Skip the jibber jabber, take me straight to the recipe!

Some people hate photos of food shared on social media channels.

I love them.

I love getting inspiration for new places to go, dishes to order and recipes to make.

So when my Interwebz friend @flooziemagoo posted:

I thought “hellz yeah! I want me some of that edible air!” and promptly copied her and made the same dish. Well, it wasn’t really prompt as it was the next day, and I also started later than I planned to, hence the 7 hours rather than the recommended 8…

The recipe is from this awesome site Iowa Girl Eats. It’s namesake – Kristin – loves cooking and eating and running as well (the latter to counteract the former) so I think we’ld get along famously.

While the pork does take time to make, it has relatively few, and fairly simple ingredients, and one surprising one. The main liquid used by Kristin in the original recipe is Dr Pepper. Yes, the soft drink (or soda). I substituted sarsparilla. It’s quite similar, and it’s what @flooziemagoo used, so clearly I’m going to copy her.

The recipe also calls for chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I couldn’t find these at my local Foodland, so used chillies and made some adobo sauce. I’ve included the recipe below. You can probably find them at a gourmet grocer or specialty shop though.

The other neat trick I learnt is with the meat itself (shout out to my local butcher!). The pork cut is pork shoulder. Most pork roats are actually pork shoulder, but they have the thick layer of fat that is used for crackling. This recipe doesn’t require the fat, so you can cut this off and if not using immediately, roll it up, seal in cling wrap and freeze it. You can then either cook crackling on its own another time, or wrap it around another roast – even a lamb or beef roast – to give it extra moisture. Pretty cool, huh?

8 Hour Pulled Pork with Cherry and Peach Salsa

Ingredients:

For the pork

  • 1 large brown onion
  • 2kg pork shoulder, excess fat removed
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
  • 2 tablespoons adobo sauce (see recipe below)
  • 1/2 cup gluten free BBQ sauce
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 600ml sarsparilla

For the salsa

  • 1 cup chopped cherries (stones removed)
  • 1 cup chopped peaches (yellow or white, stones removed)
  • 1/4 cup chopped coriander
  • 1 minced jalapeño
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • dash of salt

For serving

  • Gluten free tortillas or brown rice (cooked to directions) or as one of many dishes in your Mexican feast!

Method:

  1. Slice the onion into quarters, separate the layers and place over the bottom of your slow cooker (oh, did I mention it’s a slow cooker recipe? If you don’t have one, you can also use a large, heavy pot and cook it on low on the stove top, or in the oven).
  2. Trim all excess fat from the pork shoulder, and cut it into 5 or 6 large pieces.
  3. Season each piece of pork generously with salt and pepper.
  4. Add the chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, BBQ sauce, brown sugar and sarsaparilla.
  5. Cook on low for 8 hours (or if you’re running late like me, cook on high for a few hours, then drop it down to low for the last few hours.
  6. And try not to salivate too much.
  7. You can make the salsa ahead of time, and let it marinade in its own sweet spicy goodness… Combine the chopped cherries, peaches, coriander, minced jalapeños, lime juice and salt, mixing everything together. I’ll admit I was a little wary of this combination when first making, and even right before trying, but especially with the pork, it just works!
  8. When the pork is cooked through, oh so tender and falling apart… shred it up, place in a bowl and strain the juices off through a sieve. Then return enough of the juices to cover the meat and keep it moist.
  9. Serve the pulled pork and salsa with gluten free tortillas or brown rice, and enjoy!


Adobo Sauce

If you can’t find adobo sauce, here’s how to make it…

Ingredients:

  • 12 chipotle chillies (or just long red ones if you’re like me and can’t find the others), wiped clean, stemmed, slit open, seeded, and deveined
  • 3/4 cup water for blending, or more if necessary
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 rounded teaspoon ground cumin

Method:

  1. Heat a skillet over medium-low heat and toast the chillies, turning them frequently over and pressing them down with the tongs until they’re fragrant and their insides have changed colour slightly. Approximately 1 minute each.
  2. Soak the chillies in enough water to cover them until they are soft (approximately half and hour). Drain and discard the soaking water.
  3. Put the chilies in a blending container with 3/4 cup fresh water and the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth (approximately 3 minutes) adding a little more water if necessary to puree.
  4. To get a smoother texture, strain the adobo sauce through a medium mesh sieve.

The adobo sauce keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Images courtesy of @flooziemagoo. I was too busy trying to eat the air to take any…