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2010 Cooking Club Week 48: Pulled Pork

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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    it came out great i have to say, even the wife was impressed. :)

    great as a learning experience too, i'm more than happy with how it turned out with the 24 hours of (extra slow) slow cooking and i'm confident that it was worth adding the water make up the liquid content and keep it submerged to keep it moist and then cooking the juices down again afterwards to leave me back with the right consistency for the bbq sauce.

    definitely worth chopping up the oniony/chilli bits and adding them back in too, lots of flavour to be had there.

    also, the fat and skin came off really easily, kind of like peeling a blanched tomato, it all just slid off with minimal effort and i'm sure there was extra flavour in the finished product from it, even though the sauce didn't end up too oily. there was time to remove any oil from the surface before i pulled out the pork at the end, but after that it was all pretty well mixed with the other juices and i didn't really have time to let it rest enough to drain off any fat then, but there wasn't a huge amount so i left it as it was.

    also, there was a huge amount of meat out of the €10 shoulder, even after the bones, fat & skin were removed, you can see it's over the halfway mark on the slow cooker pot in the 'pulled' picture.

    well happy here anyway and plenty of leftovers (even enough to feed the freezer for a few portions on another day). :)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    here's what passes for the recipe anyway, although everything is an approximation as i don't really do set recipes, everything is adjusted by taste and guesswork. :)

    you might want to get it with the bone out if you don't have a big slow cooker, but mine's the 6.5L cookworks one i got in argos for a €15 and it's just about big enough for the bone in one.

    you can get the butcher to remove the skin & fat if you like, but i cook mine with the skin on and then remove it afterwards as there's loads of flavour in it that you'll want the meat to be cooking in.

    i got a whole shoulder of pork with the bone in for €10 and you could comfortably feed 8-10 people with it.

    line the bottom of the slow cooker with sliced onion and then put your pork in, make sure the lid fits and then throw in:
    3 whole red & green dutch chilli's (the milder finger/thumb sized ones you get in the supermarket)
    3 chopped cloves of garlic

    for the bbq sauce, in a jug put:
    1 small (not too heaped, it's pretty strong) teaspoon of smoked paprika (tesco do a really nice spanish one in their finest selection, well worth a buy)
    400 grams of brown sugar (dark muscavado if you can)
    1/2 teaspoon of fine ground black pepper
    1/2 teaspoon of fine ground white pepper
    1/2 tablespoon of worcestersostershire sauce
    5 tablespoons of honey
    5 tablespoons of tomato sauce
    5 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
    heaped teaspoon of english mustard

    (as a side note, this is more or less what i make to baste my bbq ribs and wings and its so much better than anything you can buy in the shops and only takes 5 minutes to make, although you'll need to cook it out if you're not adding it to something as you're cooking it, like as a dipping sauce, or to wings after they're cooked).

    give it a good stir up and adjust the taste to suit, it should be sweet & sticky without any one flavour overpowering everything else, use more sweet stuff to balance the spice & visa versa as needed.

    pour the sauce into the slow cooker on top of your pork and then stop up with water to a couple of cm below the rim where the lid will sit to stop it getting too dry and turn it on.

    you'll probably get away with 6 hours on the high setting or 10 hours on the low one, but i did mine for 24 hours on 'warm' and it was perfect, so if you're patient and don't mind the electricity bill, you know what to do. :o)

    whichever setting you use, turn the meat over halfway through to ensure even cooking.

    once it's cooked, take out the meat and leave it to rest for about 30 minutes and then (removing skin & fat if you didn't already) go at it with a couple of forks in the same way that chinese restaurants do crispy duck at your table, shredding it.

    strain the cooking liquor through a sieve and put the liquid in a pan to reduce to about 1/3 of its original volume, or until it's nice and thick and sticky like a good bbq sauce should be. :o)

    again, there's lots of flavour to be had from the strained bits so feel free to finely chop them and add them back to the pulled pork, including or removing the chilli's at this stage depending on how spicy you like it.

    now stick the pork, oniony bits and reduced bbq sauce back into the slow cooker and leave it on warm until you are ready to serve. all we did was get a pack of 8 small white baps from Aldi, lightly toasted them, added some mayo and piled them high with the pulled pork before stuffing them in your mouth and going om nom nom nom. :o)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,844 ✭✭✭Honey-ec


