Pulled pork
=========== 2023-12-10 *


Inspired from : Pulled Pork with Tangy Barbecue Sauce with help from Sharon and Kristin (thanks).

Comment: Using a thermometer (or thermoprobe) is the perfect way to end the cooking. When preparing the dry rub, a good idea is to prepare a larger amount and keep in in a closed jar. In most recipes I found, more or less agree on the ingredients of the dry rub, they vary wildly on the sugar, from 1 tablespoon (12 g) to 1 cup (200 g). Since we are not making jam, I opted for a reasonable amount. The link above gives its own recipe for BBQ sauce, but with the great offer of good commercial products, I decided to use one of them (I like Stubb's, that comes in different flavors as 18 oz - 510 g bottles) and improve it: garlic, cognac, and butter.
I used a 1.1 kg piece of pork, and it cooked for 6 h to reach 92C inside. This took ~40 g of rub. The bottom of the tray deglazed nicely in a bit of beer. Depending on the piece of meat, it may be necessary to cook it a bit longer. If the meat is ready too early, cover the pan and lower the temperature to 75C to keep it warm.

Note: a flatter piece of meat cooked for 5 h although the oven said it would be ready in 4:15 h.
     The oven will gladly tell you that the meat will be cooked in 2 h, do not believe it and do not lower the oven temperature. It will still take the 5 or 6 hours, as planned (1.5 kg in 2022). I have used 60 g of the rub for my 2 pieces of meat.
2023: 2 pieces of 1 kg each side by side, 92C was reached in 4 hours. Placed the meat in the drawer @ 75C for 120 mn.


6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:
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Meat:
    1.5 to 2 kg pork shoulder (or neck)
    2 dl beer

Dry Rub:
    2 teapoons ground cumin     [4 g]
    1 tablespoon garlic powder  [8 g]
    2 tablespoons onion flakes  [6 g] or 1 tablespoon onion powder [6 g]
    2 teaspoons chili powder    [6 g]
    1 tablespoon salt           [15 g]
    1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper  [~2 g]
    1 tablespoon hot paprika    [6 g]
    1 tablespoon chipotle powder or smoked paprika [6 g] (opt)
    40 g brown sugar

Sauce:
    2 good bottles (1 l) barbecue sauce (ie: Stubb's)
    3 to 4 cloves garlic
    1+ dl cognac (opt - not really)
    30 g butter


Preparation:
------------

Set the oven to 140C.

Pat the meat dry and rub the spice mix on all sides, leaving no spot.

Place the meat in a roasting pan, uncovered, fat side up if any.
Place the thermoprobe into the center of the meat.  
Set the oven to stop when the meat reaches 92C (or monitor the thermometer), it should take more than 6 hours.

When the meat is almost ready, make the sauce: pour the BBQ sauce in a pan, add the garlic (grated) and cognac, simmer a few minutes, add the butter on low heat.

When the meat is cooked, take it out of the oven and set it on a cutting board or platter; cover with aluminum foil and let rest for about 10 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile discard any fat from the roasting pan (attention chaud). Deglaze the roasting pan with the beer on the stove on medium heat. Reduce a bit if needed.

Shred the meat with 2 forks, place the meat in the serving dish with the liquid from the pan, toss with the meat juices (beer).

Add half of the BBQ sauce, toss again and serve with the rest of the sauce on the side.