Buying "pulled meats" from tesco? (in a box)

GalaxyRyder

These:

Results for “pulled pork” - Tesco Groceries

Is this a serious faux pas?

It's just I understand in preparing pulled meats at home, it's good to cook large then pack and freeze them separately.

That's a good amount of work, curious would it be as effective to just buy pre-prepared pulled meats in the grocery store?

Or are these on a par with buying beef-burgers……… it's just common knowledge that for quality, you prep them at home?

FortuneChip

Steer clear, they're fairly bad. Not as convenient as you might believe, definitely not as cost efficient as preparing your own, and nowhere near the quality.

They're not the equivalent of buying ready burger patties. Maybe Granbys standard...

SineadSpears

I got those pulled pork packs before (in Tesco & Aldi) and really liked them - They're lovely on a brioche bun with thinly sliced gherkin.

You'll only get enough for about 2 loaded burgers per pack.

So buying the premade boxes could get expensive if feeding the whole tribe.

Red Silurian

I could think of a joke involving pulled meat and boxes but this is a family friendly thread

squonk

Horses for courses I’d think. If it’s just you or you and your other half looking fit something tasty for a lunch or something then I’d go with the shop bought. If you have a crowd or want to do pulled meat on a more regular basis, it’s handy enough to make your own if you have a slow cooker or pressure cooker. The Pressure Cooker can be quick. The slow cooker is efficient but slow or you can hire up the oven. You can freeze the leftovers but, if I’m honest, it never quite tasted the sage for me afterwards.

GalaxyRyder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123373636#Comment_123373636

Yeah after much consideration, investing in a slow or pressure cooker, to make an occasional dish, of which I'd only eat a relatively small amount and freeze the rest…….. where I can just buy it frozen already…….

Not as if a slow cooker is a huge investment, but I'm just not sure I'd use it frequently enough to justify the counter-top space.

Where as a box of pulled meat from Tesco tastes just fine.

The concern being its contents/ingredients. Prepared or processed food is typically a no-no, but the ingredients list on those pulled meats boxes say "75% meat and 25% sauce ingredients".

So who knows?

LambshankRedemption

The concern being its contents/ingredients. Prepared or processed food is typically a no-no, but the ingredients list on those pulled meats boxes say "75% meat and 25% sauce ingredients".

The tesco version is heavily processed. I find it a bit bizarre that on the one hand you say processed is typically a no-no, but you are totally fine with something that the pack says is 25% "mystery sauce".

If you make pulled pork from scratch you generally just add spices to it, no sauce. The "additives", being the spice are probably less than 1% of the whole. So do you not find yourself asking, what the hell is in that other 24% sauce?

You don't need a slow cooker to make pulled pork, it just makes things slightly easier.

I'd suggest making it yourself in the oven. It works out way cheaper.

GalaxyRyder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123374126#Comment_123374126

The mystery sauce in this case I'm pretty sure is barbecue sauce?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_N90Q0a1X4

Actually yes it seems straight forward in the oven.

5 hours on low setting, curious how much electricity that would soak up?

I guess I'll certainly try this. Pork shoulder, I don't think I've ever seen that pre-packed so to the butchers it is!

GalaxyRyder

The cost to run an oven for 6 hours to make pulled pork will vary depending on your oven's power rating and the current electricity price in your area. However, an average electric oven may cost around €6 to €12 for that time, based on current UK energy prices.

raxy

The tesco ingredients are misleading & probably deliberately so. It's not 25% sauce. The sauce ingredients are in square brackets so it's 75% meat, then sauce & then remaining is in the meat. I do get them the odd time though.

There's an app yuka. You scan the barcodes & it rates the food on how good it is. Not sure how it rates them though. I've only scanned 1 vegan thing which it said was excellent but they'd be heavily processed.

GalaxyRyder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123375774#Comment_123375774

So in all probability the Tesco pulled meats are heavily processed.

If I could pick up an cheap dutch oven at this point, I think I'd just go for that.

Black Sheep

From reading the ingredients, yes, those packs are quite processed.

Although there are affordable dutch ovens out there (not sure how they hold up over time, but that's another story), if you just want to cook confit style meat, and would like a simpler recipe, you really only need an oven tray or dish the right size, and some foil, to make decent Mexican pork carnitas.

