After almost two years of not being able to enjoy one of my favorite passions, we are driving to an in-person antique show in Ohio this week. As I am on the hunt for a painted jelly cupboard. Although I may not be able to pass on an antique dry sink, bread boards, transferware, white ironstone plates, and/or redware to name a few. Having such a long absence from something I love to do, it is going to take alot of energy. or rather I should say a great deal of restraint, to quell my excitement or get caught up in the frenzy. Other than a piece here and there, I haven't added to any of my collections for what seems like forever. Which means my mantra for the day will undoubtedly need to be 'take a breath'. I easily get 'lost' when looking at things made in the early 19th century, the time period I seem to be strongly drawn to. My style and taste in antiques has evolved over the years and I am now much more discerning. In looking back to the time spent decades ago out east on antique excursions, I sometimes think 'if I knew then what I know now'. I still remember things I passed on either because they were outside of my resources or I didn't know better.
My approach to looking for antiques is a bit similar to my approach when making new recipes. Learning about the provenance, history, and/or back story of a dish isn't just finding some interesting trivia. Knowing where and/or when a dish was first created significantly deepens my appreciation for it's endurance. Which brings me to this Southern Style Oven Roasted Pulled Pork.
To be honest, if you would have asked me a week ago what was difference between North Carolina, Eastern North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas City, Alabama, or Texas barbecue, I wouldn't have been able to tell you. Or if you would have asked me when 'barbecue' was first 'discovered', I wouldn't have been able to tell you that either. So let me share just a small amount of what I have learned. The little bit of knowledge I acquired in my 'research' prevented me from calling this recipe North Carolina Pulled Pork. But more on that in a minute. Sir Walter Raleigh has been credited with discovering barbecue in North Carolina in the late 16th century. Although if you ask anyone from South Carolina they would claim BBQ originated in their state. While Raleigh was there, a sketch of Croatan Indians "broyling their fishe over the flame-they took great heed that they bee not burnt" was drawn by one of his men, John White. In essence, the sketch depicted the Croatans using a 'barbacoa' or framework of sticks supporting meat over a fire, to smoke the fish. From smoking fish to smoking meat, the 'barbacoa' continue to evolve. Fast forward three centuries and historians believe German settlers traveling from Pennsylvania to the North Carolina Piedmont region influenced the style of barbecue associated with North Carolina today. Over time, two distinct styles of barbecue evolved in North Carolina: the Eastern and the Lexington or Piedmont. The simplest explanation between the two is that the Eastern BBQ style uses a lemon juice or vinegar, pepper-based sauce. While the Piedmont style uses meat from the pork shoulder with a vinegar, ketchup, and spice-based sauce.
Without going into even more detail on the history and differences between the various kinds of barbecue, the recipe for this Southern Style Oven Roasted Pulled Pork pulls from techniques from various regions of the South. While it aligns somewhat closer to the Piedmont style barbecue, there are ingredients in the sauce more than likely not used way back when. So rather than commit to a specific barbecue style and risk making a barbecue faux pas, this version of pulled pork will simply be called a Southern Style Oven Roasted Pulled Pork.
The best meat to use when making slow roasted pulled pork is a bone-in pork shoulder as you want a nice fatty cut of pork, one with good marbling so it will remain moist and tender as it roasts. A pork shoulder is not to be confused with a Pork Butt, however, some will use the later when making pulled pork. Studded with garlic cloves and rubbed with a spiced dry rub, the pork shoulder is wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for at least twelve hours or overnight before it goes into the oven.
The sauce can be made at least one day ahead. And I would recommend this as the flavors further meld together. Thus creating an even better sauce for dressing the pulled pork. A thinly sliced yellow onion and minced garlic are first sautéed in olive oil until they are soft and lightly golden. After the remaining sauce ingredients are whisked together they are added to the onion/garlic mixture. Over low heat, the sauce cooks for approximately thirty minutes or until slightly thickened. Once the sauce is removed from the heat and cools down, it's transferred to a bowl, tightly covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated until ready to use. Note: You can puree the sauce in a food processor if you don't want strands of onions in your sauce. Personally, I liked having those onion strands in my sauce so I didn't puree it or put it through a sieve.
In a 250 degree (F) preheated oven, the marinated pork is roasted (uncovered) for 8-11 hours. Or until the pork has internal temperature of 185 or 190 degrees (F). As that is the temperature needed for the pork to break down enough to become pullable. Once the pork reaches that desired temperature it is removed from the oven, covered in aluminum foil and allowed to rest for 30 to 60 minutes. Note: The temperature of the meat will continue to increase when wrapped, so remove from the oven or wrap accordingly.
