Pulled Pork : the “American Style” shoulder!

Pulled pork will no longer have any secrets!

Pulled pork is the absolute protagonist of street food. The slow and smoked cooking combined with spices allows the meat to be crunchy, tasty and soft at the same time. The combination with the sauce and the salad completes the sandwich.

Pulled Pork is the pinnacle of goodness if cooked according to tradition: Barbecue and Smoking make it the undisputed king of American grills.

The perfect cut of meat that is best suited to the preparation of pulled pork is pork shoulder: resistant and compact meat. The other characteristics that contribute to making the meat sublime and giving it a particular fragrance capable of making your mouth water just at the thought are:

• Smoking
• Bark - Bark
• Acidic seasoning
• Constant and perfect fire (between 90°C and 95°C)
• Meat probe
• Cut of meat
• Fraying

The technique revolves around simple steps that require a minimum of attention, but the real challenge is being able to fill the sandwiches without exaggerating with the tastings! The intoxicating scent and delicious flavor will make the battle quite complicated!

Smoking

Smoking is the peculiar characteristic of barbecue cooking and even pulled pork does not disdain it. Excellent if taken care of in detail, smoking offers an intense touch to the cut of meat that slowly cooks on the fire.

After all, the smoke from the barbecue is an important component: you need to be careful to obtain a star chef's dish!

Bark

The thin crust that characterizes pulled pork overseas is called Bark . It is formed thanks to slow cooking on the fire and gives the cut of meat a unique consistency in which the crunchiness meets the softness of the meat, returning a sublime flavor to the palate!

Acidic seasoning

The idea of ​​adding apple cider vinegar in combination with honey offers pulled pork two characteristics: the possibility of creating the bark and the particular sweet and sour flavor that mixes with the consistency of the meat.

Fraying

Another fundamental detail for pulled pork is the shredding of the meat which must be uniform. In this way, in fact, you can offer a sandwich rich in flavor and balanced in consistency.

Cut of meat

Pulled pork or pulled pork can be obtained from any cut of meat. However, there are some peculiarities that transform it from ordinary to exceptional! The elements to take into consideration are: fat, collagen and bone. The fat is essential for making the meat softer, the collagen prevents dehydration and the bone gives a stronger flavour.

This is why it is preferable to use pork shoulder or pork shoulder. The correspondence in the American cuts, however, are: “ Boston butt ” and “Pic nic” – a name, a program!

Alternative pulled pork

There are many versions of pulled pork. The closest to the original, capable of giving an acceptable result, is the oven-baked version. Given its characteristic slow and prolonged cooking, pulled pork can be prepared in the oven or on the stove.

Although it appears heresy, the alternative cooking offers a satisfactory result similar to the original version, as long as you keep the preparation procedure intact and simply replace the embers with the oven at a low temperature.

Another precaution is represented by the preference to wrap the cut of meat in foil to keep the softness of the meat intact and prevent it from drying out excessively.

Here are all the secrets to preparing a real “American Style” Pulled Pork sandwich at home. However you decide to cook it, Bovì has the right cut of meat for you!