Carolina BBQ Pork

My brother and sister-in-law are very lucky people.  They're happily married, they're related to yours truly, my brother is about to add "Dr." to the beginning of his name, and whenever they move my sister-in-law might get to have her own real, live kitten.  More importantly, though, they live in North Carolina and get to eat Carolina BBQ any time they want.  Now that is lucky.  Since some of us are not so lucky, we have to make do.  Fortunately, making do turns out to be pretty simple.  It can be done with a few pounds of pork shoulder, a simple sauce, and a crock pot.  

Here are all the sauce ingredients. 

Actual amounts:

2 cups apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1-1/2 tbsp packed brown sugar

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp salt

1/2 tbsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp black pepper

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a big bowl and set aside.  

Here's the meat that I used - 3.38lbs. of boneless pork shoulder.  Anywhere from 3-3.5lbs. of meat should work with the amount of sauce above and will serve about 8 people.  

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat.  Cut the meat into three or four smaller pieces, and place them in the skillet to brown on all sides.  If you have a knife sharpener, I highly recommend sharpening your knife before slicing the meat.  It makes it so much easier.  

It will take about 10-15 minutes to brown all the sides.  

Add the meat to the crock pot.

Pour in the sauce.  

Cook on low for about 8 hours or high for about 4.  

The meat falls apart when it's done.  Remove it from the crock pot and put it on a plate or a cutting board to shred.  

How good does that look?  

Use two forks to shred all of the pork.  Discard all of the big pieces of fat.  

I could never be a vegetarian.  

Once all the meat is shredded, put it back into the crock pot and turn the heat up to high for about 20 minutes so the newly exposed surface area can absorb a little more of the sauce.  

Add a little coleslaw and fried okra to the mix, and you might think you're in North Cackalacky after all.  

Grilled Pork - Circa 1995

There are a few dishes that I can remember my mom making over and over again when I was growing up.  Steamed broccoli with cheese sauce, fettucini alfredo, chocolate chip pizzas, and marinated pork on the grill.  None of them are gourmet, but they all remind me of childhood.  

This whole week has been really hot, and it's been killing me.  Ninety-degree weather is not supposed to happen in Minnesota until August, and then it is only supposed to be a day here or there - not for a whole week in June!  Mother Nature, I am not impressed.  

Earlier in the week we were hanging out on the beach, and I caught a whiff of somebody's grill.  The water and the grill and the heat instantly reminded me of the grilled pork my mom frequently made after a long summer day at the pool.  She would be in the house whipping up the rest of the meal, and I would man the grill, water bottle in hand.  I think I really just like to squirt water on the flames, and she would come out to check on the actual progression of the cooking, but I like to think that I played a part in cooking dinner.

All you need is Italian dressing and boneless pork loin.  Chicken would work as well.  

Start out by pouring a little Italian (pronounced "eye-talian" if your name is Matt) dressing into a dish or a plastic bag.  Add the pieces of pork and cover with more dressing.  I bought boneless pork loin that was about an inch thick.  If the thinner pieces are available, go for those.  Cover it and put in in the fridge to marinate for a few hours.

Throw them on the grill.  Easy, huh?

They should take about 5-7 minutes on each side.  I always get paranoid and have to slice into a piece to make sure it's done.  One of these days I'll learn...

We ate ours with salad and cheddar polenta while we cooled off in the air conditioning.  It really is summer.