Smokey BBQ and Apple Cider Pulled Pork
As the cold weather becomes more common and the sun begins to set earlier we become drawn to slow-cooked meals, and this one is my absolute favourite! It requires barely any preparation, practically cooks itself, and can be frozen for quick grab-and-go meals when you're running late for work (or can't be bothered cooking that night). It does take a few hours to cook but the result is worth it!
Prep time ~ 1 hour
Cook time ~ 4 hours
Total time ~ 5 hours
You'll need a few ingredients to get your self started
- 1 cup Maple Smoked BBQ Sauce
- Everything Rub
- 3 Tbsp American Yellow Mustard
- Medium Pork Shoulder (skin on)
- 1 apple
- 1 bottle apple cider OR 300mL raw apple juice
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt (table salt works too)
Pre-heat your oven to 130 degrees Celsius.
Cut the Granny Smith apple into 2cm rings, leaving the skin on and place into the bottom of a cast iron casserole dish to keep the pork off the bottom of the pan.
Take the pork shoulder out of the packaging and pat dry to remove any juices, rub 2 Tbsp of the mustard over the skin and then sprinkle a generous amount of the Everything Rub over all the meat. Place the prepared meat in the casserole dish, pour the cider into the dish (not directly over the meat or the rub will come off). If you don't consume alcohol you can use raw apple juice, the best one I've found is linked in the ingredients. Put the lid on the casserole dish, if it doesn't have a lid tin foil works just as well, and place in the oven for 4 hours.
It pays to check on the pork every 30 minutes to baste it with some of the liquid from the bottom. At the end of the 4 hours take the casserole dish out of the oven and transfer the pork into a clean bowl and cover with glad wrap. Place the casserole dish onto the stove and reduce the liquid until there is about a 1/4 of the original amount left.
Peel off the skin and cut into fine slices. Pull apart the pork with your hands and add in the reduced liquid plus the slices of apple. Add in the chopped skin, the kosher salt, and the Maple Smoked BBQ Sauce and mix together, serve over rice or make pulled pork sandwiches. Happy eating!