Slow cooked smoky pulled pork recipe
Pulled pork, is there anything better? I love to put a fresh spin on this classic, shredded, melt in your mouth meat, serving it Mexican tacos or Vietnamese Banh Mi style (see below), with a few salad options I know the kids will devour.
This recipe is deliciously smoky with a touch of mild spice. For those who aren’t seasoned spice eaters, omit the paprika and chillies. And though I’ve cooked it in the oven, you can totally put this all in the slow cooker and let it do its thing.
- Prep time : 30 mins
- Cooking time : 3 hrs
Slow cooked smoky pulled pork ingredients
- 1.5kg boneless pork shoulder, rind removed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 brown onion, finely diced
- 8 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 3 dried red chillies, halved
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- ½ cup malt vinegar
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1½ cups beef stock
- 10 sprigs of thyme
- sea salt and black pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- With the pork rind removed, trim the piece of meat as much as you can of any excess fat and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Heat a heavy based oven proof casserole dish on the stove-top over high heat (medium to high heat if you’re using a French oven similar to mine). Add the oil and pork and cook for five minutes each side or until browned. Remove from the pot and set aside.
- To the pot, add the diced onion and garlic, cooking for four to five minutes or until lightly golden. Don’t forget to scrape those delicious encrusted pork bits off the bottom of your pan while cooking your onion and garlic. Yum!
- Return the pork to the pot and add the paprika, dried chillies, tomato, malt vinegar, maple syrup, beef stock, thyme, another sprinkle of salt and pepper and bring it to a simmer on the stove-top.
- Cover and transfer to the oven. Bake for 2.5 hours, turning the pork half way through the cooking time. Uncover and cook for a further 30 minutes or until the pork is easily splinted with a fork.
- Take the pork out and tear at the meat with two forks until it’s all shredded. Discard any fatty bits, they’re not too nice to eat!
- Return the shredded pork to the pan juices and stir through, squashing any garlic bits along the way and picking out the tiny thyme twigs if you think they’ll freak the kids out.
Serve the pork however you see fit – as I mentioned earlier, we like it Vietnamese Banh Mi style with mini tortillas and salad for a deliciously fresh, light meal. We use coriander, red cabbage, avocado, lime, grilled corn and baby cos lettuce, but you can use whatever you and your fam fancy!
Notes
- Typically, pulled pork is always best when cooked using a boneless shoulder roast. Having said that, I couldn’t get my hands on one. Opting for a forequarter cut instead, it just meant I’d have to fish a few large bones out when it came time to shred.
- If using an electric slow cooker, cook on High for six hours, or until the pork is cooked through and falling off the bone.
- This recipe serves about six people and full recipe credit goes to one of my favourite Aussie chefs, Donna Hay.
Browse our recipe section for more great meal ideas and treats to try.
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