Pulled Pork

I Decided a little while ago, that i had been alive way too long to have never tried my hand at creating a really swell pulled pork recipe. So for my brothers birthday dinner I set out to make Pulled pork sandwiches.
For the Sandwiches, i just toasted up a roll and piled them high with this delightfully tender pork, Cherry Habenero BBQ Sauce, and a scoop of Apple and Fennel Slaw.



The Pork itself proved to be extremely simple, all you really need is time. I started with a pork shoulder with the bone in.



And a good dry rub:

3 T Garlic Powder
1 T Onion Powder
4T Paprika
1/4 C Brown sugar
2 T Ground mustard
2T Cayenne pepper
2T Kosher Salt
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper



Coat the pork shoulder completely in the dry rub and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 24 hours.



After 24 hours add a little over half of a 12oz Beer ( a stout or amber ale works best) and 3 tsp of Liquid smoke. If you are going to be making BBQ sauce as well, go ahead and throw in:

6 oz of dried Cherries
1 quartered yellow onion
3 gloves of garlic.



Cover with Foil and cook at 250 degrees for 5 hours....low and slow...mmmmmm
After five hours raise the heat to 400, remove the foil, and give it about 15 more minutes



let it cool slightly and then remove the pork shoulder from the pan. At this point it will be so very tender that you should have no problem pulling the meat apart with a couple of forks....or spoons....or you can just look at it and it may fall apart.



And there you have it! pulled porky-y goodness! i want some now......

Cherry Habenero BBQ Sauce

I Made this particular sauce specifically for my pulled pork recipe, so i decided it would be a good use of time and ingredients to piggy back on the braising process and get some great flavor into a BBQ sauce.
However, even though this recipe seems fairly dependent on a big hunk of meat, you could very well cook the initial ingredients in a pan on the stovetop, YAY versatility!

So as mentioned in the pork recipe, half of the package of cherries, a quartered yellow onion, 3 gloves of garlic, and 3 tsp. of liquid smoke go into the bottom of the pan.



Along with about half of a beer (i chose Boont Amber Ale, because that's what i felt like drinking while i cooked)



After the cooking is complete, scoop the contents of the pan into a blender (you want some of the liquid but not all of it so if you just stick to scooping rather than pouring, you should be perfect)



And here is where the heat comes in. remove the tops and seeds from two habeneros and add those into the blender as well. Although it may seem a little silly, i always use rubber gloves when i get anywhere near these guys with a knife. The oil from a habenero is RELENTLESS and will stay on your hands for a week.....you have NO idea how many times a week you touch your eyes! DO IT!




Also to the blender add:

1 little can of tomato paste
1 C Apple cider vinegar
1T ground mustard
2 Large pinches of Kosher salt
1 T Paprika


Now blend!

Move this mixture to a pot on the stove top and then add:

1/4 C molasses
1/4 C brown sugar
and the other half of your beer

Simmer mixture for about 10 minutes, give it a test, and if you wish, add a little more Salt and/or Vinegar to taste.

The proportions are such, that you will probably have a good deal leftover, which is great because you wouldn't want to go through this process every time you have BBQ. Keep the remaining sauce in a jar in the fridge, it will last a good little while!