes at 425° with a stripped piece of Skin (just the outside layer, most of the fat having been removed) blanketed over a goodly portion of the pork. I ate that sucker with a few spoonfuls of Strawberry Jam, Balsamic Vinegar, and plenty of Salt. It was good.
April, 2019