Justin LaBarge
Legacy Magazine Publisher
Good day and welcome to “How to Make Pulled Pork.” Actually easy to do, this method is spot on.
Examining our specimen, pulled pork is a flavorful and flexible-use cut of meat which is a porcine shoulder or a Boston butt. They come with the skin on or not, bone in or not. What we’re dealing with is a very complicated piece of musculature that is composed of connective tissue. Which means the cooking method is low and slow. Let’s get started.
Butcher
Using a deboning knife, eliminate the fat cap, silver skin, and separate the groupings of muscle. Take your time and operate with confidence.
Brine
This large piece of meat can hold quite a bit of salt, so don’t be shy.
Three ways to do this: rub the surface with a dry brine, submerge the meat into a wet brine, or you can inject the liquid into the meat. Today we will dry rub, and here’s our improvised house rub.
Braise
Today we are using a sous vide technique. We have vacuum sealed our meat and dropped it into the water bath set for 150 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 hours.
150 degrees for 20 hours.
Which is to say, if you want pulled pork today you have to start yesterday.
Reserve the liquid.
Finish
Let’s finish the meat by hickory smoke on the grill. Our goal is to reach 205 degrees, which will take about an hour. Occasionally spray with a bottle filled with apple cider and water mix. Wrap in foil and let rest.
Make Pork Broth
Collect the liquid from the braise, and filter through a double strainer, bring to boil, and strain repeatedly. Clean it. You should have a strong clear taste
Shred
Remove the shoulder blade, which comes right out. Shred the meat using hand shredders. Next, put on nitrile gloves and shred the meat into fine muscle threads.
Reintroduce the pork broth back into the meat.
Portion and package the moist and smokey meat. It is a premium protein.
Plan
Pulled pork can either be an entree or an ingredient for other dishes
- Tacos
- Sliders with Coleslaw
- Eggs
That is clearly a Teach, atta boy LaBarge-Ikigai