Ultimate pulled pork
Like a lot of slow cooked meats, pulled pork is always better served the next day, so if you have time I would cook this the day before you intend to eat it. It is soft, spiced, and the ale adds an acidity that goes really well with the fatty meat.
Method
The night before you intend to cook your pork mix together the salt, pepper, sugar, paprika, cumin, and chilli powder. Pat your meat dry with kitchen town and apply approximately half of the spice mixture to your pork, patting it in. Wrap your pork in cling film and put it back in the fridge.
The next day take your pork out, unwrap, and let it sit to come to room temperature. Pre-heat your oven to 200ºC.
Line a roasting tin with tin foil large enough to cover your pork. Put the onion and bay leaf in and place your pork on top.
Roast in your oven uncovered for 30 minutes until the pork is brown and then take him out. Leave the oven door open to let some of the heat out and then close it and reduce the heat to 120ºC.
Pour your ale into the bottom of the pan, and if you are using pour your liquid smoke over the meat before wrapping it up in a tin foil parcel and placing its back into your oven for 6-7 hours.
Your pork is ready when it effortlessly breaks up with a spoon. At this point take it out of the oven and turn it back up to 200ºC.
Sieve the juices and stock from the bottom of your pan into a jug and place the pork back into the hot oven uncovered for 10 minutes to crisp up the skin and render the rest of the fat.
Once crispy, remove the skin. Use 2 forks to shred the pork into a bowl, chop up your crispy skin and add that in.
Use a spoon to skim the excess fat off of your reserved stock and discard. Add the stock, along with your remaining spice mix to the pork. Give all this a really good stir.
This is best made the day before, so once cool, put into an airtight container and into the fridge. To warm up, place the pork and any juices and fat into a baking dish, tightly covered in foil and place in a 125ºC oven until hot and juicy.
Ingredients
1.2kg boneless shoulder of pork
2 tablespoons of salt
1 tablespoon pepper
2 tablespoons soft brown sugar (dark or light)
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon mild chilli powder
1 onion, thickly sliced
1 bay leaf
200ml Indian Pale Ale
2 teaspoons liquid smoke (optional)
Top Tips
Your pulled pork can be served any number of ways. I have it in soft white, or brioche buns with mustard, coleslaw and plenty of gherkins and my ultimate mac and cheese served on the side.
