Pulled Pork

Posted on 19th February 2018

Dennis of the wonderful Deli Truck is a fantastic chef and all-round foodie, a great friend of the Peasant Farmers.

This is his recipe for Puller Pork. As you can see from the photos, it is one I have tried and I can attest it is simply delicious.

First off make a rub with 5 parts paprika, 2 parts smoked paprika, 1 part garlic granules, 0.5 parts cumin power, 1 part coriander powder and 1 part brown sugar. Put all the ingredients in a plastic shopping bag, put in the bone-in pork shoulder and shake it all about until liberally covered. Leave in fridge – now go to bed!

Wake up tomorrow, make a nice strong mug of Sainsbury’s Kenyan Tea and pull pork from fridge to bring it slowly back to room temperature. About 6 hours from serving time put pork in a baking tray with 1/2 inch of water in the bottom and tightly wrap with foil. Put in the oven at around 165 to 170 and cook slowly for 4 to 5 hours. After 3 1/2 hours unwrap from foil and if water has evaporated add more in the bottom of the pan and continue cooking for at least another hour and a half. Leave to rest for a least half an hour, and then pull apart discarding a lot of the fat. The liquid in the bottom of the pan (with fat skimmed off) can be added to the pulled pork to keep it moist.

Or, even better if you have an off-set BBQ with a lid – in other words the pig doesn’t sit directly over the fire, then the best is to cook slowly over charcoal and add lumps of wet oak every 20 minutes or so for 5 hours – unbelievable.

A few additions to the tips for success I forgot to mention – You will need a bit of heat in the rub you have made so either 1/2 a teaspoon of cayenne (it’s very hot so beware), you also won’t have a chance to make a BBQ sauce which is integral to a good PP. The most authentic of the manufactured ones is made by Heinz and is called Rich and Smokey Barbecue Sauce, Classic – don’t get the sweet one. All supermarkets seem to sell this – it’s always in Tesco. Just before you serve your pulled pork douse with this stuff and add a teaspoon or two of Worcester and maybe a drop or two of vinegar – all to taste.

Stir all together and serve. And remember, the pork should have skin removed right from the beginning, so rub can get into the flesh and smoke during the cooking process.