2010 Cooking Club Week 48: Pulled Pork

allandanyways

Started this on Friday with the marinade, finished on Saturday with 12hrs cooking as my OH didn't like the idea of leaving it in the oven overnight.

Did it in a big ceramic pot with a rubber sealed lid and it turned out spectacular.

I found it a touch vinegary and would have liked a more rounded flavour (could have been the barbecue sauce) but that said, I don't eat a lot of pork so I always expect something like beef. I liked the texture of the meat and how juicy it was. Was gorgeous with some spinach and a bit of mustard in a wrap.

Himself nearly proposed to me, he enjoyed it so much. Has put me in the good books for the next month or so anyway :-)

Sparks

allandanyways wrote: »

Himself nearly proposed to me, he enjoyed it so much.

Well, that's one of the better reviews it's gotten anyway

yankinlk

yankinlk wrote: »

Great thread - someday i might even follow the recipe

Decided this was the weekend to do it. Picked up a 6L slow cooker from Argos for 20, and a shoulder from the Butcher. He asked if it was for Pulled Pork, and said it was the latest thing since Tamgotchis... i wonder is it from this thread?

Anyways - 24 hours in the rub then 12 in the cooker... and then magic - zero work at all to pull apart. Absolutely delicious, thanks OP.

Creamy Goodness

This just went down a real treat for lunch :pac: thanks again Sparks.

Sparks

Glad you enjoyed it CG!

gg2

Finally getting round to making this, going to start the process tomorrow evening! Just a couple of questions! Do you cook it on high for the entire 8+ hours? Or start off high and switch to low? Has anyone tried using oyster sauce instead of nam pla? And finally I see the black strap molasses in the OP is by kelkin - should I be able to get it in a health food shop?

Masala

As matter of interest....

How much did it cost in Butcher.???

Have been watching Tesco for weeks - but never see the right Pork for this recipe. I am looking for Shoulder OR Leg of Pork on the bone I presume.

So.. will have to go to butcher. But would like to have some idea of cost!

Moody_mona

I'm by no means an expert but the pork leg I use isn't on the bone. Always available in my local Tesco, never paid more than a tenner.

Sulla Felix

Masala wrote: »

As matter of interest....

How much did it cost in Butcher.???

Have been watching Tesco for weeks - but never see the right Pork for this recipe. I am looking for Shoulder OR Leg of Pork on the bone I presume.

So.. will have to go to butcher. But would like to have some idea of cost!

You don't need to pay more than 5-6 euro a kilogram for this cut of pork. I think I got my 2kg for 12 euro and that was in a city centre butcher (fx buckley)

Finally getting round to making this, going to start the process tomorrow evening! Just a couple of questions! Do you cook it on high for the entire 8+ hours? Or start off high and switch to low? Has anyone tried using oyster sauce instead of nam pla? And finally I see the black strap molasses in the OP is by kelkin - should I be able to get it in a health food shop?

Might be able to. I know you can use black treacle, I did. Mine was on high for the guts of 10 hours, and then did another 2-3 on low cause I wasn't ready to do the finishing. Was mouth watering.

unkel

Masala wrote: »

As matter of interest....

How much did it cost in Butcher.???

Forget about supermarkets. Any butcher should have it. I buy mine in my local butchers, who is by no means cheap (compared to a supermarket) and I pay €6/kg for shoulder of pork with the bone in. Cut to a nice 2.5kg lump in front of me (with a huge hacksaw )

Masala

the pork leg I use isn't on the bone. Always available in my local Tesco, never paid more than a tenner.

Is that the one 'rolled with a stuffing'..???

BaZmO*

Masala wrote: »

Is that the one 'rolled with a stuffing'..???

There's a picture of it in the original post. However, the price seems to have doubled for the same weight in the last few years.

Mr. CooL ICE

Shop around for leg/shoulder. I've only used shoulder for this and have found huge differences in prices depending on sources.

The butcher beside Tesco in Ballybrack, Dublin has 1.8kg vacuum packed shoulders for e7. My local butcher back home (north Cork) gave me a 4.2kg piece (waayy too big) for e20 before as nobody really wants them. On the other hand, I was charged e27 for a 2.4kg shoulder by some butcher near Stillorgan, Dublin.

Sikpupi

photo (3).JPG

Was in SuperValu today and saw this Pork cut....any good for this recipe???

