Recipe: Smoky Pulled Pork with Sugar Free Apple BBQ Sauce
Although it requires a lot of patience, pulled pork doesn’t actually require a great deal of time in the kitchen. Cure it overnight in the fridge, then cook slowly for 5 hours – and you have a seriously juicy, melt in the mouth cut of meat.
The tricky part is getting the balance of flavours right, but you just can’t beat the classic; smoky bbq. The dry rub is packed with complex flavours, whilst the apple bbq sauce is the perfect complement – and sugar-free to boot!
- Smoky Pulled Pork Ingredients:
- 1 pork shoulder, approx. 2kg
- 50ml Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Sea Salt
- For the marinade:
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp chipotle paste
- 2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 heaped tbsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp blackstrap molasses
- For the Apple BBQ Sauce:
- 250ml tomato passata
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 heaped tbsp unsweetened applesauce
- 50ml apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- The night before you wish to cook your pork, remove the skin and place in a large food bag. Pour in the vinegar and sprinkle over the sea salt, before tying up the bag and giving it a good shake. Leave in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, make your marinade by crushing the coriander, fennel, black peppercorns and cumin seeds in a mortar and pestle. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well to make a paste. Set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 220C / 425F. Rub the marinade all over the pork, taking care to massage it deep into all the nooks and crannies. Place the pork in a foil lined roasting dish, and transfer to the oven for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 140C / 275F, cover loosely with foil and leave to roast for 5 hours.
- minutes before serving, begin to make the bbq sauce by heating the passata in a saucepan until it begins to simmer. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes, until it reduces to about half its size.
- Remove the pork from the oven and shred with a fork to get your pulled pork. Serve with a generous dollop of the bbq sauce.