I don't post a lot of recipes on my blog because I usually concentrate on travel but I have not been traveling much, just enjoying this summer at the "Rivah Cottage" and I can only show you so many pictures of our beautiful river and a summer sunset. So instead, here is my recipe for Pulled Pork. It is such a great summer treat because it can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months...... and the house smells amazing, just ask Tucker! The trick to making pulled pork healthy is to trim the meat well and then skim all the extra fat off the sauce after cooking. I serve it with soft, small buns, crisp coleslaw and cold bread and butter pickles. Here's a shopping tip, something I have learned since moving to New England is that what we call a "Boston Butt" in the south is usually called a "Pork Shoulder" up here in Boston....go figure?
Ingredients
1 Tbls olive oil
2 onions, cut into chunks
2 Tbls chili powder
1 Tbls ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tps cayenne pepper
12 oz beer, preferably lager
3/4 C ketchup
3/4 C cider vinegar
1/2 C whole-grain mustard
2 Tbls tomato paste
1/2 - 1 canned chipolte pepper in adobo sauce
(Note: Look for the small cans in the Mexican or Italian foods section. Chipolte chiles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapenos packed with a flavorful sauce. This gives the meat a hot but smokey flavor! )
1 5-pound bone-in Boston Butt
Preparation:
*Preheat the oven to 300 F. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned and very soft, about 20 minutes.
*Add the dry ingredients and cook, stirring until fragrant, 1 minute. Add beer, ketchup vinegar, mustard tomato paste, and chipolte pepper: bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens, 10 minutes.
*Remove the pan from the heat and add the pork, spooning the sauce over it. Cover the pan, transfer to the oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn the pork over, cover, and bake for 1 1/2 hours more. Uncover and bake until fork inserted into the meat turns easily, 1 to 2 hours more.
*Transfer the pork to a large bowl and let cool. Pour the sauce into a large glass bowl and refrigerate until the fat and sauce separate. Skim off the fat. Remove the bone and the remaining pieces of fat from the meat. Pull the pork apart into long shreds using two forks.
*Add the hot sauce to the meat or serve it on the side.
Enjoy and don't forget to kiss the cook!