The rested pork shoulder is torn into shreds using a combination of two forks and your hands.
You will have made enough sauce to coat the pulled pork and serve some on the side. For an almost seven pound pulled pork shoulder, use 1 1/2 to 2 cups of sauce to coat the meat. Serve the remaining lightly warmed sauce on the side.
To toast the brioche buns, butter their cut sides and place on a heated non-stick skillet. When they are toasted to your liking, remove them from the pan.
We all have our preferences as to what to put on a pulled pork sandwich. Some like them pure, pulled pork only. Others like them topped with some crunchy or creamy coleslaw (my personal favorite). While others like them topped with both pickles and coleslaw. What all this means is that serving the Southern Style Oven Roasted Pulled Pork with a big bowl of coleslaw and some pickles, preferably homemade, is a must when serving this to your family and friends. This way everyone gets to make it their 'way'.
Making Southern Style Oven Roasted Pulled Pork is a labor of love. Between the marinating and roasting times for the pork shoulder, you are looking at almost two days. Depending on what time of the day you plan on serving the pork, you might be getting up in the wee hours of the morning to put it in the oven (I got up at 3:00 a.m.). But it's definitely worth it. Seriously worth it. The tender, melt in your mouth pork smothered in a vinegary, highly flavored sauce served on a toasted brioche bun is nothing short of tasting a piece of heaven. And keeping barbecue history alive.
Recipe
Southern Style Oven Roasted Pulled Pork
Serves 8
Ingredients
Southern Style Sauce
1 medium-large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup (200g) light brown sugar
2 cups ketchup
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes (or red pepper flakes)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 Tablespoon finely minced/grated fresh ginger
Pork and Rub
5 large (sliced in half) or 10 medium sized cloves of garlic
6 3/4 to 7 1/2 pound pork shoulder roast (bone-in)
1/8 cup chipotle chili powder
1/8 cup chili powder (or use 1/4 cup of either the chipotle chili powder or chili powder)
1 Tablespoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper flakes (or use crushed red pepper flakes)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, coarsely chopped (or one teaspoon dried thyme)
Brioche buns, lightly toasted
Cole Slaw
Homemade Pickles
Directions
Southern Style Sauce
1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil before adding in the sliced onions and minced garlic. Over low-medium heat, sauté the onions and garlic until soft and lightly golden (approximately 8-10 minutes). Stir frequently.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, aleppo pepper, dry mustard and grated ginger. Pour the mixture over the cooked onions. Stir until well combined.
3. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes (covering the pan midway through the cooking process) until the sauce has thickened slightly.
4. Remove from heat. Let cool. Place sauce in a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Pork and Rub
1. Use a sharp knife to make 10 evenly distributed slits into the pork shoulder. Place a garlic clove half or whole piece of garlic in each one.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the chipotle powder, chili powder, brown sugar, black pepper, Aleppo pepper, garlic powder and thyme. Mix well. Then rub into all sides of the pork shoulder. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees (F). Remove the plastic wrap and place the pork shoulder in a roasting pan (uncovered). Add about a 1/2 inch of water to the bottom of the pan. Roast the pork for 8 to 11 hours or until it reaches an internal temperature of 185 to 190 degrees (F).
4. Remove from the oven and lightly wrap with aluminum foil. Let rest 30-60 minutes before shredding. While the pork is resting, remove the sauce from the refrigerator and warm in a saucepan on the stove.
5. Toss the shredded pork with 1 1/2 to 2 cups of the sauce.
6. Serve with toasted brioche buns, coleslaw, pickles, and extra sauce on the side.
Notes: (1) The inspiration recipe was shared by my friend Stacey Stegbauer Evans. She had adapted the recipe from the cookbook The Great Ribs Book by Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison. This version is a third adaptation of the original recipe. (2) I used a bone-in pork shoulder and did not remove any of the bottom fat before placing in the oven. (3) This is a slow roasted in the oven pulled pork recipe. I would not recommend making it a slow-cooker as you would loose the crunchy exterior achieved when roasted in the oven. (4) I did not puree the sauce or put it through a sieve as I loved having pieces of the onion in the sauce. If you want a smooth sauce, process it in a food processor or press it through a sieve.
Moose sighting in Rocky Mountain National Park (May, 2021)
