Pulling The Pork One Way Or Another

I took it for granted that picnic roasts, or pork shoulders with the bone in were readily available these days, what with so many foodies about and bbq firmly established as an American pass time.  Maybe it's not until Memorial Day though that they start stocking them on supermarket shelves. So the Friday before our Pre-Memorial Day Weekend Party I was scrambling, and like Santa Clause in a blizzard on 12/23, thinking perhaps this year there would be no pulled pork for the party. 

But I went back to the friendly neighborhood butcher, who sold me on a couple nice pork shoulders instead.  Granted, no bones, and the sum of two of them equalled the tonnage I needed, but it's still pork, so how big a difference could it be?  The answer, I think, is not much.  I'm still going to look for the big hunk with the bone in the future, but in a pinch this will do. 

Although I admire those who have trailers the size of my house in which they smoke and slow cook meat for prize money, I don't believe there's much mystery to this dish at all.  What can be achieved at home and even in a conventional oven is a very good imitation if not a distinguished dish itself. 

The rub, which goes on in one layer, just enough for every millimeter of surface area usually, penetrates the meat overnight and more during cooking, caramelizing in the final hours and crusting up as fat is rendered out...the whole deal basically. The natural flavor of the pork comes out and it goes from tough to falling apart as connective tissue disintegrates.  From there very little is needed as the meat will remain quite moist despite the internal temperature going way beyond medium rare.   

I got me some "Bone Suckin' Sauce" from Stew Leonard's, and that became the dressing for my pork out of the oven.  I like it with a current of vinegar and tomato, then a good contrast of sweet and spice, and this one worked well.  It wasn't too thick or molasses dark, more fit for pouring and a rusty red color.   

So maybe the end product wouldn't stand up to a pitmaster's results after being smoked in his or her well seasoned apparatus...but this recipe is for the home cook with basic instruments, and you'll fool a lot of people who may well render effusive praise upon you for making this.    

So I encourage people to take up the very undemanding effort of getting yourself a big roast, and through the simple process (basically leaving it in an oven all day without touching it) you'll have an utterly succulent and crowd pleasing plethora or pork that seems so fitting for the outdoor party season.

Rub Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cumin, ground
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper, ground
1/2 tablespoon pimentón (if using regular paprika, which is more bland, double it)
1/2 cup light brown sugar

Meat & Sandwich Ingredients:
1 7 lb. "picnic roast" or "Boston Butt" bone-in pork shoulder (substitute de-boned shoulder(s) if you can't find them with the bone intact)

16 oz. good, spicy barbecue sauce (preferably without high fructose corn syrup and with apple cider vinegar high on the list of ingredients)

Cole slaw, recipe follows

12 Potato buns

Mix the rub ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.  Rinse the meat with cold water and pat dry with paper towel.  Score the fat cap of the meat with a sharp knife in a broad cross hatch pattern, but don't cut below the fatty layer into the meat.  Take the dry rub and massage it into the meat sensually and with reverence, getting it on every part of the surface and into the crevasses that you scored with the knife.  Cover the meat with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next day remove the meat from the fridge an hour before cooking.  Preheat the oven to 225° F with the rack in the middle bottom of the oven.  Put the meat in a roasting pan at least a couple inches deep.  When it's time, place the meat in the oven and let it cook, undisturbed, until the internal temperature reaches 200° F, which requires 1.5 to 2 hours per pound of meat.

When it's finished cooking, remove it from the oven and let sit uncovered for an hour prior to pulling.  If you plan on leaving it out longer, cover with foil.  When it comes time to pull, it might still be hot in the center, so beware.  You may also want rubber gloves, although the feeling of the tender, well lubricated meat between your fingers is an experience not lost on most people.  You can use two forks to do the pulling, but I find hands are still the best tools of the trade.

Remove the large pieces of fat that have not rendered out first and discard.  Then pull the meat into morsels fit for eating with a fork or on a sandwich.  Keep the crispy and crunchy ends intact--they have a nice concentrated flavor courtesy of the rub and pork wonder.  When the meat has been pulled sufficiently, mix in some barbecue sauce; enough to dress it without drowning it.  People can add more to theirs when it's served.

To make a sandwich, pile some of the meat on a potato bun and top it with coleslaw, pressing the top down over everything to make it a viable sandwich, and enjoy.         

Cole Slaw:
1 medium head of green cabbage (if the green cabbage is much larger than the purple, halve the green)
1 head purple cabbage

4 carrots

1 tablespoon celery seed
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
3-4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2-3 tablespoons spicy mustard
Salt & Pepper to taste.

Shred the vegetables.  Mix all the ingredients together and then dress the vegetables.  This improves a lot if it's dressed several hours in advance and even refrigerated overnight.  Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving at room temperature or slightly below.