Friday, February 12, 2021

Foodie Friday - Pork


 I remember my first pulled or chopped pork, Jay and I were visiting Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and he said we have to go out for barbecue.  I was thinking smoked, glazed, boney - not necessarily my cup of tea.  The specialty of the house was whole hog, slow cooked, and pulled or chopped heaven on a plate, with vinegar based sauces. 

I don't know about you, but I don't have anyplace to roast a whole pig.  And good pulled pork is hard to find here, there are a couple of out of the way places, but not a lot.  And I do love the flavors.  So a few times a year I will buy a pork shoulder or pork butt, boneless if I can.  I mix a dry rub of salt, pepper, garlic and onion salts, a little brown sugar, season liberally with that, put it on a rack in a roasting pan, cover tightly, and put it in a slow oven 275-300 degrees fahrenheit, all day, the last one I did was 7.5 pounds (about 3 kilos) and it cooked for about 7 hours.  It should be falling apart when it is done.  Sometimes we buy sauce, sometimes I mix my own, a tomato base - either tomato paste or catsup, apple cider vinegar, dry mustard, honey, and spices to taste.  

I have never cooked a pigs head, there is a specialty shop nearby that will supply them if you are brave enough to face your fears, I am not, are you? 

19 comments:

  1. Nope. I so did not need to see that first picture. I think I may have to give pork up....but bacon.... And No I would never cook a whole pig.

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  2. Ken is from NC, so we know our bbq. He makes NC-style bbq in the slow cooker, and his favorite cut to use is the shoulder. It's a little leaner than the real whole-hog bbq you get in NC, but it's delicious. Sometimes he adds some fat. We have a collection of NC sauces brought back from the US over the years. They will run out eventually, so we'll have to make our own sauce. As for cooking the head, there's a saying in France: Tout est bon dans le cochon (everything on the pig is good)!

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  3. I breezed rapidly by that photo! No, nope, no pigs heads for me.

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    1. I wonder what else I could slip past you all in photos

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  4. Anonymous2/12/2021

    Wow, I think I would really like to taste your pork.

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  5. Nope, not me! But the pulled pork I'd enjoy. I do have a place close by that does a pretty good job.

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    Replies
    1. There is a lot of interesting food in your corner of the world

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  6. Love pork, but I am not cooking a pig's head.

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    1. Few like looking their food in the face

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  7. nope nope nope! I bet your pulled pork recipe is delicious.

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    Replies
    1. Try it, it is not hard to make

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  8. The only place where I've seen a whole pig being roasted (in a pit in the ground) is at an Hawaiian luau.

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  9. Ain't no BBQ like Carolina Piedmont BBQ.

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  10. dear me that jumped out at me
    I don't like to eat things that resemble its source.

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