I'm back again with some BIG Mexican flavours! This is an essential meat dish which you can put inside Tacos, Burritos and more; use it to top loaded fries and nachos; or, even, just eat it with mash or potatoes.
This isn't very spicy at all, so everyone is sure to enjoy it! You can definitely up the spice level by using a chilli paste stronger than chipotle, or adding a tablespoon of dried chilli-flakes into the mix!
I used pork shoulder which had the bone in, meaning when I pulled the pork I did have to do a thorough look around for pieces of bone and discard them. You can make this whole process easier, by using boneless pork shoulder. The bones do add some level of flavour and will help to thicken your sauce, but you won't loose much by not using them - entirely up to you!
Lastly, you can pull apart your pork (best to do this when warm) using your hands, or two forks...but if you, like me, are a sucker for gimmicky kitchen utensils that you're probably only going to use one or twice...you can buy "Bear Claws" which help you pull apart meats like a bear. I don't have them myself but I reckon after a few BBQs and beers this summer I'll get some eventually!
Sweet & Smokey Pulled Pork
Serves 4
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: up to 6 hrs
Preheat oven to 150℃
Special equipment needed:
Large casserole dish or baking tin
Blender
Two forks (or bear claws if you have them!)
Ingredients
2 Onions
1.5kg Pork Shoulder
400ml Orange Juice (fresh! Not from-concentrate!)
6 Garlic Cloves
2 Limes, Juice & Zest
2 tsp Chipotle Paste
2 tsp Sea Salt Flakes
1 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Ground Cumin
Handful of chopped Coriander
Scatter with the lime zest and chopped coriander
Method:
Place everything except the pork, coriander & lime zest in a blender and blitz until smooth
Cut the pork into thick slices and lay these across the bottom of the casserole dish
Cover the pork in the blended sauce, and tightly cover the dish with foil
Bake in the oven for 3 and a half hours
Uncover, leave to cool slightly then begin to pull apart. Do this with your hands once it’s cool enough to handle or use two forks. If your pork had bones in, you will have to really feel around and ensure you have no bones left. It will be easy to feel them as they will be rock solid but the pork will be very soft
Return the dish to the oven, uncovered, for up to an hour, until the sauce has thickened. The dish should still be saucy but not runny - you want it to hold together, not be sloppy!
Scatter with the coriander & lime zest and serve
TOP TIP: You can freeze this! I recommend freezing after pulling apart, with plenty sauce. After you defrost it, it will need to be cooked again in a pan or in the oven so the sauce will reduce and thicken then.
and remember, anyone can cook!
