Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Pulled Pork - My Favorite Southern Meal


Hmmm...what to cook for dinner?


Aha!  BBQ!  See, proof that a Retro Revival apron DOES inspire delicious cooking ~ ha!

In our family, the best meal out is barbeque.  Over the course of 20 plus years I'm sure Captain Project and I have sampled the ribs (his favorite) and pulled pork (my favorite) from at least half of our great country's BBQ resturants.  So in love with BBQ is Captain Project that for our 10th anniversary (years ago), I surprised him with a trip to Memphis for their annual Memphis in May Festival, a celebration of BBQ and blues (his favorite music); three days later we had literally eaten at EVERY BBQ joint in the city (and twice at one place)!

At home, he's perfected smoking ribs, chicken, sausage, fish, just about every meat there is!  But I've never used the smoker or the grill (*shame*). 

Craving pulled pork and wanting to economize, I tried my hand at oven-cooked BBQ and it was really good!  I mean AMAZINGLY good!  Here's the recipe if you'd like to give it a try:
PULLED PORK
Ingredients:
1 pork butt (make sure to chose one with fat on one side)
Dry Rub Mix:
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup brown sugar
Brine Mixture:
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 quarts water
3 tablespoons of dry rub mix
2 bay leaves

Directions:
1. Mix all of the dry rub ingredients together.  Set aside 3 tablespoons for the brine and then place the rest in an airtight container for later.
2. Mix all of the brine ingredients together plus the 3 tablespoons of dry rub mix and pour over pork butt; refrigerate for 8-12 hours.  Ideally, the brine will cover the pork so that you don't have to turn it, but if not, once or twice will suffice.



3. Preheat oven to 225 degrees
4. Remove pork from brine and pat dry with paper towels
5. Take your dry rub mix and thoroughly rub all over the pork, working it in really good.  Save any left over rub for later.



6. Place pork in a shallow baking pan, fat side up, and bake for 1.5-2 hours per pound


7. Once pork is cooked, remove from oven and let stand for about 30 minutes before pulling it apart; it should fall apart easily with gentle forking.



8. Serve on toasted buns with coleslaw, and if you want a little extra zing, sprinkle on some of your leftover dry rub mix.
9. Enjoy!



Ooooh, my mouth's watering just writing this post and looking at the pictures!  Really hope you'll try this recipe because it's super simple and so delish!

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12 comments:

retrorevival.biz said...

Welcome to my blog, Magick Apron!

Paula Parrish said...

Hello Cindy,
Sounds really yummy, I am going to give it a try for a family dinner very soon. My Mom and I do basically the same recipe but with pork ribs; they come out falling apart delicious. Of course; needless to say that none of this amazing cooking would happen in my kitchen without one of your handmade aprons for motivation. I love my apron!
Smiles, Paula

LAUREN said...

I love to try new barbeque recipes - can't way to try yours!

Betty Lou said...

That looks so goooooood! I can almost taste the sandwich.

Missy Shay said...

sounds delicious!

Diana and LaDonna said...

We love pulled pork too! I have the Better Homes and Garden cookbook too, but mine is from 1976! I won it by selling magazine subscriptions. The other girls chose stuffed animals as their prize, but I picked the cookbook! Best decision!

LaDonna

Suz said...

Pulled pork is a somewhat new thing with me. Would love to try your recipe.

Julie Harward said...

Looks like a good recipe here...I love pulled pork for sands. and and O love it really sweet with Mexican food...YUM! :D

The Jacksons said...

I agree with Julie, pulled pork makes the most fabulous Mexican food. Tacos, Burritos, and Nachos all taste so great with pulled pork instead of boring chicken!

The Summer Kitchen Girls said...

Great...now our mouths are watering - we'll have to try your recipe - it looks delicious - finger lickin' good for sure!
Have to giggle a bit when you mentioned bbq and memphis! I had a girlfriend that got married in Memphis and when we went, ALL, and I do say ALL of the things we ate were in bbq sauce...the chicken, ribs, beans - heck I think we might have had bbq cake of some sort - we laughed so much about that, when we were going through a gift store while we were there we found a Memphis BBQ magnet - that has proudly been on our fridge for 14 years now :) Good times!!

Donna said...

The barbecue looks so yummy! My recipe is about the same as yours :) I love the apron!
Hugs,
Donna

Jingle said...

The food looks great, but I have to say that I REALLY love your apron!!!!