Pulled Pork Sandwich with BBQ Sauce

Introduction & method

Pulled pork is cooked very slowly and then pulled apart and mixed into a barbecue-type sauce. This recipe achieves the characteristic smoky flavour without using a barbecue. Serve with soft white bread rolls and coleslaw salad. Just delicious!

Pulled Pork Sandwich with BBQ Sauce Recipe

Prep the Pork

Mix all the ingredients for the rub into a jar. Give it a really good shake. If there's any skin on your pork (hopefully there is), you need to slash gridlines into it, down to the meat. Rub a generous amount of the rub mix all over, and press it right into the slashes in the skin. Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

Cook the Pork

When you are ready to cook the pork, pre-heat your oven to 150°C (320°F) for a fan oven, 170°C (356°F) for a conventional one, gas 3. Place the meat, fat side down, into a casserole dish - if it doesn't fit you can cut it into chunks. Pour the cider all around it, put the lid iid on the dish and cook for 3 hours. After this time, check the internal temperature - it should be at least 85°C (185°F). If it isn't give it more time in the oven.

When the meat is up to temperature, put it on a wire rack over a roasting tin. Keep the cooking liquid! Turn the oven heat to maximum and put the meat back in for 15-30 minutes, fat side up, until the outside is charred and the skin is crispy/crackly. When it's ready, remove from the oven, cover loosely with foil and rest for 30 minutes.

Make the BBQ Sauce

Towards the end of the cooking time, make the barbecue sauce. First of all, you need to boil the vinegar on high heat until it is reduced by about half. Add the other ingredients, stir well and simmer until the sauce has thickened.

When the meat has rested, rip it to shreds with two forks. Add some of the cooking liquid and some of the barbecue sauce - just enough to coat all the meat without it becoming too sloppy.

Split some soft white bread rolls in half and place a generous dollop of pulled pork on it, then a good squirt of BBQ sauce, then a big dollop of coleslaw salad. Press the lid on and enjoy!