#AD Delicious pulled pork: How to make a really easy and versatile family staple

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One thing no one really mentions about adulthood – and particularly, being a parent – is that you have to think about what you (and your family) are going to eat for every meal, every day, forever.

On top of that, it is your responsibility to go to the shops, remember the ingredients and cook it. It’s a whole new level of admin; it’s amazing parents get anything else done frankly.

Then, having come up with meal ideas and then toiled in the kitchen to make them a reality, you have actually get people to eat it. There is nothing more depressing than a carefully planned and executed meal being fed to the dog or binned because it wasn’t to your kid’s taste.

It’s a feeling I know well.

When it comes to food, my daughter is quite laid back and will give most things a go; she loves jacket potatoes and has them often at school. She doesn’t like everything (who does?!) but her dislikes don’t seem to change every day. My son on the other hand changes his mind almost daily and he won’t even touch chips, let alone potatoes in their natural form. I know, I know. What kind of child doesn’t like chips? Mine, that’s who.

It’s hardly surprising that we tend to get stuck in a rut, cooking the same things over and over.

I challenged myself to try something new that the kids would enjoy: Pulled Pork.

I have never really cooked pork before, and never tried pulled pork!

I always thought it was tricky to get right; no one likes dry pork and I’ve never been great at following instructions. But when I looked into it, pulled pork is actually really simple to make, even if you don’t have a slow cooker.

It’s also surprisingly versatile and can be eaten in different ways – in a jacket potato for my oldest, with rice or pasta or in a bun for my youngest, and even with a salad for me if I’m feeling virtuous.

Here’s how to make delicious pulled pork in the oven

First you need to buy a boneless pork shoulder.

If you’re after a great value cut, a pork shoulder makes a really budget-friendly family meal option. Supermarkets sell them at around £3-4 per kg.

How to prepare pulled pork shoulder to cook in the oven

Prepare the rub, in order to give the pork some barbecue-style flavour. You can be creative here, but the key point is 1/3 salt, 1/3 sugar, and 1/3 flavour. We used mostly smoked paprika (which should be your main flavour), with a little bit of cayenne pepper, cumin and mustard powder. I couldn’t tell you the exact quantity, but probably 2 table spoon of salt and sugar, and an equal amount of the spice. It’s pretty hard to mess this bit up really.

Once that’s made, cut the skin from the pork, and leave as much of the fat on as you can. You can ask your butcher to do this if you like an easy life. Once done, cover the pork liberally in the rub. Put this in your fridge overnight for added flavour.

The following day, make a glaze with 60ml of runny honey and a similar amount of mustard. Rub this all over the pork until coated, and keep any excess to pour on while it’s cooking.

How to cook pulled pork in the oven

Then put the joint into a roasting tin, on a wire grid if you can to lift it up, and into the oven at 120C for 6-8 hours.

This isn’t exact, and the best way to be sure is to use a meat thermometer to ensure the middle is 88-90C before you take it out. While it’s cooking, you can spoon any juices and excess glaze over the pork.

When it’s done, take it out, let it cool for a bit, then remove any obvious excess fat and use two forks to pull it to pieces. You can even put the removed skin with a little fat into the oven to turn into crackling, if you’re naughty (I am).

You can eat it straight away (and you’ll want to) but it’s just as yummy reheated the next day, or even frozen and defrosted later on!

How to eat pulled pork

The best thing about pulled pork is it needn’t be complicated and is so versatile. It can be eaten in lots of different ways, making different meals by mixing up the accompaniments.

For our first serving, my partner and I had it straight from the oven in brioche buns with a choice of apple sauce or barbecue sauce. To test it before the kids tried it, you know.

We then came back after a night out and had another pulled pork bun each. Whoops. Then we had to put it in the freezer so we wouldn’t be tempted again.

When it was defrosted and reheated in the microwave later, my daughter wanted hers on a jacket potato with a bit of butter, meanwhile my son went for rice and a big dollop of barbecue sauce. Add a good serving of your favourite veggies and serve.

I had it in a jacket potato too and it was lovely! For more recipe inspiration visit https://www.lovepork.co.uk/pulled-pork/.

What did we think?

Pulled pork is a total revelation; it was so much easier than I thought it would be to make! The marinating was the highest effort part and after that we just put it in the oven – it didn’t even need to be in a Dutch oven or a slow cooker, although I’ll try this method next – and went about our day.

It was completely delicious; moist and tender and flavourful (which is why I had to freeze it to have enough left for the kids!). The fact that leftovers can be microwaved makes it a really easy and versatile midweek meal option. Popping a jacket potato in the oven or cooking up some rice on doesn’t feel like much effort at all!

Not only did the kids both eat it happily and willingly but my youngest – the pickier of the two – said it was his favourite ever dinner and I’ve already bought another joint of meat for next week’s dinner.

Give it a go, and let me know in the comments how it went!

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