This dish holds a special place in my heart and in my roving kitchen. Picture a piece of pork so tender and juicy that it simply falls apart with a fork, draped in this rich, smoky sauce, creating a blend of flavors that transports you straight to the Southern United States.
I embarked on this culinary adventure some time ago, driven by my curiosity and love for simple yet flavorful dishes. The great thing about Pulled Pork is its simplicity. You don't need to be a star chef to succeed in making this dish. With just a few ingredients and a bit of patience, you can create something magical.
Every time I prepare this dish, it's as if I'm offering a part of myself. It's not just shredded pork; it's an experience, a memory, a moment of sharing.
Few dishes have the power to become emblematic of a person. In my home, Pulled Pork has become synonymous with convivial evenings, lively discussions, and shared laughter around a meal made with love.
Ingredients (for 8 people)
- 2 kg of pork shoulder with or without bone (but with bone is better, that's where the most flavor is)
- 2 small onions
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 2 dl of cider
- 200 ml of BBQ sauce
- 150 ml of ketchup
For the cole slaw (to replace the salad in the burger):
- 100 g of plain yogurt
- 100 g mayonnaise
- 5 cl cider
- 200 g carrots, peeled, cut into fine strips
- 200 g white cabbage, cut into fine strips
- Salt and pepper
For this recipe, you will need a cast-iron casserole dish.
First, on the stove, sauté the sliced onions in butter. Once they are nicely browned, add the pork to brown it on all sides.
My butcher had cut the pork into pieces, but it's better if he doesn't. Indeed, it takes up too much space when cut and makes this part of the recipe more difficult.
While the meat is browning on all sides over low heat, it's time to prepare the sauce.
For this, it's quite straightforward: just pour all the barbecue sauce, ketchup, cider, and cinnamon into a bowl.
Once the meat is nicely browned, pour the entire sauce mixture over the pork.
Let the mixture simmer gently on low heat while you preheat the oven to 120 degrees Celsius.
Once the oven reaches the right temperature, cover your cast-iron casserole and place it in the oven.
Set a timer for 2 hours!
Yes, it's a long process, but this allows the meat to cook slowly and become incredibly tender (after the initial 2 hours, you'll need to cook it for an additional 2 hours).
In the meantime, you can start preparing the cole slaw.
Again, nothing too complicated, you just need to put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix them well (100 g of plain yogurt, 100 g mayonnaise, 5 cl cider, 200 g carrots peeled and cut into fine strips, 200 g white cabbage cut into fine strips, salt, and pepper).
Mix everything thoroughly and refrigerate it until the meat is ready.
Ideally, it's even better to make this salad the day before!
For my part, I added a red onion, but that's just because I love red onion!
Ding! The oven timer goes off - it's already been 2 hours!
I take the dish out of the oven, as it will make the next steps easier.
Upon opening, I notice that the edges have caramelized. In the photo, it might look burnt, but it's not – it's just the sugar in the sauce caramelizing.
Anyway, now it's time to turn the meat over.
Once that's done, back into the oven it goes for another 2 hours!
These are probably the longest 2 hours because that's when an excellent aroma starts to fill the entire house, haha 😜
Ding again, it's the oven!
After 4 hours of slow cooking, the meat is finally done. It's time to take it out of the oven. Now, you're just a few minutes away from eating.
All you need to do is take a fork and shred the meat. You'll see, it's so tender that it practically falls apart on its own.
Now that that's done, all that's left is to assemble your burgers.
On the bottom bun, spread a little mayonnaise, then add a generous layer of pulled pork. Top it with the cole slaw and close the burger with the top bun, which you've also spread with mayonnaise.
And there you have it, it's ready to eat! Serve it with fries, diced potatoes, or whatever you like 😋
Have you heard of the pulled pork burger? If so, I imagine you have a different recipe than this one. What's yours?
All the photos are mine.