We don't get requests all that often, so when we do, we are usually very happy to oblige! This is especially true if there are large pieces of pork involved. So, this one's for you Abby. Thanks for the excuse, er inspiration. Yeah.
Under normal circumstances we would prepare this dish outside. It usually involves our vertical smoker, several cold beers, and double the cooking time. And while the end result is extremely delicious, the weather is still not agreeing with our all day outdoor cooking events. So, we had to take this one indoors. Using the en papillote method is the perfect way to achieve a similarly moist end result without ever bumbling around with your charcoal and wood chunks. Not to say that those things are bad, just that we will probably save that one for a day over 25 degrees. Enjoy.
pulled pork
- 4# bone in pork shoulder
- 10-12 garlic cloves
- 1 med. onion, sliced
- 4 bay leaves
- spice rub, use our basic recipe below, or your favorite mix
Parchment paper
Aluminum foil
Preheat oven to 300. Cut pork shoulder into large chunks, about 3"-4" pieces. In a large bowl, generously coat pork in spice rub. Place pork on one side of a large sheet of parchment paper, twice as long as a cookie sheet. Cover pork with garlic, bay leaves, and onions. Cover pork with remaining parchment, then fold up the sides, crimping as you go to seal it. If the parcel did not seal very well, repeat the process with another piece of parchment. After it is sealed with parchment, wrap the parcel in foil. Place on a cookie sheet and bake in oven, 3-3 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and let stand 30 minutes before opening foil.
Transfer pork to a large bowl. Remove onions, bay leaves and garlic cloves. Separate out bones and fatty pieces, discard. Using two forks, or your fingers, pull pork apart into small bite sized strands.
Serve on sandwich buns, topped with shredded cabbage and your favorite sauce.
basic spice rub
- 1/2 cup paprika
- 1 Tb. black pepper
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tb. garlic powder
- 1 Tb. oregano
Mix to combine. Make sure to break up any large clumps of brown sugar.
vinegar bbq sauce
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup water
- 3 Tb sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until desired consistency. 10-15 minutes.
