Pulled Pork with a Twist

iPhone photo of Pulled Pork with a Twist

The last thing we wanted to do when we got home last night was go out for dinner or have to think up something to cook.  Luckily, I had put last Sunday's pulled pork and rice in the freezer before we left.  All we had to do was reheat it on low in the oven. 

We've been gone all week, having a good time in Virginia, visiting with my brother and my 15 year-old-nephew.  They were on a civil war/college/golf adventure together during the school break.  We caught up with them in Charlottesville and toured with them north to Georgetown.

iPhone photo again --- my camera is in the repair shop

This is when I love leftovers. The flavors have married together and intensified, plus there is no work!

And this concoction was particularly good, so I thought I'd better write it down before I forget how I made it. 

Basically, it is slow cooked pork --- with a twist.  I put orange juice and a knob of ginger, along with an onion in the braising broth.  These additions didn't overpower the meat; they just add a nice twist.

The pork was first dry rubbed with onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin.  I add some dashes of liquid smoke and a can of chicken broth.  Covered, I cooked it on low -- 250 degrees for a couple of hours, and then turned it over. 

I needed more liquid, so I squeezed the juice out of two oranges, cut a ginger knob lengthwise and quartered an onion and tucked them alongside the meat, then stuck the pot (covered) back in the oven for another couple of hours.  I raised the temperature to 300 --to be sure that my addition of liquid didn't slow the cooking --- for another couple of hours. 

When the meat was falling apart, I took it out and shredded it with two forks.  I used what we had in the freezer, which was a pork loin.  It didn't have much fat, but if you use pork butt, now is when you would pull out and discard the fatty bits. 

Then, I added a very generous amount of BBQ sauce, a cup or two ---we like Dinosaur BBQ's Slathering Sauce -- and then returned it to the oven to heat, covered, while we made the rice.  A Texmati popcorn rice works well.   

This same dish could be made in a slow cooker.  I would put everything in together in the morning and let it cook all day long until dinner time.  Then, shred the pork, add the BBQ sauce and reheat it while preparing the rice and a veggie.