This is the unabashed, meat-lovers edition of pork. Apologies if the photo is an abrupt, in-your-face visual of juicy and saucy pork in its entirety. In fact, there’s no scattering of pretty garnish nor greens nor linen-pretty. It’s a delicious and amazing pulled pork dish and that’s pretty much all we wanted to share with you. Sometimes it’s more effective to just past all the words and give you a taste of the recipe as soon as possible.
The pulled pork is so amazing, we decided to get past all the fuss and get straight to the point. And here’s the point: make this as soon as you can.
A few weeks ago we found some frozen pork shoulder in the freezer (surprise!) and needed to make something with it before it was forgotten again in the dark, abyss of the garage freezer. We had remembered a Lucky Peach magazine recipe for an oven pulled pork. Fast forward a few years later we now have some pork shoulder and an appetite for something porkie.
We went a little crazy with the spices, adding some big punches of flavor to the marinade and sauce. We’re not apologizing for it, but rather, we’re warning you because you’ll be so addicted to the flavor combination of garlic, fish sauce, mustard and sugar that you just might want to use this on some other of your favorite meats.
This was the pulled pork recipe that kept on giving. For our first meal, we had pulled pork tacos. Next, indulged in pulled pork over rice. Later, it was pulled pork sliders. Last, with what was leftover, we made a fabulous pulled pork pizza.
It wasn’t until we pigged out on all these juicy pulled pork dishes that we realized just how versatile and wonderful it was. And we’re not tired of it yet, because with Super Bowl next week, we’re already planning some stellar uses for our next batch. And how about you? If you make this and have some new ideas on how to eat it with, let us know. We’re all ears.
Enjoy,
diane and todd
You can use this pulled pork for tacos, sliders and sandwiches. It's also great on pasta and rice because the juicy sauce is so flavorful. Feel free to cook the pulled pork for a little longer to make the pork more tender and melt-in-your-mouth. We prefer to use a bone-in pork shoulder, but it works great with a de-boned chunk of meat too. And, remember, don't waste the sauce!
about 4-5 pound pork butt or pork shoulder1 medium onion, diced2 Tablespoons olive oil5-6 medium cloves garlic, minced1- 15 oz. can diced or crushed tomatoes2 Tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger1/4 cup fish sauce or soy sauce (but fish sauce tastes better! try it)2 Tablespoons chili garlic sauce1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard1/4 cup brown sugar, packed1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepperPre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.Heat a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Then add oil, onion and garlic. Cook onions and garlic till soft and fragrant.Add tomatoes, ginger, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, mustard, brown sugar and black pepper. Gently stir the sauce and simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.Heat large cast iron pan or deep oven proof skillet on medium-high heat. Lightly coat the pork shoulder with oil and season all sides with salt and pepper.Sear each side of the pork shoulder on the hot pan until the pork is brown. About 3-5 minutes per side.Remove the pan or skillet from the heat and lay the pork in the pan.Pour the tomato sauce mixture over the pork into the oven proof pan. Cover the pork with aluminum foil.Bake the pork for about 3-4 hours, or until the pork is tender and easily shreds with a fork.Allow the pork to rest for about 15 minutes before shredding the whole shoulder. Keep foil over the shredded pork to keep it warm before serving.
We’ve been guilty of it many times. Guilty of staring through the windows of Chinese BBQ’s with our mouths watering at the red, glistening, long pieces of barbecue pork hanging by the dozens–watching each droplet of pork fat fall, as if in slow motion, from their charred tips. We would subconsciously lick our lips as the scents of five spice, soy sauce, hoisin, and charred pork fat reached our noses. And it’s these primary flavors along with the sweetness of maltose that gives it that unmistakable sheen and makes char siu pork so tantalizing to the senses.
(we made our own using recipes above)1/2 head green cabbage, thinly shredded1/2 head red cabbage, thinly shredded1/2 cup of rau rau (coriander leaves) coarsely chopped1/2 cup of mint, coarsely chopped1/2 cup of thai basil, coarsly choppedfried shallots
4 tbs nuoc mam chamoptional diced hot chili pepperLine your slow cooker with the onions. Lightly rub the pork shoulder with small amount kosher salt and pepper and place on top of onions. Brush on a generous layer of char siu sauce, coating evenly. Turn the slow cooker on low and leave on overnight or high, roughly 4-5 hrs.
In large bowl, combine the cabbages, rau rau, mint, basil and toss well. Season with nuoc mam cham to taste. For best results, allow the slaw to marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving. The slaw can also be made a day ahead of time. The longer the slaw marinates, the more liquid it releases–toss well and just drain excess liquid before serving.When the pork is done, it will easily fall apart with gentle pressure–remove the pork into a large mixing bowl and pull using tongs or forks. The pork will release a lot of fatty juices in the slow cooker which you can discard–but we like to keep a small amount to mix in the pulled pork. Now add char siu sauce, 1-2 tbs at a time and coat the pulled pork well. Don’t over do it–we like to keep extra char siu sauce on the side those who want more.
Combining the finger licking sweet char siu with the crisp and clean slaw in a toasty baguette will have guests craving for more. Also, the slaw can be served as a side–many guests loved the fresh tart flavors of nuoc mam cham based slaw compared with the mayonnaise laden traditional coleslaw, so be prepared to have extra ready!With 40 satisfied guests with minimal effort, this char siu slow cooker pulled pork banh mi recipe is a keeper!