Frugal Foodie Friday - Pulled Pork for a Crowd

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Well, we are halfway home. Yesterday, a moving crew at one end of town temporarily moved our furniture to storage, while an installation crew at the other end, finally pulled up the sub-floors in our new home. It was heavy work for both crews, the kind that builds hearty appetites as well as headaches. While I can't help with headaches, I can field hunger. I always try to feed the folks who help us with big jobs around the house. The meal I made for the crews yesterday was simple and transportable, and given the number of people being feed, surprisingly inexpensive. I made coleslaw and potato rolls to serve with the pork and had German chocolate brownies and lemon bars to finish off the meal. The pork is not inexpensive to make, but it feeds so many people that its per serving cost brings it into the realm of possibility for a Frugal Friday feast. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try the next time you have the equivalent of a crew sitting at your table. The apple lends a sweetness to the dish that is unexpected, but that sweetness is balanced by the heat from the chili flakes that are used in the marinade. The pork is simple to make, but it needs a day to marinate and because it cooks at such a low temperature, you'll need to roast it for at 7 hours before it can be shredded. While this is a two day commitment, very little of it is active, hands-on, time, so I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. The pork is different, tasty and worth every second it takes to prepare. Here is how it's made.

Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Years ago this succulent pork roast would have been considered proposal food. The recipe for it was developed for Fine Cooking Magazine by Tasha DeSerio and was judged by their staff to be one of their best recipes of 2009. You can find their list here. I'm always a bit suspicious when recipes come with such high praise. Taste is a very subjective thing and I have a problem with anything that purports to be the "best" of class. Every once in a while, I come across something that really is outstanding and this recipe is one of those instances. It makes an amazingly tender roast with very little effort, though there is significant wait time required to produce the results you want to see. I like to start this process several days before I plan to serve the pork. The roast is rubbed with salt and pepper and is refrigerated for 1 to 3 days before being slowly cooked in the oven at a very low temperature. The end result is a fork tender roast that remains moist without being stringy. You also have an assembly of vegetables so meltingly good that you'll wish had doubled or tripled the quantity of them you prepared. The pork is wonderful and can be served with vegetables for a meal, but it also makes amazing pulled pork sandwiches that are so flavorful that no additional sauce is required. I hope you'll try this almost effortless meal. Here's the recipe.

Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Fine Cooking Magazine

Ingredients:
1 6 to 7-lb. boneless pork shoulder roast
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1 large yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rings
3 medium carrots, cut into sticks 1/2 inch wide and 2 to 2-1/2 inches long
10 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup dry white wine

Directions:
1) Combine salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub mixture over all surfaces of pork shoulder. Place the pork, fat side up, in a 12 x 16 x 3-inch pan. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 3 days.
2) When ready to proceed, remove pork from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.
Position a rack in center of oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Uncover pork and roast until tender at the margins but center still offers some resistance, about 4 to 4-1/2 hours. Add onion, carrots, garlic, wine, and 1 cup water to roasting pan and continue to roast, stirring vegetables occasionally, until the pork is completely tender, about 1 hour more.
3) Remove roast from oven and raise oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Using tongs, separate the pork into 8 to 10 large, rustic chunks and spread out on pan. If most of liquid has evaporated, add a splash more water to create a little more juice. (It shouldn’t be soupy.) Return pork to oven and continue to roast until nicely browned on newly exposed surfaces, about 15 minutes longer. Remove pan from oven, transfer meat and vegetables to a serving platter, and tent loosely with foil. Let rest for 20 minutes. Skim excess fat from juices and serve warm with vegetables and meat. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Crockpot Pork Roast - Annie Bakes
Smoked Pineapple Pork - Coconut and Lime
Dimitri's Pork Roast - Tobias Cooks
Cajun Pork Roast - The Teacher Cooks
Garlic and Herb Crusted Pork Roast - Almost Slowfood
Arista: Tuscan Herb Roasted Pork Roast - One Perfect Bite