    Vibe, I'm making your BBQ sauce at the moment and either I fcuked up somehow, or there's a typo in the recipe somewhere, cause mine tastes more like caramel than barbie sauce. Is it definitely 400g of sugar? I've added probably a third more vinegar than the recipe calls for and it's still like treacle :(


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,934 ✭✭✭Dotcomdolly


    Honey-ec wrote: »
    Vibe, I'm making your BBQ sauce at the moment and either I fcuked up somehow, or there's a typo in the recipe somewhere, cause mine tastes more like caramel than barbie sauce. Is it definitely 400g of sugar? I've added probably a third more vinegar than the recipe calls for and it's still like treacle :(

    400g is almost a full bag of sugar - does seem an awful lot!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,844 ✭✭✭Honey-ec


    400g is almost a full bag of sugar - does seem an awful lot!

    I was thinking that even as I was weighing it, but, having never made a sauce like this before, I followed the recipe. I'm now at easily twice the vinegar and twice the ketchup and it's still far too sweet. I'm going to leave it to rest til tomorrow, but I can see myself having to add a lot more vinegar and maybe some brown sauce to try and salvage it.

    Help us, Vibe!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    crap sorry, i only just saw the thread. i was doing it from memory and thinking that a full bag of sugar is 1kg, but the muscavado ones are actually only half that, so you'll only need about 200g of sugar. really sorry, hope i didn't ruin it for you. :(


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,844 ✭✭✭Honey-ec


    vibe666 wrote: »
    crap sorry, i only just saw the thread. i was doing it from memory and thinking that a full bag of sugar is 1kg, but the muscavado ones are actually only half that, so you'll only need about 200g of sugar. really sorry, hope i didn't ruin it for you. :(

    We ended up going out for dinner yesterday, so will be returning to this tonight. I'm hoping the juice of a lemon and maybe a couple of tbs of brown sauce will sort this out. I'll let you know how I get on!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    you could always just double up on the other ingredients and keep the rest for something else?

    again, really sorry. one of the side effects of never measuring anything is you don't know how much you're actually using when you're passing stuff on. :(


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,844 ✭✭✭Honey-ec


    Well, the sauce was a dead loss, unfortunately. Doubled up on all the savoury ingredients, tried adding the juice of a lemon, but no joy, it was still like treacle.

    I ended up straining the cooking liquid from the pork into another pot and just reducing that right down with extra vinegar & pepper and using that to sauce the pork and I have to say, it was gorgeous. I didn't care for the pulled pork the first time I made it, mostly because I found the BBQ sauce way too overpowering, but this time round it was much, much nicer.

    We had it in sliders with homemade slaw, pickles & chips.

    293670_10150457141967678_552147677_11182098_773254794_n.jpg


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    really sorry it didn't work out for you, i'm going to have to do proper measurements next time i make it and make sure i get exact quantities of each ingredient for the recipe. really genuinely sorry it didn't work out. :(


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,844 ✭✭✭Honey-ec


    vibe666 wrote: »
    really sorry it didn't work out for you, i'm going to have to do proper measurements next time i make it and make sure i get exact quantities of each ingredient for the recipe. really genuinely sorry it didn't work out. :(

    Ah you're grand! I never really measure anything myself, so I know how hard it can be trying to write out a recipe you're used to making by eye.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    thanks, feeling a little better about it now. :o

    now, winter's coming so it's time to start making a big batch of our annual ham & veg soup.

    2 ham shoulders, heaps of veg, stock & herbs and spices and a ton of that barley/lentil soup mix stuff. :)


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 18,506 CMod ✭✭✭✭The Black Oil


    Santa dropped off a slow cooker...