If you pack a suitable piece of pork shoulder so that it's fit snug, use just enough oil to cover the top surface, and then cover tightly with foil, you can achieve a lot if you cook it for about 3 hours at 135 degrees. The collagen will break down and the meat will cook in its own fat. You can keep going with this and let it get really pull-able, and add a sauce, or what you can also do is remove it at that point, place the chunks under a really hot grill, and crisp up the exterior.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123375796#Comment_123375796

Tesco have a slow cooker at the moment for 25 euros.

GalaxyRyder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376446#Comment_123376446

A dutch oven is a heavy ceramic pot, right?

I was thinking I could just leave that on a hob at low setting, would that work?

As oppose to using the oven, cause I'd rather not rack up 10 euro in electric bills every time I cook some pulled meat.

Tree

Dutch ovens are usually cast iron. For the amount you'd be spending on that and the meat, I think leaving the oven on low isn't the big expense. Also, freezing pulled meat usually works really well, so you could cook a larger amount and the per portion oven cost would go down.

Black Sheep

I have no idea if oven usage really equates to being as expensive as that. Based on how much use our oven, and our bills, I doubt it, but I don't really know.

On the stove top you'd need to be careful to avoid the bottom sticking and burning. Probably more hassle than an oven in this context, you'd have to keep an eye on it more. Would work better with a dish involving more cooking liquid.

squonk

Reading all this I think things are getting carried away. OP how often do you want pulled pork and how much of it do you want to use? If the answer is a bit of a tasty lunch every month or two, just go the Tesco route. It’s processed but you’re not going to eat a lot of it or have it too often.

If the answer is you’d like to have it often then definitely go the oven route for a bit. Store bought bbq sauce is processed too so would you also made that?

You can pop all your bbq sauce ingredients in with the meat during cooking but I’ve done that and the outside can be a bit greasy.

There’s nothing wrong with buying ready made for now and seeing if pulled pork is something you want to stick with. Not to mention more gear but id be inclined to get a vacuum sealer if I wanted to make pulled pork ahead and have it ready for use later. I think that would Jeri it in good condition even in the freezer.

JVince

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123364369#Comment_123364369

Maybe you are not talking about the same products?

The pulled pork is literally a slow cooked pork joint shredded. No fillers.

It comes with a sachet of sauce.

Usually it's pork shoulder or pork loin. The shoulder will be a bit cheaper and higher fat content.

Handy as a back up item and certainly a hell of a lot better for you than granby (or other brand) burgers.

Regarding electric cost for slow cooking. It's quite low.

A 2500w oven won't be using 2500w for the entire cooking time. It will come on/off as required to keep it at the required temperature. But it is a large space and unless filling it, you are wasting energy.

A slow cooker is best. A standard crockpot will use less than one unit of electricity over 7 hours at a low setting - the ideal slow cooked pork or beef is high setting for an hour followed by low setting for 6-8 hours.

Black Sheep

Just a quick note: When people say the Tesco products are processed, I presume they're referring to the full ingredients listed... At least, I am. A few ingredients listed there are added for colour, flavour and/or preservative purposes.

Personally, I do steer clear of processed foods unless unavoidable, but i understand arguments of convenience and necessity, and everyone's situation is different.

Processed pulled pork might still be someone's "less bad" food choice. I think a good point was made earlier on about how frequently it's being eaten.

(I would make my own pulled pork, but at this stage it's something I'd have a couple of times a year max, these days. I'd cook it for a big family thing)

Making your own bbq sauce is easy and will be better than most store bought. There are even cold mixed versions which don't require heating and reduction, and I'd still take them over that Tesco sachet personally.

Although, there are also premium sauces on the shelves that are not as heavily processed as what's likely to be in that Tesco sauce sachet. A middle ground is to pull your own pork but buy in once of those sauces. But if you're going to the trouble of doing the meat...

the beer revolu

Just to be very clear here:

You do not need a slow cooker to do pulled pork. There is a strong argument that oven cooked pulled pork (or anything really) is superior to slow cooker pulled pork because the slow cooker doesn't get hot enough to create a maillard reaction (caramelisation).

