Pulled pork

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 3.4 kg pork neck, preferably in 2 pieces of 1.7 kg each
• 8 tbsp brown sugar
• 6 tsp, leveled salt
• 1 tbsp paprika powder, hot
• 1 tbsp paprika powder, sweet
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp, levelled pepper, black
• 1 tbsp steak seasoning
• 6 sprigs of thyme
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp garlic granules
• 1 tbsp onion granules
• ½ tbsp cinnamon
• ½ tbsp all-spice
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 4 tbsp ketchup
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp ketchup (BBQ ketchup)
• 1 tbsp BBQ seasoning mix
• 5 pointed peppers, grilled, peeled, diced
• 8 gherkins (cocktail cucumbers), finely diced

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Rest period approx. 1 day; Cooking/baking time approx. 8 hours 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 day 10 hours 30 minutes

Cooked in the oven, flavored in the smoker – always a success!

Who hasn’t experienced this – the guests arrive and the pulled pork is still nowhere near cooked? A nightmare that has happened to me twice. So I came up with the following procedure. The entire cooking process takes place in a controlled manner in the oven, and the smoker is used solely to infuse the flavor with smoke. Let’s be honest, even with pulled pork smoked for 16 hours, you only get a narrow smoke ring; all the flavor remains on the outside of the meat. And with heavy smoking, you can quickly transfer this to a pre-cooked piece of meat. The process described here results in extremely juicy, flavorful pulled pork, which all my guests have praised so far. Have fun smoking. P.S. The times given are a rough guide, as it is still very time-consuming. Preparation the day before: – Trim the meat (cut off the fat). – Place the meat in a plastic bag, mix all the dry ingredients, and add it. – Rub the meat thoroughly with the spice mixture in a plastic bag (doing this in the bag ensures that all the spices stay on the meat and are not left on the countertop). – Seal the plastic bag with the meat tightly and refrigerate overnight. Preparation: 9:30 a.m. – Remove the meat from the refrigerator. – Combine all liquid ingredients and stir to make a seasoning sauce. – Wrap the meat in thick aluminum foil and place the package in a baking dish (to catch the liquid in case the foil gets damaged by sharp bones). – Pour the seasoning sauce into the aluminum foil and then fold it to seal. – Insert a thermometer through the aluminum foil into the meat to measure the internal temperature. 10:00 a.m. – Place in the oven at approx. 175°C for approx. 3 hours, until the internal temperature reaches approx. 90°C. – Soak smoke chips in water (type of wood according to taste). 1:00 p.m. – Remove the meat from the oven, collect all the liquid from the aluminum foil, and place it in a saucepan. – Reduce the liquid over high heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens (this can take up to 45 minutes; the amount of liquid must be reduced by about 2/3). – At the same time, light the smoker and place aluminum bowls of boiling water under the cooking area. 1:30 p.m. – When the smoker has reached approximately 120°C, place the meat on the grill and add a large handful of smoke chips to the glowing coals. – When the liquid has completely reduced, let it cool briefly (it will then thicken again) and brush the meat thoroughly with them. 2-4:30 p.m. – Add more smoke chips several times. Be careful not to let the temperature get too high (it should be around 120°C) and brush the meat with the liquid every 30 minutes. – Towards the end, roast the peppers over the fire bowl until nicely blackened and wrap in aluminum foil. 4:30 p.m. – Remove meat from smoker and let rest for about 30 minutes. 5:00 p.m. – Shred meat into coarse fibers with your hands and place in a casserole dish (takes about 30 minutes). – Cut 1 handful of cocktail cucumbers and peeled peppers into very small cubes. – Mix meat well with the rest of the broth, apple cider vinegar, BBQ ketchup, a little BBQ seasoning, the peppers, and the cucumbers. – Cover everything with aluminum foil and place in the oven at 120°C for about 15 minutes to warm up. 6:00 p.m. – Everything is ready to serve: 3.4 kg of pork neck, without fat and bones, yields about 1.7 kg of pulled pork. Tips: It’s best to roll it up in wraps with fresh pepper strips, guacamole, and BBQ ketchup. Freeze any leftovers in approx. 175g bags and use for pulled pork pizza.