| When I first started writing recipes for my | | | | nice piece of crackling? |
| web site Barbecue Smoker Recipes I received | | | | |
| a lot of questions about "pulled pork" and | | | | Pork shoulder is the most commonly used joint |
| how best to prepare it. Living in the UK I'd | | | | because the long cooking could dry out some |
| never heard of pulled pork so it presented me | | | | cuts but shoulder is quite a fatty joint |
| with a great opportunity to do some exploring | | | | therefore providing a natural baste. During |
| and further my barbecue education. | | | | the long cookout most of the fat will |
| | | | dissolve but most importantly it's this long |
| Pulling pork sounds like an extremely | | | | cooking process that breaks down the tough |
| strenuous business but it's not, it's simply | | | | fibrous connective tissue called collagen |
| down to a gentle, slow cooking process that | | | | that tenderizes the meat so making it easy to |
| makes it ideal for the meat smoker although | | | | "pull" apart. |
| many a good pulled pork has been rustled up | | | | |
| in a slow cooker or a traditional oven. | | | | Using a meat smoker for pulled pork does add |
| | | | a certain smoked flavour to the job that |
| Pulled pork is so called because of the way | | | | you're not going to get from an oven but |
| that it is served up. As it says, it's | | | | during this long cooking process (about 90 |
| literally been pulled apart. Nowadays it can | | | | minutes per pound of meat) it's sometimes |
| be served chopped or shredded (although | | | | difficult to keep the smoker going long |
| traditionalist would probably shun this) but | | | | enough at a stable temperature to finish |
| one thing remains true and that is the final | | | | cooking. It's also arguable whether the |
| presentation - in a bun with barbecue sauce | | | | smoker adds any more flavour after the first |
| and a coleslaw side. | | | | 5 hours and that's why many folks will |
| | | | complete the second half of the cooking |
| Pork is a very traditional meat that's been | | | | process wrapped tightly in foil in a |
| around a long time. In Europe for example, | | | | conventional oven, especially when doing a |
| pigs have always been available because they | | | | large joint. |
| eat anything and that makes them easy to rear | | | | |
| particularly through the long harsh winters. | | | | When the pork is finally done, it needs to |
| In America it's the pig or hog's hardy nature | | | | rest for 60 minutes and then it should be |
| that allowed it to survive in more extreme | | | | ready for pulling apart and once pulled it |
| surroundings than cattle. It's this fact that | | | | can then be warmed a little if required. I |
| has made pork such a popular staple in the | | | | find that the eating the pulled pork cold |
| American South where the years ago the first | | | | really highlights the smoked flavour but of |
| settlers found that their cattle perished and | | | | course this is personal preference. The great |
| the hogs happily thrived. | | | | thing I like about a pulled pork recipe is |
| | | | that in the end the flavour can vary so much |
| The pig is also popular because nearly every | | | | simply by one's choice of barbecue sauce yet |
| part of the animal can be eaten, even the | | | | to a traditionalist this is an endless source |
| skin, and let's face it, who doesn't like a | | | | of debate. Long may these arguments continue! |