You do not need a Dutch oven or any cast iron casserole to do pulled pork.

All you need is any ovenproof dish large enough or roasting tray, an oven and plenty of tinfoil.

It doesn't take a huge amount of electricity to keep an oven for hours at the low temperature required for this type of cooking. (particularly, if you have a small, top oven). I asked ai for an estimate and it came back with about €2.10 to run a domestic oven, in Ireland at 120c for 4 hours.

Do not try to make pulled pork from a loin of pork. It's too dry a cut.

LambshankRedemption

There is a strong argument that oven cooked pulled pork (or anything really) is superior to slow cooker pulled pork because the slow cooker doesn't get hot enough to create a maillard reaction (caramelisation).

TBH, I would actually agree with that sentiment.

Yeah Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123375796#Comment_123375796

Yes, they're processed to bits.

You don't need a slow cooker. In fact, a pressure cooker is better for things like pork shoulder, but you don't need one of those either. Cast iron is the way forward. They're actually a great investment, but it's a bit much asking people to pay €250 for a pot that they're not sure they need.

Get yourself a decent cast iron pot or casserole dish. The one you've pictured in your post is pretty much top of the range, you can get just as good/better ones for much less. Expect to pay €50-100 for a half decent one. IKEA sell them, if you're looking for a bargain. They can be used on the hob, then bang the whole thing in the oven for a few hours. Easy as f…. to make pulled pork, beef and Guinness stew (or pies), soups, or anything that requires 'low and slow' cooking. I got a Denby one in one of those Arnotts warehouse deals about 15 years ago for €30 and I've used it twice a week since then. Easily the best piece of kit I've bought for the kitchen.

One thing I would advise…….go as big as you can. No such thing as 'too big', but on occasion it can be too small. You can just cut the joint of meat, but half the fun is doing a big joint at once.

You said in the OP "That's a good amount of work", not sure I'd agree. It takes a lot of time, but decent pulled pork is EZPZ and feck all work.

Garlic, oil and half a block of achiote paste (Mexican stuff, get it online from Picado) into a blender, blitz it, add meat to pot, cover it in the marinade, bring it to the boil then into the oven for 3 hrs. You won't even need any forks to shred it, last portion I made could be shredded by hand, once it cooled sufficiently. Stick it on in the background if WFH, or first thing in the morning if you're heading out shopping etc. Dinner is made when you get home.

All this talk……….time for a stew tonight, methinks. Or better yet, make it tonight and have it tomorrow.

https://www.nisbets.ie/kitchenware-and-knives/cookware/cast-iron-cookware/_/a33-3?q=:p_type:casserole20pans&sort=max-price-asc

https://www.knivesandtools.ie/en/ct/cast-iron-pans.htm?sort=price-asc&Category=f59b3792-d5f3-4410-a735-cb22a988acc0

https://www.gilmartins.ie/Catering-Equipment/Gilmartins-Cookware/Cast-Iron-Cookware/Lava-Cast-Iron-Casserole-Pot

https://www.adverts.ie/pots/cousances-le-creuset-size-20-vintage-cream-beige-cast-iron-casserole-dish-pot/35419970

Best of luck. Any questions, just ask.

GalaxyRyder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123383139#Comment_123383139

This is a ceramic dutch oven I think, unsure if that works compared to cast iron?

Would be okay for making pulled meats?

It's something I can get my hands on at the moment.

GalaxyRyder

Ingredients list from pulled meat boxes in Lidl. I'm guessing that qualifies as "processed".

nachouser

You should grow your own pork from scratch, it's the only way to be sure.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123383378#Comment_123383378

Go for it.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123383378#Comment_123383378

That'll work

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123386161#Comment_123386161

Unless he has an induction hob...

awec

Are we sure that's an actual stove-proof ceramic pot and not just one of the clay pots that look like a dutch oven?

Raichų

Would surely make more sense to use your oven on low than it would to go and buy a Dutch oven if you don’t need it anyway?

I also don’t think it will be as nice as if you did in oven tbh.

Edit: just to clarify the Dutch oven on a hob is what I think you should avoid- I do not expect much of a positive result tbh

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123386319#Comment_123386319

I wasn't suggesting putting it on the hob.