pulled pork

korean-inspired pulled pork sandwich

This weekend our friends Peter and Marina were supposed to visit but on their travels they ran into car troubles and had to turn around, leaving us with a 2.5 kg pork shoulder for two (Madi's not eating solids yet!).  It was my first attempt at pulled pork so I was a little nervous anyways, but it turned out quite juicy, tender, and exactly how you see it on TV - pulls apart easily.  The marinade sides with Asian flavours so I paired it with homemade kimchi & bbq sauce.  Since kimchi is spicy, I didn't use any chilies in the actual pulled pork but you can add any chilies or red pepper flakes to the marinade if you'd like.  

Sweet and spicy, this sandwich is definitely worth trying.  If you don't like kimchi, top it with coleslaw instead.

what you need:

*will make at least 8 huge sandwiches

• 2.5 kg pork shoulder
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 large onion
• 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 5 slices fresh ginger
• 5 garlic cloves
• freshly ground pepper
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 can of beer
• 1/2 cup water

• kimchi
• bbq sauce
• buns

what to do:

1. Roughly chop onion into quarters.  Smash garlic.  Rub black pepper all over the meat.  Combine all ingredients together (except the beer and water) in a large bowl and place pork shoulder in the marinade.  Refrigerate for at least 12 hours, turning the pork shoulder every so often.
2. Preheat oven to 375 F.  Sear the pork over medium heat in a dutch oven (or just a pan if you have a flat top stove) until all sides of the pork are lightly browned. Deglaze with the marinade, beer and water, and put entire dutch oven in the oven (or an oven safe pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil), then place the lid on.  Bake for 2.5 hours, turning the pork at least twice.
3. Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes.  Then turn off the oven and allow the pork to rest in the marinade for another 30 minutes.
4. Carefully remove from oven and transfer the pork into a large bowl.  Using two forks or tongs, pull the pork apart.  It should be very tender and easily falls apart.
5. Skim off excess fat from the liquid (this is most easily done once it cools to room temp and the top layer is white, just spoon it off) - then add a few spoonfuls of the juice back into the pork.  You can save this to use later as gravy, a sauce, or serve in a ramekin alongside the sandwich for dipping.
6. Place a generous amount of pulled pork on the bun, top with homemade kimchi and bbq sauce.  Enjoy!

pork shoulder in the dutch oven after resting

topped with homemade bbq sauce...

then finished with homemade kimchi!