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Goodbye summer, hello slow braised meats season, aka fall. This Pulled Pork takes 4-5hrs to roast and will have your home smelling amazing.
Good pork is hard to find. But with summer closing I really wanted one last little barbeque meal, and I hadn’t had pulled pork since I don’t even know when. I picked up a beautiful little pork shoulder from a vendor at the Olympia Farmers Market . It was around 2lbs, the perfect size for my little family.
How Pulled Pork is Made
You can use pork butt or pork shoulder to make pulled pork. Similar to most of my slow braised meat recipes, all you have to do is marinade the meat, sear it, then let it alone in the oven for a couple hours. If you have a cut of pork with a nice layer of fat on top of it, be sure to score it. Cutting ‘X’es all across it will help get that fat nice and crispy.
The actual ‘pulling’ of the pork happens after the pork has cooked for hours.
How Long to Cook Pork
I cooked my 2lb roast for 4-5hrs on 250F. After about 2 hours, I flipped it so the fat on the bottom of the cut, could trickle down the other side of the pork. I would suggest cooking the pork 2 hours per pound.
What to Eat with Pork
I’m a firm believer that if meat is cooked well, it shouldn’t need a sauce! Don’t get me wrong, I love a good sauce on my ribs and pulled pork, BUT it’s just to compliment the pork. It’s not a necessity for it to taste good.
I think of pork as a seasonal meat. If I’m eating it in the spring/summer, I want
- Rolls with butter
- Macaroni Salad or
- Potato Salad
- Corn
- Tomato and Okra
- Grilled Veggies to lighten the meal up.
If it’s in the fall/winter, I’d eat it with
- Rice and beans
- Sautéed Chard
- Collard Greens
- Mashed Potatoes
- Corn
This Pulled Pork is so good, so filling and a happy indulgence for the colder months to come. Make sure to comment below and rate this recipe if you give it a try!
Slow Roasted Pulled Pork
Equipment
- Cast Iron
- Immersion blender, Bullet, or Blender
Ingredients
- 2 lb Pork Shoulder
- 1 ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 4 Cloves Garlic, minced
- 3 Anchovies
- 2 tbsp Fresh Oregano or Rosemary Dried oregano works too
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard I used Grey Poupon
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil plus 2 tbsp more if needed
- Butter or Ghee
Instructions
- Rinse and clean your pork shoulder. Pat it dry with paper towel and place it in a glass dish.
- Using an immersion blender or bullet, mix the remaining ingredients together EXCEPT for the butter or ghee, you'll be using that later.
- Rub the mixture all over the pork. Cover tightly and refridgerate for 12-24 hours.
Roast Day
- Remove the pork from the fridge. Let it sit at room temp while you prepare the cast iron.
- Preheat oven to 250°F
- Add a good amount of butter, or ghee to your cast iron. When the cast iron is hot, sear the pork on every side (the top, bottom and sides). Some fat should release, adding grease to your pan, which will make searing easier. If you have a cut with not a lot of fat and your pan is drying, add a bit of olive oil to the pan.
- When pork has been seared on all sides, place the cast iron in the oven, uncovered. Cook for 2 hours, then flip the pork over. Cook for another 2-3 hours. If you're leaving and don't have time to flip the pork, that's okay. Just heat the pork under the broiler for a few when it's done cooking, so the top gets crispy. Careful though, the broiler can burn things very quickly.
- After the 4-5 hours, you should be able to 'pull' the pork apart with a fork. Serve on its own or with a side of add BBQ sauce.
- When storing leftovers, be sure to include some, if not all, of the rendered pork fat in the pan. This will keep the meat from getting dry!
Notes
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