Sparks

Masala wrote: »

As matter of interest....
How much did it cost in Butcher.???
Have been watching Tesco for weeks - but never see the right Pork for this recipe. I am looking for Shoulder OR Leg of Pork on the bone I presume.
So.. will have to go to butcher. But would like to have some idea of cost!

The last few times I've made this, I've not actually used leg (we moved, the nearest tesco is much further away than aldi, lidl and dunnes), I've taken to ordering pork shoulder (ie. boston butt, but it seems to be called gigot here and I've no idea where that name comes from and neither does my butcher).

I get it off the bone because I've a small slow cooker - if you have a larger one, get it with the bone - and it costs me about a tenner for two pounds of meat.

Sparks

gg2 wrote: »

Has anyone tried using oyster sauce instead of nam pla?

I've not, and I wouldn't - they're totally different tastes. Also, I really dislike oyster sauce

And finally I see the black strap molasses in the OP is by kelkin - should I be able to get it in a health food shop?

Yes, but you should be able to get it or black treacle in any supermarket. Try the part that has all the home baking stuff or near the sugar or in a last ditch, the "ethnic foods" area.

(Also, black treacle and black strap molasses aren't actually the same thing, they're slightly different, but you can substitute one for the other in this recipe - and most other recipes - without any issues at all).

Sparks

Sikpupi wrote: »

photo (3).JPG
Was in SuperValu today and saw this Pork cut....any good for this recipe???

Eh, I wouldn't use it if there was something a bit better for the task available. It's not as unsuitable as a tenderloin, but something cheaper and tougher would be better.

Sparks

BaZmO* wrote: »

There's a picture of it in the original post. However, the price seems to have doubled for the same weight in the last few years.

Yeah, pulled pork seems to have become a "thing" now
Hell, we even have two competing BBQ-only restaurants in Dublin now (Bison and Pitt Brothers), which is a massive change from when the thread started.
(And [preens]Bison even think this recipe is pretty good[/preens] )


(No, my head still won't fit through the door, what's your point?)

Sikpupi

Hi Sparks.... any chance you could post pics of what you are using from Tesco these days ??

I'd say your original pic has been 'renamed' and 'repackaged' since !!!

Dying to do this recipe...but am stumped at what is the 'RIGHT' product to get.

What do u think????

Sparks

Not using meat from tesco anymore for it Sikpupi, I just order 1.5-2lb of pork shoulder from the local butchers here (costs under a tenner). But this looks like the cut I used to use from tesco.

hynesie08

Made this yesterday, soooooo goooooooooooooood. Didn't have the ingredients for the cooking sauce so used a can of beer instead, 11 hours in the cooker but actually wanted to leave it longer. The bone just fell out. Mixed it with a homemade paleo bbq sauce and now its all gone. I regret nothing.

Sparks

Beer actually works well for this, but the acidity and sweetness of the coke is slightly better. So I save the beer for the chilli recipe

hynesie08

Sparks wrote: »

Beer actually works well for this, but the acidity and sweetness of the coke is slightly better. So I save the beer for the chilli recipe

Link? thats the next challenge.

laros

Has anyone tried this an a charcoal smoker/ BBQ.... I'm strongly tempted...

Sparks

hynesie08 wrote: »

Link? thats the next challenge.

It's the next thread over: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055938138

Sparks

laros wrote: »

Has anyone tried this an a charcoal smoker/ BBQ.... I'm strongly tempted...

You'd need a real BBQ smoker and they're horribly expensive. Something like a Big Green Egg or something similar would be about your best bet (and it can act as a regular charcoal grill as well) but you're still looking at a grand. Your hundred-euro weber grill just can't do this sort of thing without a shedload of modifying...

CyrilFiggis

Finally made this yesterday - replaced the cider vinegar with red wine vinegar and the molasses with honey and it turned out perfectly (really is foolproof!). Went down very well!

Dizzyblonde

@ Sikpupi - The lean cuts generally aren't good for pulled pork. You want shoulder or leg, or neck. I usually use neck, it costs €10 for around 2kg.

Sparks

Pig neck? Didn't even know that was a cut you could get, but hey, it's got connective tissue...

Dizzyblonde

Sparks wrote: »

Pig neck? Didn't even know that was a cut you could get, but hey, it's got connective tissue...

Yes - it's brilliant for pulled pork, very tender and very easy to pull. I'm cooking 2 for a birthday party this weekend, cost me €20 for almost 5kg.