Do you remember the scene from the film "Stand by me" when the boys are trying to identify the one food that they would eat for the rest of their life if they were only allowed one thing. One of the boys, I think he was called Vern, blurts out "Easy, cherry pez!"
For me that question would not be easy. There are so many amazing ingredients out there that I would have to think long and hard on that one. Well, I have thought quite a bit about just that question and although I do not yet have a definitive answer, I do have a heavy favorite: pork.
I really do love that animal. A chef that worked for me about seven years ago commented one day as I gave him the rotating menu for the next 30 days: "I have never met anyone as devoted to pork as you are Mike. I swear, if you ever get out of the restaurant game, you're going to be a hog farmer!"
The hog really is an amazing and versatile food source, so to pay homage to my heavenly hog, here is a versatile pulled pork recipe that I have been using for years for everything from BBQ to Mexican to pastas and beyond.
The part of the pig that I will be using today is the "pork butt". Oddly, it is located on the animal where one would normally identify as its' shoulder. This part is a fantastic mixture of fatty and lean meat and lends itself to many wonderful preparations.
Before we begin, we need to make a dry rub that will coat the pork butt entirely. For a single piece (4-5lbs), the following recipe should work:
1 T Granulated Garlic
1.5 T New Mexico Chile Powder
2.5 T Ground Cumin
1T Kosher Salt
Sorry about the half tablespoons, I usually just eyeball this one. If you are reasonably close, it won't make a difference.
Heat your oven to 250F. Split the boneless pork butt so that it opens like a book. Rub a generous amount of the spice mixture in the cavity close it up and do likewise over the exterior.
Dice 1 large or 2 medium onions and place them in you roasting pan. For this preparation, I used some left over onion from another dish where I had prepped too much.
Place the seasoned pork on the onions and cover the pan with plastic wrap and then a layer of foil.
With the foil on top, you won't have to worry about the plastic melting in the oven. What you will get is all of the moisture that escapes the meat will be collected and can make one heck of a sauce!
Place the pan into your preheated oven and got to work. Or sleep. You have some time on your hands.
6-8 hours later when you check the pork butt, the meat should easily yield to your fingers. You should be abled to lift a piece off and eat it.
A little while back I spoke of the fatty and lean characteristics of the pork butt, well that is why this preparation works so well with this cut. If you tried this recipe with a lean meat, you'd likely have a chalk like substance suitable for hopscotch.
Once the pork has been removed from the oven, let it cool to room temperature. At this time it is easy to "degrease" it. Simply lift the rendered fat from the surface of the liquid and discard it.
Lift the meat from the pan and break it up into strands. There are two types of fat in this cut. There is a very soft almost butter like fat and a more solid stringy type. I discard the stringy type and incorporate some of the the butter type into the shredded pork. If you like you can remove all of the fat for a healthier end product.
Pour the accumulated liquid into a sauce pan with the onions and purée. Reduce to strengthen its' flavor and set aside. This can be used to create a bar-be-cue sauce or used to flavor the meat you have just shredded. You can also freeze it for later use.
At this point you're all set to make a variety of dishes with your pulled pork. Because of the dry rub at the beginning, this recipe lends itself more easily to foods that have a little heat in them. If you're looking for a different flavor profile simply change the dry rub at the beginning to match your needs.
When preparing to serve this pork, some additional seasoning will probably need to happen depending on your menu (i.e. BBQ sauce etc.).
Next up: Knife Skills.
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