    Not table salt, so what's the alternative - sea salt? Also don't have onion granules, but could probably pick those up (missing a few other bits, too). Even Tesco do smoked paprika now.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    Black Oil wrote: »
    Santa dropped off a slow cooker...
    Good man Santa :D
    Not table salt, so what's the alternative - sea salt?
    Sea salt, rock salt, anything at all. The only problem with table salt is the iodine in it tends to stain stuff if it's used in any long cooking process - I made pickled pork for a Red Beans & Rice recipe once (it's a Cajun dish that I still haven't gotten right) and it came out purple because I had run out of sea salt and used table salt instead. Really awful looking.
    Also don't have onion granules, but could probably pick those up (missing a few other bits, too). Even Tesco do smoked paprika now.
    Yup, I made it a point to get everything in Tesco - pulled pork, like chilli and almost every other great classic dish out there, is poor people food, so going to places like Fallon&Byrne for ingredients isn't so much a luxury as a mistake for this dish!


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 18,506 CMod ✭✭✭✭The Black Oil


    Thanks :)

    I had a look back over the thread and saw your shopping breakdown here. Haven't used molasses. Also, re setting the cooker to high, are you safe enough doing that for 8 hours? I haven't even taken it out of the box yet, so I might try a smaller recipe first.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    Black Oil wrote: »
    Also, re setting the cooker to high, are you safe enough doing that for 8 hours?
    'high' is a very subjective term when it comes to slow cookers. high on a slow cooker is still a lot lower than you'd be able to set on any other cooking device, it's just higher compared to the low setting on the slow cooker. :)


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 18,506 CMod ✭✭✭✭The Black Oil


    Thanks. :)

    Have most of the bits now, bar onion granules and mild chilli powder (just have hot) and no BBQ sauce (could probably make that). Mustn't forget to get a small bottle of Coke, either.

    What do you do with the sauce at this stage? The one it's just been cooked in and before you make the new batch of sauce, do you throw away the old stuff?


  • Posts: 16,720 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Yup, I chucked it when I made it before.

    On the BBQ sauce, the missus isn't a big fan of BBQ sauce so depending on whether she's getting some I sometimes skip this step.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,844 ✭✭✭Honey-ec


    Black Oil wrote: »
    Thanks. :)

    Have most of the bits now, bar onion granules and mild chilli powder (just have hot) and no BBQ sauce (could probably make that). Mustn't forget to get a small bottle of Coke, either.

    What do you do with the sauce at this stage? The one it's just been cooked in and before you make the new batch of sauce, do you throw away the old stuff?

    Black Oil, last time I made this I ditched the barbeque sauce and made my own sauce from the cooking liquid and it was excellent, I much preferred it to using the original recipe. It also seemed like such a shame to just chuck out that lovely, mellow cooking liquid.

    Just strain the liquid into a medium pot. Discard the strained veg, bring to the boil and allow to reduce by two-thirds. Stir in 3 tbs brown sauce and about 2 tbs white vinegar (maybe taste it after the first spoonful of vinegar; I do like mine quite sharp), then add the chopped pork and warm through as normal.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    Black Oil wrote: »
    What do you do with the sauce at this stage? The one it's just been cooked in and before you make the new batch of sauce, do you throw away the old stuff?
    Myself, I chuck it, but as Honey says, you can use it to make the sauce if you want - it's personal preference really. I think doing that leads more towards the sharper, vinegar-based kind of BBQ sauce rather than the sweeter kind, so I don't do that, but you ought to try both ways really :D


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 18,506 CMod ✭✭✭✭The Black Oil


    Phase one completed. ;)


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 18,506 CMod ✭✭✭✭The Black Oil


    Left it ticking over overnight, it's done. It was bubbling a bit, so it left a big puddle on the counter.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    That's odd - does your slow cooker have a leak? It really shouldn't boil over...


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,727 ✭✭✭reallyrose


    It did it on me once too, I think I over-filled the cooker. I only had a little puddle though.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 18,506 CMod ✭✭✭✭The Black Oil


    I don't think I made much good of the sauce, but apart from that, as per the OP, mouth feel, mouth feel, mouth feel. :pac:


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,727 ✭✭✭reallyrose


    I swear, every time this thread pops back up I start to look yearningly at my slow cooker and spice drawer.

    nom nom


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    Black Oil wrote: »
    I don't think I made much good of the sauce, but apart from that, as per the OP, mouth feel, mouth feel, mouth feel. :pac:
    Glad you enjoyed it, even if you've now made pork sound durty :D


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 18,506 CMod ✭✭✭✭The Black Oil


    Sparks wrote: »
    That's odd - does your slow cooker have a leak? It really shouldn't boil over...

