As I mentioned last week I’m currently devouring Michael Pollan’s Cooked, A Natural History of Transformation with a fork, spoon, knife, splade and shovel. The opening chapter (in fact, the first quarter of the book) is devoted to the art of making barbequed pulled pork. Or “barbeque” as it’s called down South (of the States).
Anyone familiar with the art of making “barbeque” knows a fair whack of sugar is used at some point in the process (there are different processes for different regions of the US) and that it generally involves smoking the meat. Both factors, of course, are simply beyond the scope of what I do.
Therein, a challenge was laid out for me: to create a version of barbequed pulled pork that incorporated my cooking vibe and flow. I spent a morning playing with the idea, reading up on the different methods of cooking pulled pork.
And concocted a mock version that can be plonked effortlessly in a slow cooker (press go and leave for the day), doesn’t require sugar to get the cured effect, has a barbeque flavor without requiring the smoke and is sustainable and economical. Phew! You’ll be pleased to know it worked, too! Here’s what I did:
- I rubbed the pork in fennel and salt. The traditional way is to rub the meat in a cure of equal parts sugar and salt and leave it to cure in the fridge for a few hours before cooking. This draws off moisture, then sinks the flavour and moisture back in again. I touched on this phenomenon here. After the pork is cooked and “pulled”,