Pulled Pork

Even though barbecue is really summery, I think pulled pork is better to make in the winter. It involves a lot of simmering and stove time, which is not something I relish in the heat.

I made this pulled pork over the winter break between the holidays because I wanted to make something easy (it's a one pot wonder) and hearty. I served it with cilantro rice, rainbow chard, and spicy black beans for a weird, but delicious, southern comfort/Mexican mashup kind of meal.

Ingredients [serves 4 to 6]:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 lb. pork shoulder
½ onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
12 oz. bottle cola

Start by adding some olive oil to a French oven and turn the heat up to high. When the pot is good and hot, gently nestle in the pork shoulder and sear on all sides until golden.

Once the shoulder is seared, add in the onions and garlic, the tomato sauce, Worcestershire, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, and all of the spices.

Pour in a bottle of cola, reduce the heat to low, and pop on the lid. Leave to simmer for 3 to 4 hours or until tender.

You can check the pork for tenderness by grabbing at the meat with some tongs. If it tears away really easily, it's ready.

Use a pair of forks to tear up the meat. And then simmer with the lid off for about 20 minutes to reduce the sauce.

Serve hot! I packed about half of the pulled pork into plastic containers, let them cool, and then popped them in the freezer for future consumption.

I love this pork because it's meaty and tender, it's got a balance of sweetness and vinegary sharpness, and it's great how it's served here, but equally delicious on a potato roll with melted pepperjack and some bread & butter pickles. And any leftovers can be frozen for future consumption, which is great for a lazy winter dinner.

Here's the recipe page: