Thursday, July 01, 2010

Extreme Epicurean Pleasure : Pulled Pork


It simply doesn't get any better than a giant plate piled high with slow roasted pork shoulder. 

Scratch that. 

It doesn't get any better than slow roasted pork shoulder piled high on a soft egg bun, topped with rainbow slaw and plenty of homemade barbecue sauce. 

Forget that you marinate the pork for 24 hours in a simple sauce that makes it sweet, salty, and spicy. Or the fact that it then cooks in those same flavors for 6+ hours until it's so incredibly tender is falls apart at the slightest pressure of tongs, a spoon, or your fingers. Okay, don't really forget that, I was just being dramatic. Those elements are what make this dish out of this world incredible. 


I cooked down six pounds of pork shoulder for 6 people, and at the end of the night ended up with about only 1/2 cup of pork. Yes, this pork is that insanely good, tender, fatty, moist, and flavorful. It's so good in fact that grown adults loose their minds, and after already consuming a sandwich (or in some cases two) will gather around the plate of piled pork sitting on the counter and pick at it, like vultures at a carcass, until someone forces it away from them and hides it in the fridge, or until it's gone I suspect. Besides that it's loose your mind uncontrollable pork bingeing good, it's also incredibly simple. It requires few ingredients, marinating overnight, and then cooking for 5-7 hours in a slow cooker. Making it, in my humble opinion, a fantastic fourth of july entree contender. I guarantee you nobody will devour your burgers, or hot dogs like they will this pork. But, if it doesn't make it onto your 4th of July menu, I highly recommend throwing it on your summertime menu this year. If I had one day to live, this pork would be on my menu. Yes, it's that good!


Alright, alright, that's enough pork lovin'. I'll get to the recipe so you can get in the kitchen and cook up a batch of your own. But, can I just say again that this is a must make recipe? Truly perfection in pork form.

(The Best) 6 Hour Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder

Ingredients: 

6 lbs pork shoulder
3 cups low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup worchestire
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed tight
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon red chili pepper flakes (or more, the more flakes, the spicier it will be)

Directions:

1. Place soy sauce, worchestire, brown sugar, garlic, and pepper flakes into a large slow cooker insert. Mix lightly.
2. Place big hunk of pork shoulder in the marinade, then throw the whole shabang in the refrigerator overnight. When you get up in the morning flip the pork over onto the other side (to ensure more even marination). The better marinated your pork, the more of that luscious crispy, caramelized exterior you'll end up with at the end of the cook off.
3. About 6 hours before you intend to serve your pork, get slow cookin'. On the high setting cook the pork for 5 hours, turning once if you like. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook 1-2 more hours until it's falling apart, to pieces, to juicy, salty, sweet, spicy pieces. . . . drool.
4. Remove from slow cooker, place on a large plate and break pork apart with tongs, a fork, etc. it won't take much effort to shred into pieces, being so juicy and tender.
5. Serve on your bust buns, topped with crunchy slaw and lots of homemade barbecue sauce alongside a large portion of sweet potato fries. Summer supper perfection right there ladies and gentlemen. 6 lbs will feed 6 hungry pork fanatics, but up to 8 (maybe even 10).

I hope you take my advice here people. This pork is simple, and oh. so. worth it!

Just look at it. . . .

4 comments:

miss moxie said...

We just had pulled pork at my local eatery. I wish it had looked like that, instead of what it did.

miss mallory opel said...

miss moxie,

I just don't understand how anyone, let alone a food establishment, can f-up pulled pork. but boy does it happen. cooking it low & slow with a good marinade is all you need when it comes to a cut like pork shoulder. trust me, try it at home next time and you won't be disappointed (plus, you'll have plenty of leftovers!)

Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment, it puts a smile on my face!

xx

Belinda said...

Tried this recipe today, it was great. Thanks for the recipe :)

DivaDog said...

This looks amazing! Can you tell me if the soy sauce flavor is strong in the end product or do the other flavors mask it well enough. I love pulled pork but am not sure I would care for a strong soy taste.

Thanks so much for your generosity! Bloggers are the best. And your photos are gorgeous. Nancy