First time I made pulled pork sandwiches was not long ago for my birthday when at the last minute I decided to celebrate the big 27 with 20 of my closest friends. Luckily most of them were able to attend so I decided to make something delicious, not too heavy on the stomach, party type of food so there’s not a lot of cutlery going on. That’s how I got to pulled pork. I’m glad to report that everything was devoured and some of them asked for seconds. So if you’re planning a NY party tomorrow and don’t know what to do, go with pulled pork because it’s not only super delicious it’s also a crowd pleaser. And food means nothing without people who enjoy and share it.
This recipe is best to make through a span of 2 days, if you can afford the time, through couple of phases.
Phase 1 The meat rub:
- 1 kilo of pork shoulder
- 2 tea spoons of salt
- 1 tea spoon of pepper
- 3 tea spoons of sweet paprika
- 1 tea spoon of smoked paprika
- 1 tea spoon of garlic powder
- 1 tea spoon of chili flakes
- 1 tea spoon of ground cumin
- 1 tea spoon of ground coriander
- 1/2 tea spoon of ground cinnamon
- 2 table spoons of brown sugar
Cut the meat (not all the way through) and rub with the spice mixture. Cover tightly with cling film and put in a deep plate in a fridge (the meat will release juices) for minimum 4 hours, preferably over night.
Phase 2 Marinade:
- ¾ cup of apple cider vinegar
- 3 table spoons of brown sugar
- 2 table spoons of runny honey
- 3 table spoons of Worchester sauce
- 5 table spoons of tomato sauce
- 1 larger onion
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1 1/2 cup of water
Mix all the ingredients together (slice the onion and garlic into bigger chunks). Put the meat into a deep baking tray and cover with marinade. Cover with a lid, or aluminium foil and bake for 4 h on 150 Celsius degrees. When done, the meat should be so soft it falls apart on the lightest touch. Use a fork to pull the pieces apart. Take half of the sauce and reduce for 10 minutes on a medium high heat. Mix with the meat.
For a good sandwich you need a good bagel. Here’s a recipe for milky bagels.
Phase 4 Milky sandwich bagel:
- 2 tea spoons of dry yeast
- 1 dcl of warm water
- 1 tea spoon of sugar
- 0,3 dcl of milk
- 5 table spoons of brown sugar
- 2 tea spoons of runny honey
- 1 egg
- 2 table spoons of butter
- 1 tea spoon of salt
- 0,5 kg of strong bread flour
Boil the milk. Make a yeast mixture from water, yeast and sugar and leave aside for 5 minutes. Mix the milk with the brown sugar, honey, eggs, butter and yeast mixture. Then add the flour and salt mixture and knead a smooth, elastic dough. If it’s a bit wet, that’s ok. Set aside for 1 hour. Then knead 6-8 balls and put on a baking tray. Smear with some melted butter and bake for 20 minutes until golden on 180 Celsius degrees. I do the bagels when meat needs 1 more hour to bake so everything is warm and juicy. Although cold left overs are delicious too.
Serve as a sandwich with some coleslaw and fresh lettuce leaves.
Enjoy,
T 🙂