    Tried a beef stew on low last night, not a drop on the counter this morning. This may be the way to go. :)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 800 ✭✭✭faigs


    I've an old pot style pressure cooker at home that you use on the hob, could I use that at the lowest hob setting?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    faigs wrote: »
    I've an old pot style pressure cooker at home that you use on the hob, could I use that at the lowest hob setting?
    I've never tried that for pulled pork, but it's how I cook my chilli every time.

    I'd guess that it'd work, but you'd have to try it to find out (let us know!)

    I think you'd want more liquid than this recipe calls for. You want the pork to be immersed really; you're in effect braising it. It'll be interesting to see if it works in a pressure cooker...

    Oh, and don't forget that if you're going to use the cooking liquid as the base of a sauce, because you use more liquid to make the braise work, you'll get a lot more sauce than you need; don't be tempted to let that reduce down to "just enough", odds are it won't taste right at all -- but hey, pull half it at the normal consistency, then reduce the rest right down and check; if it's okay, mix back in the half you pulled and reduce again, and use away. Might be awesome, might be unusable, but let us know either way :D


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 800 ✭✭✭faigs


    Thanks. I see your slow cooker is reduced to €7.99 in Argos at the moment so I might just buy that!

    Edit:
    Scratch that, it's sold out in most of them!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    definitely worth shelling out a few quid extra for the bigger one imho, you'll find a lot more uses for it than the smaller one, particularly if you cook ahead.


  • Registered Users Posts: 44 tomyr7


    Would pork loin be ok to use?
    I've followed this recipe before and cooked it with leg and it was superb!!
    But Tesco only had boneless pork loin this time???


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    I've never tried it with loin; do you mean the pork fillet? I don't think that would work so well; you need to have the connective tissue in the meat to convert to gelatin. If you don't have that, you end up with dry, stringy meat because after cooking, the meat fibres are all technically overcooked, but because the collagen's converted to gelatin, it tastes moist.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    Sparks wrote: »
    I've never tried it with loin; do you mean the pork fillet? I don't think that would work so well; you need to have the connective tissue in the meat to convert to gelatin. If you don't have that, you end up with dry, stringy meat because after cooking, the meat fibres are all technically overcooked, but because the collagen's converted to gelatin, it tastes moist.
    +1 to this, i tried a similar recipe with a pork loin and it came out very dry, almost to the point of being sawdust, not good at all.

    you really want a nice cheap cut like shoulder, something that will have all those connective tissues that would normally make it tough when cooked quickly, but will have plenty of time to break down in the slow cooking process.


  • Registered Users Posts: 44 tomyr7


    vibe666 wrote: »
    Sparks wrote: »
    I've never tried it with loin; do you mean the pork fillet? I don't think that would work so well; you need to have the connective tissue in the meat to convert to gelatin. If you don't have that, you end up with dry, stringy meat because after cooking, the meat fibres are all technically overcooked, but because the collagen's converted to gelatin, it tastes moist.
    +1 to this, i tried a similar recipe with a pork loin and it came out very dry, almost to the point of being sawdust, not good at all.

    you really want a nice cheap cut like shoulder, something that will have all those connective tissues that would normally make it tough when cooked quickly, but will have plenty of time to break down in the slow cooking process.

    It just worked out that it was the only meat I could get but tbh, it cooked fine. Left it for 8 hours and it was very soft and tender. But I've done this before with the one you recommended and it was better.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,091 ✭✭✭hattoncracker


    Made this for my bf's birthday party... No one spoke for about a half hour while they were eating!!!

