Pulled Pork and Vinaigrette Coleslaw

This is one of my favorite times of year. The days are getting cooler, and the lazy days of summer and slipping away. You may think I just had a type error but really I enjoy Summer as much as the next person but I really like the hustle and bustle of Fall when you’re days fill up with new things to learn and do. I also have a serious LOVE for Halloween for some reason, so I always get excited when Fall arrives. The drop in temperature also means one thing to me, comfort food. Warm apple pies, and thick stews, and hearty slow cooked dinners (not slow cooker there is a difference, I haven’t had a lot of luck with a slow cooker but we’ll save that for another post). I love recipes that fill your house with heavy aromas that just speak to your soul and let you know you will have something warm and filling and simple and tasty. This is one of those perfect easy things to do that has an overall high acceptance level, at least in my house where they tired of fancy food long ago and are excited to have a pulled pork sandwich on ciabatta with a side of slaw. I found this recipe on the blog: My Husband Cooks. They ate the pork on tortillas with fresh salsa which after eating it I am planning on doing next week, but originally I had my heart set on sandwiches so that is what we made. Sooooooo very easy, and so tasty, and cheap. What more could busy people want? Maybe a warm apple pie for dessert but that too is for another post. Enjoy.

Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder

Ingredients

7 lbs. pork shoulder (bone in)

1 cup dark brown sugar

¾ cup salt

2 tbsp. chili powder

2 tbsp. cumin

1 tbsp. red pepper flakes

½ tsp. cayenne

Method

To make the rub, Combine together the brown sugar, salt, chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes and cayenne. Pat dry meat and liberally apply rub to all sides. Warning if you are not wearing latex gloves and you happen to have cuts on your hands from say playing guitar, washing them all day in a lab and again at home, and paper cuts from the 400 pages you just read and took notes on... this is going to hurt. A lot. A WHOLE LOT!

Whimper while washing sugar and cayenne out of paper cuts and place the meat in a container that is large enough to collect the liquid you are about to pull out of the meat, cover, and put it back in the refrigerator.

Cover and refrigerate for as long as 24 hours, or as little as overnight. It will give up a cup or more of liquid so make sure your container is big enough to prevent spillage.

Remove the shoulder from refrigerator, brush off any excess or caked on rub. Move to a clean roasting pan with the fat side up.

Heat the oven to 275F. Place in the oven and let roast for 9 to 10 hours. Mine took about 7 but it was cooked for 8 since I was at class and my husband was sick... oops. After about 3 hours, there will be enough fat rendered to allow you to baste the shoulder every 1 to 2 hours. With a large spoon simply pour the rendered fat over the shoulder.

You will know it’s ready because the outside of the shoulder is extremely dark, nearly burned looking, I am repeating... LOOKING not actually burnt. Mine was a little burnt but it still tasty so good... I may have mentioned that. The pork should pull easily from the bone and the fat/skin on the top should be nearly crispy.

Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 30 min. Using a pair of forks or very clean hands pull the pork away from the bone. From here you can eat it in a sandwich, a tortilla, add some BBQ sauce to it, make a pie, take a bath in it, whatever floats your boat.

Now the only thing left to decide is what to serve with a pulled pork sandwich, ummm coleslaw of course. However the husband is from Canada and always complaining about the mayonnaise Coleslaws we tend to eat here in the States so I made this for him. It was the first time I have ever made it (as a lot of things on here are) but it will go in the binder to be made again. Especially next summer. Crispy and clean it was perfect with the sandwhich.

Vinaigrette Coleslaw

Adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

1 small head of green cabbage head, shredded
1 small red cabbage head, shredded
1 large red pepper, sliced thin
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Method

Combine cabbage, pepper, carrot, onion and sugar. Mix well and set aside. Combine vinegar, oil and salt in a saucepan, and bring to a boil.

Pour over cabbage mixture and stir well. Cover and refrigerate 2-3 hours to chill.

Put cabbage in strainer to drain off the liquid. Place the slaw back in the bowl and serve.