Yes, more meat recipes!

As I've said previously, it has become my mission for the summer to up the ante on my meat cooking abilities. I also have a passion for sandwiches. Sadly, with my wheat allergy, I'm very limited when it comes to eating at restaurants. One sandwich in particular has been tempting me from pub menus for a while...pulled pork.

With the meat roasting practice I already have under my belt, and my penchant for sandwiches, this was clearly my next challenge. In the tradition of mother's day, though ill-fated for myself, I decided to treat dear old dad to a home cooked meal as well. He requested simply "pork". Hmmm, things were becoming clearer. I ventured to one of the pricier grocery stores near me to get, if anything, some ideas. Wouldn't you know it? Pork shoulder roasts were on sale! 30% off! Serendipitous, no?

The recipe is a collaboration of a few I found online. The spice rub is from my favourite TV chef. He serves the sandwiches on buns topped with homemade coleslaw, which I opted to as well. Gotta get some veg in there once in a while.


Spice rub:

4 heaping tbsp brown sugar
4 heaping tbsp paprika (I used smoked paprika, YUM)
2 heaping tbsp garlic powder
2 heaping tbsp onion powder
2 heaping tbsp ground pepper
2 heaping tbsp fine salt
2 heaping tbsp ground cumin
2 heaping tbsp ground coriander
2 heaping tbsp dried oregano


"Mop":

1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons spice rub

1 pork shoulder roast (mine was about 3.5 lbs)

Put all the ingredients for the spice rub into a Mason jar and shake until well-combined. Coat the roast with the rub. It's called a rub for a reason, people. Don't be shy. Be liberal with the spice, and really massage it into all the little nooks and crannies of the meat. TV chef recommends leaving the roast overnight to let the flavours penetrate, but I didn't, and it turned out pretty amazing. Preheat oven to 325. From here I seared all sides in an olive-oiled pan. Top, bottom, sides, ends. Lock in that spicy goodness. Here's where a meat thermometer comes in handy (and helps you avoid food poisoning loved ones!). This is a big hunk of pig, and will need to cook in a covered roaster at that low temperature for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165, "mopping" every half an hour with the vinegar mixture.

Now comes the really fun part. The pulling. Although I'm also partial to the rubbing. No matter. Pork is pulled by shredding it apart with two forks. Tear it up small. Mix the shredded pork with some of your favourite barbecue sauce and pile onto a bun, top with coleslaw. Dig in.

This keeps really well. I put the left over whole pork roast in the fridge, and would break off chunks, reheat them, and shred them. I happily ate pulled pork sandwiches for a week. And, more importantly, Dad was happy too.