Pulled Pork

I bet many have been wowed by the utter deliciousness of pulled pork sandwiches/wraps/buns. Juicy and flavourful with melt-in-the-mouth texture. Surely such complex creation can only be achieved by the select few gastronomic geniuses!?? Wrong.

Only two key things are needed: great ingredients and patience. The process is so forgiving; things do not have to be exact. Adjustments can be made. There is almost limitless room for error. A bonus for those who prefer to free-style in the kitchen (i.e., me). ;) You’ll need:

Around 2 kg pork shoulder off-the-bone (belly works fine too)

1 head of garlic, crushed

2 onions, roughly cut

2 tbsp tomato paste/puree

3 tsp sea salt (or less, you can always adjust at the end)

Lots of crushed black peppercorns

2 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Some dried bay leaves, maybe 4

Hot water

1. Pre-heat oven to 140C.

2. Mix everything (apart from the pork) in a pan that can accommodate the size of the pork using about a cup of water.

3. Place the pork in the pan skin side down, then top up with hot water until just about fully covered.

4. Cook in the oven for 2 hours. Turn the pork, skin side up for the remaining 2 hours just to give the skin a bit of colour.

5. Take the pork out and leave to cool.

6. Heat the cooking liquor until reduced. Test and play with the seasoning.

7. Once the pork has cooled, start ‘pulling’ using 2 forks.

8. Return to the liquor to re-absorb all the goodness.

9. Eat however you please.