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I love taking ownership of a dish. Yes, I know, I didn’t come up with the concept of pulled pork, but I have made my own mark on this warming, hearty dish. It’s a household staple and a great midweek meal in the autumn and winter months, especially as it’s so easy to make.
We actually bought a slow cooker years ago, when we first moved to the countryside, with this dish in mind. Having to juggle school runs, commuting into London and running a household as a single mum was pretty time consuming. I hold my hands up: I’m totally a feeder. I show my love for others through food. So no matter how time poor I feel, it’s still important to me to provide exciting and nutritious meals for the family.
Fast forward some years and so much has changed. There are more of us to feed and I’m working from home for most of the week. But one thing hasn’t changed: It’s still as important as ever to have delicious and nutritious family meals, especially in the midst of our busy weeks.
Instead of running for trains to get me from London back into Hertfordshire, I am running from the house to the car, ferrying the kids from gymnastics, to cadets, to stage school, to play dates. Our lives are governed by our shared calendar! Pulled pork is brilliant, as I can set it up in the morning as we’re getting ready for the school run and it can just bubble away, getting tender and juicy whilst I work.
The prep time once it’s cooked, from me shredding to serving the finished meal on the table, takes about 10 minutes, including preparing whatever food we’re eating it with. Simple! It also comes in handy when you need to feed a large amount of people, so for play dates or having family or friends ‘round it’s perfect.
Dutch oven, casserole pot or slow cooker?
You can create a delicious pulled pork in a Dutch oven, casserole pot in the oven or in slow cooker. I use both methods and there are merits to each. I love that I can see into my slow cooker and keep an eye on the progress throughout the day or night. But it tends to mean the entire house smells of roasting pork. Not the worst thing in the world but it does a number on your concentration skills when you’re trying to work!
The Dutch oven/casserole tends to keep the smells in and also allows me to brown the meat on the fire first before transferring the whole pot into the oven. Obviously, you can brown your pork and then transfer it into the slow cooker too, but I prefer to create as little washing up as possible, particularly in the middle of the week!
What makes it ‘Tin’s Pulled Pork’
OK I’m all about flavour. I was raised on big, bold dishes and I’ve never been one for subtlety. With that in mind, I make my pulled pork equally bold.
To start, I use Jamaican dry jerk and all purpose seasoning on my pork and leave to marinate for a number of hours, wrapped in cling film in the fridge.
This all gets sealed into the boneless pork shoulder further when I brown it, before I transfer it into the Dutch oven, casserole pot or slow cooker with onions, thyme, carrots and a bay leaf.
If you haven’t tried a dry jerk rub on your pork shoulder yet, you’re missing out!
Here’s my recipe!
Tin’s Caribbean Pulled Pork Recipe
1 medium sized boneless shoulder of pork
3 tbsps Caribbean all-purpose seasoning
3 tbsps jerk seasoning
2 carrots, peeled
2 onions, peeled and halved
2 bay leaves
3 tbsps BBQ sauce
3 tbsps honey
Method
- Season your pork shoulder with the all-purpose and jerk seasoning. Leave covered and refrigerated for a few hours / overnight.
- Seal in the flavour and moisture by searing the meat in a separate hot pan for a few minutes if using a slow cooker, or directly in the Dutch oven/casserole pot if using that.
- Once the meat is brown all over, remove from the Dutch oven/casserole pot/slow cooker and add your carrots, onions and bay leaves to the bottom of your cooking dish.
- Pop the pork shoulder on top of the vegetables and cover.
- I like to cook mine for 8-10 hours (100°C in the oven with a Dutch oven/casserole pot) but you can cook on high for 4-6 hours (or according to your slow cooker manufacturer’s instructions).
- Once cooked — you’ll know it’s ready when it falls apart easily or use a meat thermometer to test whether it’s reached 75°C/165°F — use two forks to pull the meat apart. It should come away easily. If not, pop it back in for another hour or two before you pull it apart.
- Mix in BBQ sauce and honey to taste.
Pulled pork works well with so many different foods. My favourite is to pair it up with homemade coleslaw and some fresh baps. Maybe some corn on the cob on the side and a colourful salad if we’re feeling particularly hungry. But honestly, two baps filled with this mouth-watering, rich in flavour pulled pork and some coleslaw and you’re set.
I started making coleslaw at home a few years ago and it’s so much more flavoursome than store bought. It takes all of 5 minutes to make too, so it’s fine to leave it until you’re just about to serve dinner.
Tin’s Simple Coleslaw
One medium carrot
Half a small white cabbage
One medium onion
A few tablespoons of mayonnaise
A few drops of vinegar
Simply shred or cut the veg into slivers, mix in the wet ingredients and serve. The crunch of the coleslaw adds a delicious bite to the pulled pork baps as well as cutting through some of the richness of the sauce.
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It looks amazing – such a lovely easy meal to cook – we love making pulled pork 🙂
It sounds soooo good! Thank you for sharing!