Pulled Pork Recipes

One of my best friends in the world is also an excellent cook. She 100% self taught, which is to say a lot. I’ve had many a delicious meal at her house. I remember that when we met in college, she survived on batches of homemade pulled pork sandwiches. She made pulled pork every week. Consequently I’ve been a fan ever since.

Why you might ask, would a girl like me eat pulled pork? I am from Illinois and I was practically raised eating ham, but not this Southern dish, so why? Well for one it’s inexpensive, two it’s healthy and three it’s simply delicious. I’ve had it cooked a hundred different ways and I have to say there is one secret to pulled pork. The secret would have to be the cooking time.

It has to simmer/bake/grill over a long period of time for it to be tender enough to just be pulled apart. Hence the name. This is my friend Vivian’s recipe.

SPICY PULLED PORK SANDWICH

3 lbs of pork shoulder
1 large onion, chopped
4-6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 small chipotle peppers, canned
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp brown mustard
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 bay leaves
4-5 cups of water
Salt
enough Kaiser rolls (half dozen)

The original Southern pulled pork sandwich recipe calls for hamburger buns, but this is a bit more grown-up and served on Kaiser rolls.

In a blender or food processor place all the ingredients with the exception of the pork and bay leaves and puree until smooth. Place pork in large bowl, add puree and marinade over night. Please make sure you have enough time as the marinating process is crucial.

In a large pot, put pork, sauce and bay leaves along with water. Bring to a boil. Simmer covered for two hours or until meat comes off easily with a fork. Take off heat. Separate meat from the sauce and let cool. Reduce sauce by half on the stove. Meanwhile let the pork cool until it can be shredded. Once the sauce is reduced, add meat back to the pot. Serve hot on Kaiser bun. It is a sandwich but it’s likely that you will need a fork anyway. Have plenty around for the guests.

Because there are so many recipes for pulled pork, I have decided to offer something with more variety this time. This is an Asian inspired recipe for pulled pork. It is full of flavor.

HONG KONG PULLED PORK

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup honey
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
4 lbs. butt pork roast cut into chunks (about 2 inch)

Whisk all spices and condiments together and put into a crock-pot. Add the pork and stir until coated. Cover crock-pot and cook on low for 8 hours. After eight hours remove pork from the slow cooker, careful not to trail too much sauce. Move pork to cutting board and shred with fork. After shredded, move pork back into crock-pot and stir into the sauce. This recipe can handle being left in the refrigerator sitting for a couple days. The flavors will penetrate the meat more if this is done. Serve hot with rice or your favorite wok cooked vegetables.

This is a recipe from a little further South. As it turns out, pulled pork has its origins in a Mexican dish called “carnitas”. Here is one version of this labor intensive but delicious recipe.

MEXICAN PULLED PORK

4 pounds of pork shoulder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chipotle chile powder
1 tsp cumin
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2-4 cups of water
2-4 tbsp safflower oil or other high heat vegetable oil

Pre-heat oven to 300ºF

Cut pork shoulder into 1 inch chunks. Remove fat if you wish. In a large bow mix all spices and coat pork pieces in mixture.
In a Dutch over, pour enough vegetable oil to coat and brown pork pieces. When browned, remove pork from the pan and use orange juice to deglaze. Return pork to pan and add enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer. Once the pot has simmered, remove from heat and place pot in the oven for 3 hours. Retrieve from oven and move the pork meat to cutting board. Shred meat using two forks once it has cooled. Place Dutch oven with remaining liquid on the stove and reduce by half or less.

Turn on broiler on high. Place shredded pork on baking pan, pour a thin layer of reduced liquid and broil for five minutes. Turn meat over and broil on the other side for another five minutes.

Serve with rice, refried beans, cheese and salsa.