First of all a word of "warning" - this recipe takes a long time but the wait is so worth it! You will end up with the most succulent and tasty pulled pork that is worth every hour you waited!
Total preparation time is 24 hours with the meat marinating in the fridge for one night. Make sure you don't rush this recipe as you will be rewarded with more flavour and tenderness the longer you wait.
Don't rush the cooking process. If the meat takes longer to reach the 95°C, don't be tempted to increase the oven temperature!
This recipe is perfect for sharing! The great thing is that it will only get better, the longer you leave it so prepare it all in advance and then enjoy spending time with your family and friends before serving.
What you need (serves 6):
2.5kg Boneless Pork Neck Roast
250ml Apple Juice
150ml Water
2 Vegetable Stock Cubes
3 Tblsp Soft Brown Sugar
4 Tblsp BBQ Spices of Choice (buy or make your own using garlic, smoked paprika, mustard seeds, salt, chilli and a little pepper)
6 Buns (try making your own using our soft bun recipe
BBQ Sauce, Onion Rings, Sliced Pickles and Lettuce to serve
It is recommended to use a meat thermometer to make sure that the meat reaches 90-95°C internally.
How to prepare the pulled pork:
The Day before: Mix together the soft brown sugar and BBQ spices, rub all over the meat, especially into all the cracks and knobbly bits. Put the meat into a large zip lock bag and push out all excess air. Refrigerate overnight.
1) Take the meat out of the fridge, at least 1 hour before cooking. Pre-heat the oven to 110° - 130°C (You can use your slow cooker, the cooking time will increase to 8 hours though
2) Mix the apple juice, water and two stock cubes and put into a ovenproof dish. Make sure you get out all the lovely bits of the dry rub out of the bag and add these to the wet mix. Put the pork roast on a open grill rack in the middle of the oven and push the thermometer into the centre of the meat. Position the dish with the water/juice mix underneath the roast (but not the bottom of the oven) to collect the drippings from the roast.
3) Cook the meat slowly for 6-7 hours. Check regularly if there is still fluid in the dish underneath. If needed, add a little more water/juice. After 4 hours, the temperature of the meat should be around 70°C. From now on brush the roast with a little fluid every now and then. The temperature may plateau a little - don't raise the temperature of the oven!
4) Once the roast has reached the 90°-95°C (after approx 6 hours), take it out of the oven and wrap it first in tin foil before wrapping it in a thick towel. The roast now needs to rest (at least for 1 hour, longer is better!), this can easily be done in a chilli bin or even under your duvet to keep it warm! Keep the sauce aside for later!
5) While the meat is resting, prepare all your side dishes you will serve it with.
6) Unwrap the meat and pull the roast apart, using two forks. This way you can discard of any unwanted fat. Put the meat into a glass bowl, adding a little sauce as you go. Cover the bowl with tinfoil and keep the meat warm until you are ready to eat. Serve with Coleslaw and chunky chips.
ENJOY!!!