From our American cousins - Pulled Pork

It’s been a while! just realised it’s two months since I last posted anything! Been a few changes at Chez Newton, and been very busy with my other pre-occupation, preparing with my Am Dram group for our production of Christmas Carol later this month.

Monday was another example of what happens when you let Fox run amok and brainwash millions of people… however… I have some great friends in DC and in deference to them and as a show of support (!), this is a fantastic recipe which I've adapted from one my friends, Chris and Eeva Moore, fed me last year during my escape to DC for a week.  This should definitively not be served at a tea party…

Pulled pork is a dish from the Southern States – Jamie Oliver did a version of it on his US tour a couple of years ago, over a barbecue over about 18 hours… very slow cooked.  This one is a much quicker recipe – the meat is gently poached over about 6 hrs instead.

It’s very simple to do, with a few US-style sides.

Recipe

One good sized shoulder or leg of pork

One large onion

150 ml white wine or cider vinegar

enough water to cover the joint.

Sauce

70ml Soy Sauce

Good pinch of five spice

75g brown sugar

1 can of tomatoes (chopped)

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp chilli powder

2 cloves of garlic (crushed)

Method

Dead easy – take of any skin off the joint and reserve – you will use this for crackling at the end.  Don’t do anything else to the joint at this stage (i.e. tie it, season it, butterfly it or anything).

Place the joint in a pan which is big enough to take it and the liquid – and so it doesn’t touch the sides – add the onion, water and vinegar, then put on a low simmer, covered, for about 6 hrs, until very tender – in fact pretty much falling apart – you shouldn’t need to cut it at all once it’s done..

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce and stir until smooth – you can also throw in a little thyme if you’d like.  It should be sweet and hot – a barbecue sauce, basically.

Splash a little white wine vinegar on the skin you removed earlier, then slice and season with salt – roast it for half an hour until crackling.

Serve in a roll with coleslaw and the crackling on top (my friend Chris made a fantastic red cabbage version – very simple, half a red cabbage, mayo and white wine vinegar – worth the effort, believe me!), with fries on the side.