    Also if anyone is having difficulty locating blackstrap mollasses, I got it in a health food shop, so you should try your local one!!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 30,123 ✭✭✭✭Star Lord


    This is amazing. I have had 'pulled pork' sandwiches before, last one was in Hard Rock Cafe Manchester, and let's just say that it doesn't even deserve to be associated with food such as this. Nibbled on a couple of bits as I was pulling the pork, and it was so tasty, I couldn't get over it! Then add the sauce... This is going to become something that I treat myself with from time to time!!!
    Also if anyone is having difficulty locating blackstrap mollasses, I got it in a health food shop, so you should try your local one!!
    I found it along with the alternative diet (coeliac etc) stuff in Tesco.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,613 ✭✭✭Toast4532


    Sparks wrote: »
    Ingredients:
    • 3 tsp Paprika
    • 2 tsp Salt (NOT table salt, because the iodine in it will stain the pork blue…)
    • 1 tsp Onion granules
    • 1 tsp Chilli powder
    • 2 tsp Cumin
    • 1 tsp Smoked Paprika (if you can’t find this, just use another tbsp of Paprika)
    • 1/2 tsp Garam Marsala (or just curry powder…)
    • 1/2 tsp Cayanne Pepper
    Would this marinade work on a small piece of pork loin that will be roasted?

    Now when I say small, it's less than 1kg, not sure on the exact size as I bought a bigger piece and cut it in two pieces as there was too much for
    two people in the one big piece.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    Well, it's really a rub rather than a marinade; there are nicer recipes for roast pork. But in a pinch...


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,613 ✭✭✭Toast4532


    Sparks wrote: »
    Well, it's really a rub rather than a marinade; there are nicer recipes for roast pork. But in a pinch...
    Thanks Sparks.

    Are there any rubs/marinades you can recommend? There are so many out there, I don't know which to go for.

    I'd like something that has a BBQ or spicy kick, but won't burn my mouth. :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,315 ✭✭✭quazzy


    Hi all,

    I've decided to try this recipe and I have a question.

    I have a charcoal BBQ and I have hickory woodchips that I have used before to smoke some fish.

    I want to add an element of smoking ( as per BBQ above) to the meat but at what stage in the recipe should I throw the pork joint into the bbq.

    FYI - I dont have a slow cooker so I'll be using a big cast iron casserole pot in a low oven.

    Any advice would be appreciated.

    Regards

    Q


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    Sounds like you have one of these quazzy:

    webber.jpg

    Thing is, that's not a BBQ. It's a grill. Yeah, we call it a BBQ, but that doesn't make it so. I mean, the English call that yellow stuff they put in trifle "custard", but that doesn't make it custard!

    And you can't really do pulled pork in a grill (well, you can, sortof, if you really really babysit it, but it'll be second-rate at best). You could cook the pulled pork in the oven, pull it, then put it in a disposable roasting tray, and put that in the grill along with a foil packet of hickory chips for 10-15 minutes on very low heat; but honestly, I think you'd get better results adding some liquid smoke to the recipe and skipping the grill entirely.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,315 ✭✭✭quazzy


    Thanks Sparks.

    I'll leave out the BBQ / Grill part and I'll post back when its all sorted.

    Thanks again


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,315 ✭✭✭quazzy


    Day 1 is completed.
    The shoulder of pork is in the fridge now.
    One thing I couldn't find was onion granules for the rub.
    I used onion salt instead. Hopefully it won't ruin it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,613 ✭✭✭Toast4532


    quazzy wrote: »
    Day 1 is completed.
    The shoulder of pork is in the fridge now.
    One thing I couldn't find was onion granules for the rub.
    I used onion salt instead. Hopefully it won't ruin it.
    Tecsos sell onion granules, they are around 1.30.

    I got them recently, think I paid 1.34, but I could be wrong on that exact price.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,315 ✭✭✭quazzy


    thanks for he heads up on the onion granules.

    I'll be slow cooker the meat later today/tonight.

    Is a CUP = 250ml?

    I'll just assume it is.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    Yup, 1 cup = 250ml (on my measuring set anyway :D )

    This is the kind of recipe where a few ml more or less can be tolerated though - if it's a large hunk of pork, I'll usually add a little more liquid till it looks right (ie. looks like the photos).


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    i saw something recently (probably on lifehacker) where someone had used an old tin can and a soldering iron to turn their BBQ grill :o into a smoker.

    from what i read of it, it looked like it would do a decent job too if you were stuck.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    I'm guessing it was just a tube of some kind to take the smoke out from the grill to a different box where the food was so that it got hit with hot smoke but no direct heat?


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