April 29, 2009

Pork shoulder


It is one of the cheapest cuts of meat you can buy. For years I didn't know who, why or how you would cook pork shoulder to make it tasty and delicious. It was one of those cuts of meat I'd look at and think- I must buy it one day and work it out. Well work it out I did and it only happened in need and necessity. We were a young family living on a single student stipend in the USA with a new bouncing boy to contend with and meat wasn't exactly on the budget. Our weekly meals consisted of cauliflower, potatoes and pasta......LOTS of pasta but that is a whole other story.
Americans have 100 and one fantastic ways to cook 'budget' cuts of meat and they do a mighty fine job. I was really looking forward to cooking pulled pork in my slow cooker because I knew it was made for this- lots of cooking in liquid on a very gentle heat. The results, a succulent piece of meat that melts in your mouth, and when cooking it with sweet barbecue flavours it is heavenly, especially when slapped between a big soft bun slathered in butter and served with the classic -coleslaw. 
I also love this cut of meat when used to feed a hoard of people meaning a little goes a long way!
 If any of this sounds tempting then check out my recipe on kidspot and make the decision for yourself. 

2 comments:

Jessie K said...

Inspired by this post, I'm making "pulled pork" out of a venison roast. Your recipe calls for slow cooking all the ingredients together, but other pulled pork recipes I've seen call for slow roasting the meat first, then shredding it, then slowroasting it again with all the BBQ flavors for another hour or so. Is there a difference between one method vs. the other? Does the BBQ retain more flavor in one version? Just wondering....

JK

Camilla Baker said...

Pulled venison sounds delicious, especially if the meat is as good as the lot you gave us last year.
Your right, MOST other recipes use the method of adding the BBQ sauce after the lengthy cooking period and that is going to give you a much richer flavour. The reason I did mine this way was to keep it quick (if you can say that for a slow cooker?) and simple. Because you are boiling the sauce at the end of my recipe it will thicken and the flavour will intensify, however it will not be as rich as the traditional method. Let me know how it goes.